AP Drawing

Course Overview

The AP Drawing course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of drawing. The course is divided into sixteen units, each of which focuses on a different aspect of drawing. In the first unit, students will be introduced to the course and its various components, including the sustained investigation, and will learn about the importance of ethics, artistic integrity, and plagiarism.

The units will cover topics such as drawing vocabulary and skills, physical and digital work submission, generating ideas for sustained investigation, materials, processes, and ideas, critique and analysis, and revision. Students will also learn about drawing mediums and techniques, composition and design, mark making and line exploration, light and shade, line direction and form, figure-ground relationship and space, pencil sighting, color theory and techniques, and drawing the human figure and portraiture.

Throughout the course, students will engage in hands-on practice and experimentation to develop their own unique drawing style. They will also learn how to use different mediums and techniques effectively, as well as how to properly photograph and edit their artwork for submission. At the end of each unit, there will be a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the material. By the end of the course, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of drawing and will have created a cohesive body of work to showcase their mastery of the concepts covered.

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Scope and Sequence

Unit 1: Introduction to the Course and Sustained InvestigationIn this unit, students will be introduced to the AP Drawing course and its various components. The unit covers the course information, including the big ideas and course skills, as well as the sustained investigation and selected works. Students will learn about the sustained investigation vocabulary and rubric, and how it is used to assess their progress throughout the course. The unit also discusses ethics, artistic integrity, and plagiarism, emphasizing the importance of originality in students' work. Examples of sustained investigations and selected works will be provided for students to examine. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the course material.

Unit 2: Drawing Vocabulary and SkillsThis unit focuses on introducing students to the fundamental concepts and vocabulary of drawing. Students will experiment with mark making, line, surface, space, light and shade, and composition. The unit also covers monoprint and line exploration, visual potential, positive and negative shapes, and the rule of thirds. Students will be encouraged to experiment with these concepts and techniques to develop their own unique drawing style. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the drawing vocabulary and skills.

Unit 3: Physical and Digital Work SubmissionIn this unit, students will learn how to properly photograph and edit their artwork for both physical and digital submission. They will also learn how to create composite images and write about their artwork to accompany their submissions. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the submission process.

Unit 4: Generating Ideas for Sustained InvestigationThis unit focuses on helping students generate ideas for their sustained investigation. Students will learn how to use a sketchbook to generate design ideas, mind map their ideas, and formulate essential questions to guide their investigation. They will also learn how to use inspiration images and discover resources and processes to support their investigation. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the idea generation process.

Unit 5: Materials, Processes, and IdeasIn this unit, students will learn how to choose materials to support their ideas and experiment with appropriation in art. They will also learn how to annotate their artworks for discovery and process, and reference images in their artwork. Students will work on their sustained investigation and synthesize their materials, processes, and ideas to create a cohesive body of work. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of the relationship between materials, processes, and ideas.

Unit 6: Critique and AnalysisThis unit focuses on art critique and analysis. Students will learn how to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate artworks, including their own. They will continue to work on their sustained investigation, incorporating feedback from their peers and instructor. The unit will conclude with a review and exam to assess students' understanding of art critique and analysis.

Unit 7: Practice, Experimentation, and RevisionIn this unit, students will learn the importance of practice, experimentation, and revision in their artwork. Through reflection, students will learn how to revise their work using the SCAMPER technique, which involves rethinking and expanding on initial ideas. They will also explore how to rethink a cliché image to make it more original. Students will learn about different processes for revision, including I and II, and how to practice, experiment, and revise their work. The unit will culminate in a review and exam, allowing students to showcase their mastery of these concepts.

Unit 8: Drawing Mediums and TechniquesIn this unit, students will explore the variety of drawing pencils, techniques, and other mediums, including colored pencils I and II, charcoal I and II, ink pen, and collage. They will learn about the unique qualities and applications of each medium and how to use them effectively in their artwork. Through hands-on practice and experimentation, students will develop a deeper understanding of drawing techniques and mediums. The unit will culminate in a review and exam, allowing students to showcase their mastery of these skills.

Unit 9: Composition and DesignIn this unit, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of composition, including unity and variety, contrast, emphasis, balance, movement, repetition, and rhythm. They will learn about composition recommendations and how to use a viewfinder to create abstract and non-objective designs. Students will also explore how to build design ideas and experiment with different compositions. They will learn how to create a composition from a photograph and receive a mid-term review and exam to assess their understanding of these concepts.

Unit 10: Mark Making and Line ExplorationIn this unit, students will explore the different types of marks and lines that can be used in their artwork. They will learn about contour lines, line quality, cross-contour lines, gesture lines, implied lines and edges, blind and semi-blind contour drawing, continuous line drawing, and extended mark making. Through analysis and experimentation, students will develop a deeper understanding of the surfaces, mark making, and lines that they can use in their artwork. The unit will culminate in a review and exam, allowing students to showcase their mastery of these skills.

Unit 11: Light and ShadeUnit 11 introduces light and shade, where students will learn how to develop a value scale I and II, identify basic values, and translate color into value. They will learn about value on form, drawing reflective objects, value shapes, value and line as texture, and create a tonal drawing. The unit will begin with an introduction to the concept of light and shade and the techniques used to achieve it. Students will then practice applying these techniques to their own work through a series of assignments and projects. The unit will conclude with a light and shade review and exam to assess students’ understanding of this concept.

Unit 12: Line Direction and FormIn this unit, students will learn how to create dimensionality in their drawings by mastering line direction and form. They will learn how to draw with shapes and add spherical, cylindrical, and conical forms to their compositions. They will also explore planar analysis, which involves breaking down an object into its individual planes and drawing each one separately. Students will practice mass gesture drawing and draw complex shapes and forms in a still life setting. Additionally, they will learn planar analysis drawing with value, which involves using shading to create the illusion of depth. The unit also includes lessons on painting cloth and an illusion review and exam.

Unit 13: Figure-Ground Relationship and SpaceThis unit focuses on the relationship between the figure and the surrounding space. Students will learn about foreshortening, which involves drawing objects that appear shorter or compressed due to their angle relative to the viewer. They will also explore ambiguous space, where the foreground and background merge, and an introduction to linear perspective. Students will be taught how to draw in one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective to create the illusion of depth. They will also learn how to draw units on a receding plane and the circle in perspective. Furthermore, they will examine the benefits and limitations of linear perspective and apply these skills to drawing complex shapes and forms in a still life setting, landscape drawing, and space and perspective review and exam.

Unit 14: Pencil SightingThis unit focuses on pencil sighting, a technique for accurately capturing proportions in a drawing. Students will learn how to use sighting angles, size, and image to scale to make precise measurements. They will also be taught how to draw the corner of a room, which involves using perspective techniques to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space. Finally, there will be a proportions review and exam to assess the students' ability to apply these techniques.

Unit 15: Color Theory and TechniquesIn this unit, students will study color theory and experiment with watercolor paint and acrylic paint. They will learn about color schemes, hue, value, and intensity and how to use these concepts to create the illusion of space and form. Students will also explore color mixing, draw an apple with colored pencils, and practice tonal painting. They will create a complementary color painting, where they use colors that are opposite on the color wheel to create contrast. The unit concludes with a color review and exam to assess the students' understanding of the material.

Unit 16: Drawing the Human Figure and PortraitureIn this final unit, students will learn how to draw the human figure and facial features. They will start with basic proportions of the human figure, including its basic shapes and how to gesture draw the human form. They will then move on to the proportions of the human face and learn how to draw the nose, eyes, mouth, ears, foot, hand, and hair. Students will be taught how to draw a foreshortened figure and practice drawing groups of figures. They will also study the masters and practice drawing a charcoal portrait. Finally, there will be a final review and exam to assess the students' understanding of the material covered throughout the course.