2014 Olevel Art

Last year when I got my topics for Olevels Art I was pretty lost. The format and process was completely different than my previous examinations and our briefing  was very vague. So I turned to the internet for help on the format etc. and the art coursework of other students really helped me in my coursework process. Now that my Olevels are long over( im trying to pretend it never happened ), I can post my prep work for referencing purposes. Hope it helps anyone currently taking O's

Art Paper 1: Prep work. 
Topic: Fancy Dress

Click to enlarge

My message was to show the materialism through the use of fancy dress

Notes:

1. I TOTALLY regret the topic, it was bloody hard to convey my message. It was also quite hard to relate it to my own life due to how sensitive the topic was in regards to my childhood.
2. I experimented with a lot of mixed media and. For the final work I digitally painted the top half of the painting and had it printed on a custom canvas then continued to paint the lower half in acrylic
3. tip: Stock up on brushes. If you are gonna do painting, they will spoil. I destroyed 3 brushes during the painting process(all my brushes frayed and  turned into brooms by the time i was done )
4. tip: If your school provides paint, steal the white and hide it somewhere( selfish? Yes, but it is better that having to tackle your classmates for it. Everybody gets hostile when the last tub of white paint is almost empty. Disclaimer: this is a joke, your friends will kill you IF they find out ). If you have to buy ur own paint, stock up on the white ( and brushes!) You don't want to have to rush art friend after school during last week. Future you will thank me.
5. tip: Issue with colour matching. Fortunately I didn't have an issue with it but many of my friends did. If it isn't a primary or secondary colour, mix up a big batch of it. You don't want to be painting halfway, suddenly realise u are out of paint and struggle for the next few hours just to get the same exact shade or worse, have to repaint the whole area. Acrylic paint runs out really quickly. 
6. Tiptip: ( cont. of tip 5) how to store acrylic paint: get an airtight container( shallow container). Line the bottom with thick tissue and wet it. Drain off the water but make sure it is still moist, put sheet of tracing paper over ( optional but will make it last longer) put paint on top. U can store the paint for up to a week. 
7. This is strictly my personal opinion, go for medium to large canvases. Especially if u are doing normal acrylic without mixed media or any extra stuff. Things are easier to paint if they are bigger. Plus, if u don't have a steady hand, chances are smaller brushes and working on a small area would be hell. 

Final Work

The canvas was hugeee. Almost my height.

Art Paper 2

Topic: Undergrowth

The final was done during the 3 hr duration at the exam hall and was a mixture of layout 1 and 2

I intended the final work to be done graphite mix media so I limited my experimentation of wet mediums for this coursework

Note: I only did 9 pages due to lack to time (I finished my boards at 3 am on the day of the final paper so I didn't have time for the last page, but it is advisable to use up all your 5 pieces of paper, both sides.)

Tip: I realise that many people have problems with realism and shading. I managed to get my work looking the way it did through trial and error so I can't really help with realism, that u got to learn yourself. It gets better the more u draw. However, I got some tricks to help with shading. For all my work I only used 3 grades of pencils a HB, 2B and 8B ( you can tailor it to how heavy/light handed u are e.g. If you naturally use a lot of strength when shading, go for lighter pencils) start with lighter areas then go to the dark. Use the dark pencil sparingly ( very important). Now, for the  REALLY dark areas ( often when things meet e.g areas where fingers meet the darkest point in the fold of clothes. See it in pg5 of undergrowth, you'll get what I mean ) colour it in with an black art pen. Shade around the area with the dark pencil so it doesn't look that harsh. The secret is the pen, it gives the really dark black that makes the whole thing really pop, even the darkest shades of graphite can't get u that look, it'll still have a hint of grey). For light shading, hold the middle to the end of the pencil to get a more even look.  

Update: I got at A1 for art will going for my dream design course ( well it was a dream, as of right now into my 2nd year it kind of feels like hell haha, no regrets though) 

It is really stressful and feels like hell now, but once u finish your last paper and look back on it, you'll wonder whether all their anxiety was really necessary. Everything is always worse in the present. Good luck! 

Update 2: I don't know what possessed me to log in again, I'm surprised I still remember my account after 8(?)years. This blog was where it all started for me and I still get emails from some of you who found help in this post and I'm really happy I could help you guys in your journey, it seems after all these years the issues faced by art students never change. Olevels was really tough for me back then but I look back on it now with fondness, even though the prep work felt redundant, it helped me plan the way I go about solving creative problems. I don't regret taking art in secondary school, it led me down a path to a career I really enjoy- I'm working as a full time creative and illustrator (I think my art teachers must be laughing wherever they are because it took so much convincing for me to take on this subject).  So don't worry, shit get better!

Probably my last update, if you want to follow my work you can find it:
https://www.behance.net/ccharmaine

Edit: After returning to this old, dead blog after two years it seems that this post has gotten pretty popular (Hi fellow sad miserable art students) 

Anyway, sorry guys for not replying, I rarely check this blog, design school has been all sorts of hectic and crazy. Now lemme address some things:

• I printed my canvas for paper 1 at bits & bytes.  However I don't encourage it. It wasn't the most pleasant experience. I had to go down to the industrial area ( super isolated building in the middle of nowhere) and paid $300 for the printing out of my own pocket. I'm sure if you look around there are cheaper options
• Many of you seem to have problems regarding concepts for you olevel art but I don't think I'm qualified to help you. I was also a student and I took the paper once and it was hell and I struggled through the conceptualization part too. I'm posting my work just for reference, you're probably better off asking your art teacher :)