Graphics lesson, 6th March

Today you will need to work on your responses independently, ensuring that all responses are complete by the end of the lesson.  If you have finished all three, you will need to devise your own development task in order to further your ideas.  Some examples of these could be:

• Refine a response (re-shoot photos, improve use of materials, use primary images)
• Sketch a series of idea developments stemming from your response work
• Combine artist ideas from your different responses to create a new piece of work
• Brainstorm a specific area of interest
• Anything else you can think of!

You also need to make sure all relevant work from your recent masterclasses is in your book.

Graphics lesson, 6th February

To be able to:

Research a theme from given starting points

Compile visual information to support the development of your ideas


In today's lesson you will have your first lesson as part of the exam unit.  You will need to produce a mindmap of your ideas in response to the paper.  You will then need to use your Pinterest account to compile a board of images relevant to the brief.  The Corelli College A2 exam Pinterest board can be found below:

http://www.pinterest.com/corelliart/a2-graphics-exam-2014/

Digital mind maps can be created at:

http://www.wisemapping.com

Checklist:

1 mindmap showing a range of ideas in response to the exam paper
1 Pinterest board with at least 15 pins.  At least 2 new images pinned to the exam board.

Homework:

Produce a series of 3 sketches and 5 photographs supporting your ideas (primary research)

Graphics update, 16th January

For next week you need to make sure you have completed another draft of your essay.  You will then have one last chance to improve it before the start of the exam unit in February.  Please use the resource in the shared area to create a bibliography of all your sources (including books from last week's trip).

Y:\SIXTH FORM SHARED AREA\Art - Graphics\Graphic Communications A2\2013-14\Essay

Graphics lesson, 12th December

Could you all please make sure that another draft of the essay is handed in before the end of Monday at the latest.  Marking will be done on Tuesday so that you will all have feedback in time for Thursday's lesson.  The focus at the moment is on building a structure using the writing frame in the shared area, combining analysis and conducting further research to flesh out what you have started.

You all need to research artists, movements and other contextual details more widely, and to help with this there will be a trip to the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the new year.  In order for this to happen all of you will need to register with the National Art Library by following the instructions at the address below:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/national-art-library-registering-for-a-reader-ticket/

I would also recommend you visiting local libraries and bookshops in the next few weeks, and use the internet more thoroughly to research content.

Graphics lesson, 5th December

Yesterday you all continued with essay writing, with all of you working at different stages. You should all now have at least 3 pieces of analysis that relate to a single theme (some of you have had to produce new analysis to give your essay a stronger sense of direction).  Beyond that, the stages are:

• Intro written, explaining the question you are exploring.
• Six mini-paragraphs that compare the use of formal elements between your chosen artworks
• Paragraph one written (in-depth research into your chosen artists/designers/movements/companies)
• Mini-paragraphs and previous analysis used to construct paragraph two (analysing the work of your chosen artists)

I expect these sections to still need lots of work, and you can break paragraphs down into smaller sections if you find this easier.  I need a revised draft by our last lesson before Christmas.  For next week you need to also make sure you have completed the following:

• Created a mind map using wisemapping.com
• Renamed blog posts using underlined titles on checklist (see top of page)

Graphics lesson, 28th November (including essay overview)

During this lesson you are comparing your chosen works through focus on the formal elements.  This will form the basis of paragraph 2.  At home, you will need to start paragraph 1, which will be an introduction to your artists.  For this, you will need to conduct further research into your chosen artists, so you can introduce them to your reader with relative authority.  The general structure will be:

• Intro - Explain your focus, what you are interested in and why.  Explain the area you are studying, for example children's illustration, advertising, typography, comic book illustration or digital character design.
• Paragraph 1 - Introduce your artists, explain why they are relevant to addressing your question.  This section will be more research-based
• Paragraph 2 - This is where most of your visual analysis will be.  You need to compare and contrast the techniques and visual language of your chosen artists.  This section will most likely be one of your longest, and can be broken down into sections, covering different formal elements, for example.
• Paragraph 3 - This needs to address how your own work has developed as a result of your studies into the work of other artists, and should refer back to analysis from your previous paragraph.
• Conclusion - This will be a summing up of your investigation, reflecting on what you have discovered and how your understanding of your chosen subject has changed/developed

For next Tuesday, you will need to email a draft of your essay which includes the first three sections (intro, p1, p2).  This should be 1,500 words (or about 500 words per section).

Please also have a read of the blog post here: http://www.studentartguide.com/articles/writing-the-a2-art-personal-study

Graphics lesson, 21st November

Today's focus was your introduction, and bringing all of your analysis together to inform a general theme of interest for your essay.  Please use the writing frame worksheet on the shared area to help you with this.

At home this week you need to start taking passages of text from your existing analysis and pairing them between artists, so that colour, for instance, from one artwork can be compared to colour from another piece of work.  Start a new Word document for this, and enter sub-headings to show different areas of analysis.  Mustafa could, for instance convert the following two sentences:

"the colour of his armour it gives a very angry and warm look" (analysis 1)

"The way Phroilan Gardener uses the turquoise colours on the Lich Kings’s eyes and sword gives the viewer the understanding that this characters soul has been consumed by something" (analysis 2)


Into something like this:

Colour

Whereas Blizzard entertainment's Orc is drawn using warm colours to give an angry look, Phroilan Gardener uses colder colours, such as turquoise, to give the viewer the impression that the character's soul has been conssumed by something.



You should have at least 6 sub-headings on your new document, with combinations from across your analysis.  If you have any problems with this please let me know tomorrow or Tuesday.