AP ART AND DESIGN
Course Overview
In an AP Art and Design course, you’ll develop the skills that artists and designers use and create a portfolio of work you’ll submit for an AP score.
New for 2022-23: Starting this year, all portfolios (2-D, 3-D, and Drawing) will be submitted digitally only. AP 2-D and AP Drawing students will no longer mail their physical work to the AP Program.
The AP Art and Design Program includes three different courses and portfolio exams:
1. AP 2-D Art Design
2. AP 3-D Art Design
3. AP Drawing
1.1
What is AP 2-D Art and Design?
AP 2-D Art and Design is the first component of AP Art and Design Program. It is an introductory college-level two-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 2-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course.
What is AP 3-D Art and Design?
AP 3-D Art and Design is the second component of AP Art and Design Program. It is an introductory college-level three-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 3-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course.
What is AP Drawing?
AP Drawing is the third component of AP Art and design program. It is an introductory college-level drawing course. Students refine and apply drawing skills to ideas they develop throughout the course.
What is an AP Art and Design Portfolio?
The three Art and Design portfolios (2-D, 3-D, and Drawing) share a basic, two-section structure, which requires you to show a fundamental competence and range of understanding in visual concerns and methods. Each section contributes to the final portfolio score, which is on a 5-point scale.
Note: You may submit more than one Art and Design portfolio exam in a given year, but each must be a different type of portfolio. You may not duplicate works or images among the portfolios and portfolios may not be combined. For example, if you want to submit a portfolio for both Drawing and 2-D Art and Design, you will need to submit two separate portfolios with two completely different sets of artwork, and you must order two exams.
For the AP 2-D Art and Design portfolio:
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Your work should focus on the use of two-dimensional (2-D) skills of art and design, including point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/group relationship, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy.
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Think about how materials, processes, and ideas can be used to make work that exists on a flat surface.
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There’s no preferred or unacceptable content or style.
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Here are some formats you can submit: graphic design, digital imaging, photography, collage, fabric design, weaving, fashion design, illustration, painting, and printmaking.
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Don’t submit video clips—they’re not allowed. You may submit still images from videos or film and composite images.
For the AP 3-D Art and Design portfolio:
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Your work should focus on the use of three-dimensional (3-D) skills of art and design, including point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, volume, mass, occupied/unoccupied space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy.
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Think about how materials, processes, and ideas can be used to make work that involves space and form, whether physical or virtual.
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There’s no preferred or unacceptable content or style.
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Here are some formats you can submit: figurative or nonfigurative sculpture, architectural models, metalwork, ceramics, glasswork, installation, performance, assemblage, and 3-D fabric/fiber arts.
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Don’t submit video clips—they’re not allowed. You may submit still images from videos or film and composite images.
For the AP Drawing portfolio:
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Your work should focus on the use of drawing skills, including mark-making, line, surface, space, light and shade, and composition.
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Think about marks that can be used to make drawings, the arrangement of marks, the materials and processes used to make marks, and the relationships of marks and ideas.
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There’s no preferred or unacceptable content or style.
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Here are some formats you can submit: drawing (analog and digital), painting, printmaking, and mixed media work.
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Don’t submit video clips—they’re not allowed. You may submit still images from videos or film and composite images.
You’ll submit a portfolio of artwork for evaluation at the end of the school year. All portfolios (2-D, 3-D, and Drawing) will be submitted digitally only.
Assessment Dates | Portfolio Dates
May 5, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT - AP 2-D Art and Design Portfolio Due Date
May 5, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT - AP 3-D Art and Design Portfolio Due Date
May 5, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT - AP Drawing Portfolio Due Date
Portfolio Components
AP 2-D Art and Design
Section 1: Sustained Investigation - 15 digital images | 60% of Score
You’ll create a body of work that demonstrates:
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sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision
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sustained investigation of materials, processes, and ideas
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synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
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2-D art and design skills
You’ll have to document in writing:
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the questions that guided your sustained investigation
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how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your questions
Section 2: Selected Works - 5 digital images of 5 artworks | 40% of Score
You’ll choose works that demonstrate:
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2-D art and design skills
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synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
For each work, you’ll have to describe in writing:
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your ideas
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the materials you used
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the processes you used
AP 3-D Art and Design
Section 1: Sustained Investigation - 15 digital images | 60% of Score
You’ll create a body of work that demonstrates:
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sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision
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sustained investigation of materials, processes, and ideas
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synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
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3-D design skills
You’ll have to document in writing:
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the questions that guided your sustained investigation
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how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your questions
Section 2: Selected Works - Images of 5 works, 2 views each, for a total of 10 images | 40% of Score
You’ll choose works that demonstrate:
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3-D design skills
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synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
For each work, you’ll have to describe in writing:
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your ideas
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the materials you used
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the processes you used
AP Drawing
Section 1: Sustained Investigation - 15 digital images | 60% of Score
You’ll create a body of work that demonstrates:
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sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision
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sustained investigation of materials, processes, and ideas
-
synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
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drawing skills
You’ll have to document in writing:
-
the questions that guided your sustained investigation
-
how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your questions
Section 2: Selected Works - 5 digital images of 5 artworks | 40% of Score
You’ll choose works that demonstrate:
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drawing skills
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synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
For each work, you’ll have to describe in writing:
• your ideas
• the materials you used
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the processes you used
Works may come from the Sustained Investigation section, but they do not have to. They may be a group of related works, unrelated works, or a combination of related and unrelated works.
How Do They Score Your Work
All portfolios are assessed by at least four highly experienced studio art educators (AP Art and Design teachers or higher education faculty). These evaluators, called AP readers, are trained to apply standardized scoring guidelines. Each of the two sections is reviewed independently based on the criteria for that section.
If there is a wide divergence in the scores assigned by two readers to the same section of a portfolio, the section is forwarded to two Reading leaders for review and resolution of the scores. For more information about scoring guidelines, click here.
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Portfolio Essentials
AP Art and Design – Credit
Keep in mind that course credits or advanced placement depend on the policy that your desired college or university has for AP exams.
AP Art and Design - Study Resources
• College Board AP 2-D Art Classroom Resources
• College Board AP 3-D Art Classroom Resources
• College Board AP Drawing Classroom Resources
• Ctrl+Paint: Digital Painting, Simplified
• Books on Art, Creativity, and Education
• Google: Arts & Culture Experiments
• Met Museum of Art - Timeline of Art History
• Modern Art and Ideas - a free online course from MoMA
• Teaching and Learning in Art Education: Cultivating Students' Potential from Pre-K Through High School
• Colossal
• The Ultimate Guide to Basic Color Theory for All Artists
Portfolio Preparation
Here are some guides that will help you prepare for your AP Art and Design portfolio.
2021 AP Art and Design Exhibit
Explore this online exhibit that showcases outstanding artwork created by AP Art and Design students for the May 2021 exam.
Sustained Investigation Overview
Get detailed instructions on building the Sustained Investigation section of your AP Art and Design portfolio.
Get detailed instructions on building the Selected Works section of your AP Art and Design portfolio.
In addition, you can also check AP 2-D Art and Design Past Portfolios and Scoring Information, AP 3-D Art and Design Past Portfolios and Scoring Information, AP Drawing Past Portfolios and Scoring Information for you to have an idea on how to ace you design portfolio.
Conclusion
The AP Art and Design Programs will require you to become creative and artistic. If you are ready for the challenge, then go for it. Just make sure that you will give your 100% in order for you to reach your goal. Good luck!