AP 2-D Art and Design

Focus: Line is the most basic element of art — a moving point that the eye follows across a surface.

• A line is a mark with length and direction: straight, curved, angular, or freeform.
• Lines vary in quality — thick or thin, smooth or rough, continuous or broken, dark or light.
• Contour lines trace the edges of a form; gesture lines quickly capture movement and energy.
• Implied lines are suggested, not drawn — by a row of objects, a pointing arm, or a gaze.
• Direction carries feeling: horizontal reads as calm, vertical as strength, diagonal as action.
• Artists use line to build shape, shade value (hatching, cross-hatching), imply texture, and lead the eye.

Focus: Shape is a flat, enclosed area; form is the illusion of a three-dimensional object on a 2-D surface.

• A shape is a two-dimensional area with a boundary; form appears three-dimensional (height, width, depth).
• Geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle) are regular and mechanical; organic shapes are free and natural.
• Positive shapes are the objects; negative shapes are the empty spaces around and between them.
• Form is created on a flat surface through value (shading), overlapping, and perspective.
• Recognising negative space helps an artist see and compose more accurately.

Focus: Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour or tone — the key to showing form and depth.

• Value runs from white through greys to black; a value scale shows the gradual steps.
• Highlight, midtone, core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow describe light on a form.
• Strong value contrast creates drama and a clear focal point; close values feel soft and calm.
• Chiaroscuro is the bold use of light and dark to model three-dimensional form.
• Squinting removes colour and helps an artist judge value relationships.

Focus: Colour is light reflected from a surface; it has three properties and follows the logic of the colour wheel.

• Colour has three properties: hue (its name), value (light/dark), and saturation/intensity (dull to vivid).
• Primary colours (red, yellow, blue) mix to make secondary (orange, green, violet) and tertiary colours.
• Colour schemes: complementary, analogous, monochromatic, triadic, warm, and cool.
• Warm colours (red, orange, yellow) advance and energise; cool colours (blue, green, violet) recede and calm.
• Adding white makes a tint, black makes a shade, grey makes a tone.
• Complementary colours placed side by side intensify each other; mixed together they dull (neutralise).

Focus: Texture is the surface quality of a work — how it feels or how it appears to feel.

• Actual (tactile) texture can be physically touched (thick paint, collage, rough paper).
• Implied (visual) texture is the illusion of a surface, created with marks, value, and pattern.
• Texture is built through mark-making: stippling, hatching, dry-brush, impasto, and frottage (rubbing).
• Contrasting smooth and rough areas adds interest and can direct attention.
• In photography and digital work, texture comes from light, focus, and surface detail.

Focus: Space is the area within, around, and between the parts of a work, including the illusion of depth.

• Positive space is filled by the subject; negative space is the empty area around it.
• Artists create the illusion of depth with overlapping, size, placement, and detail.
• Linear perspective uses a horizon line and vanishing point(s) so parallel lines converge.
• Atmospheric (aerial) perspective makes distant objects paler, bluer, and less detailed.
• Foreground, middle ground, and background organise a scene from near to far.
• The format and cropping of the picture plane shape how space is read.

Focus: Balance is the visual distribution of weight in a composition so it feels stable.

• Symmetrical (formal) balance mirrors both sides of a central axis — calm and orderly.
• Asymmetrical (informal) balance uses different elements of equal visual weight — dynamic and lively.
• Radial balance arranges elements around a central point.
• Visual weight is affected by size, colour, value, texture, and position.
• A large, dull shape can balance a small, bright one on the other side.

Focus: Emphasis makes one part of a work stand out as the centre of interest (the focal point).

• A focal point is where the eye is drawn first; emphasis creates it.
• Emphasis is built through contrast — of size, colour, value, isolation, or placement.
• Convergence (lines that point) and the rule of thirds help locate a strong focal point.
• Subordination keeps other areas quieter so the focal point leads.
• A work may have one dominant focal point and smaller secondary accents.

Focus: Contrast is the difference between elements — it creates energy, variety, and readability.

• Contrast can be of value (light/dark), colour (complementary), shape, texture, or size.
• Strong contrast attracts attention and defines a focal point.
• Low contrast unifies a work and can feel calm, subtle, or moody.
• Contrast in direction (horizontal vs diagonal) adds movement.
• In graphic design, value and size contrast create clear visual hierarchy.

Focus: Movement leads the viewer's eye through a work; rhythm is the repetition that creates a visual beat.

• Movement is the path the eye takes, guided by line, edges, colour, and placement.
• Rhythm is created by repeating elements with regular or varied spacing.
• Types of rhythm: regular (even), flowing (curving), progressive (gradual change), and random.
• Directional forces (leading lines, gazes, gestures) create implied motion.
• Repetition with variation keeps rhythm interesting rather than monotonous.

Focus: Repetition reuses an element; pattern is the repeated element arranged in a predictable way.

• Repetition of shape, colour, or line builds unity and rhythm.
• A pattern is a repeated motif — regular (grid, tessellation) or irregular.
• Patterns can fill a shape, define a texture, or become the subject itself.
• Motif is the single unit that repeats; changing scale or colour varies the pattern.
• Too much repetition can feel monotonous; variation keeps it engaging.

Focus: Proportion is the size relationship between parts; scale is the size of the work or an element relative to something else.

• Proportion compares the sizes of parts within a work (e.g. head to body).
• Scale compares an element to the whole, to the human body, or to the real world.
• Hierarchical scale makes the most important element largest.
• Exaggerated or distorted proportion can express emotion or draw attention.
• The golden ratio and canon of proportions are historic guides to pleasing relationships.

Focus: Unity holds a work together as a whole; variety adds interest so it is not dull. Good design balances the two.

• Unity is a sense that all parts belong together (through repetition, proximity, and a limited palette).
• Variety is difference that adds interest and prevents monotony.
• Harmony comes from elements that are similar; tension from those that differ.
• Proximity (grouping) and continuity (alignment) strengthen unity.
• The best works achieve unity with variety — order that still surprises.

Focus: Composition is how all the elements and principles are arranged within the picture plane.

• The picture plane is the flat surface; its format (portrait, landscape, square) shapes the design.
• The rule of thirds places key elements along thirds lines and their intersections.
• Cropping decides what is included and what is cut, changing emphasis and tension.
• Leading lines, framing, and balance guide the eye and hold the composition together.
• A strong composition unifies the elements while creating a clear focal point.

Focus: Drawing media make marks directly on a surface — the foundation of most 2-D work.

• Dry media: graphite (pencil), charcoal, conte, chalk and oil pastel, coloured pencil.
• Wet media: pen and ink, brush and ink, markers.
• Mark-making techniques: hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, blending, and scribbling.
• Choice of media and paper (tooth/texture) changes the line and value possible.
• Drawing is used both to investigate ideas (studies, sketches) and to make finished works.

Focus: Painting applies pigment suspended in a binder to a surface, building colour, value, and texture.

• Common media: watercolour (transparent), gouache (opaque water-based), acrylic (fast-drying), oil (slow, blendable).
• Support and ground (paper, canvas, board; primer/gesso) affect how paint behaves.
• Techniques: washes, glazing, wet-on-wet, dry-brush, impasto, and layering.
• Water-based paints dry quickly and clean with water; oils dry slowly and blend richly.
• Brush choice, dilution, and paint thickness control mark, edge, and texture.

Focus: Printmaking transfers an image from a prepared surface (matrix) to paper, allowing multiple copies (an edition).

• Relief (linocut, woodcut): ink the raised surface; the cut-away areas stay blank.
• Intaglio (etching, engraving): ink sits in incised lines below the surface.
• Planographic (lithography): image and non-image areas are on the same level, using grease and water.
• Stencil (screen printing): ink is pushed through open areas of a mesh.
• Prints are usually made in a numbered edition; the reversed matrix flips the image.

Focus: Collage assembles found materials onto a surface; mixed media combines two or more materials or processes.

• Collage glues papers, photos, fabric, or found objects into a composition.
• Mixed media layers, for example, drawing over paint, or print with stitching.
• These processes add actual texture and unexpected juxtapositions of image and meaning.
• Materials can carry meaning (a ticket, a map) beyond their visual role.
• Good mixed-media work still uses the elements and principles to stay unified.

Focus: Photography makes images with light and a lens; the same elements and principles apply to the frame.

• Key controls: framing/composition, focus, exposure (light), depth of field, and viewpoint.
• The rule of thirds, leading lines, and negative space compose a photograph.
• Light direction and quality (hard/soft) shape value, form, and mood.
• Editing (cropping, contrast, colour) is part of the creative process, not just correction.
• Digital and darkroom processes both count as lens-based 2-D art and design.

Focus: Digital tools create and edit images on a computer or tablet, working in layers and pixels or vectors.

• Raster images are made of pixels (photo editing, painting apps); vector images use math paths (scalable).
• Layers let an artist build, mask, and revise non-destructively.
• Digital colour uses RGB (screen, additive) or CMYK (print, subtractive).
• Resolution (DPI/PPI) affects print quality; keep files high-resolution for the portfolio.
• The same elements and principles guide digital work as any other 2-D medium.

Focus: Graphic design communicates a message visually; illustration makes images that support or tell a story.

• Design combines type, image, colour, and layout to communicate to a viewer or client.
• Visual hierarchy (size, weight, contrast, placement) guides the eye to what matters first.
• Typography — typeface, size, spacing, alignment — is a core design element.
• Illustration serves a purpose: editorial, book, product, poster, or narrative.
• Design and illustration are problem-solving: audience and message shape every choice.

Focus: In AP Art and Design, making begins with inquiry — asking questions that guide a sustained investigation. (CED Big Idea 1)

• Inquiry is asking questions to find information and drive investigation.
• A sustained investigation is an in-depth, question-driven study of materials, processes, and ideas over time.
• Questions can be simple — who, what, when, where, why, how, what if, and why not.
• Investigation includes perception, curiosity, examination, discovery, imagination, and conversation.
• Questions evolve: early questions lead to new questions as the work develops.

Focus: Artists' and designers' experiences inform why, how, and what they make. (CED 1.A)

• An experience is an event or occurrence — real surroundings, imagined concepts, communication, or research.
• Reflecting on experiences sparks questions and inspires investigation.
• Experiences can be documented with drawings, photos, diagrams, notes, or sound.
• Ideas come from observation, memory, other disciplines, and other artists' work.
• Recording experiences becomes a resource for the sustained investigation.

Focus: Every work is built from three interacting components — materials, processes, and ideas. (CED 1.C)

• Materials are what a work is made of; processes are how it is made; ideas are what it is about.
• These components interact: a material suggests a process; a process shapes an idea.
• Investigating materials, processes, and ideas expands the possibilities for making.
• The components an artist chooses influence how viewers interpret the work.
• Documenting these choices shows the thinking behind the making.

Focus: Works are made and understood within contexts — traditions, cultures, and other disciplines. (CED 1.D)

• Context is when, where, how, why, and by whom a work was made and viewed.
• Artists work within (or challenge) art and design traditions from cultures around the world.
• Comparing works reveals similarities and differences in materials, processes, and ideas.
• Acknowledging references and influences shows integrity.
• Understanding context helps both makers and viewers interpret a work.

Focus: Works can be evaluated by using evidence to compare them with specific criteria. (CED 1.E)

• Evaluation uses visual evidence to judge a work against criteria (as the AP scoring guidelines do).
• Observe carefully: identify materials, processes, and ideas, and how they connect.
• Consider whether the components show synthesis — parts working together for one effect.
• Evaluation can be informal (as you work) or formal (peer critique, feedback).
• Reflecting on evaluation improves later thinking and making.

Focus: Documentation records information and becomes a resource for the sustained investigation. (CED 1.A/1.B)

• Documentation takes many forms: images, notes, diagrams, samples, and written reflection.
• A process journal (sketchbook) records questions, experiments, and revisions over time.
• Documenting your lines of inquiry shows how the investigation developed.
• Good documentation can be shared with viewers and included as part of the work.
• Consistent documentation makes writing the portfolio's written evidence far easier.

Focus: The Sustained Investigation is a body of work exploring one question or idea in depth over time. (CED Big Idea 2)

• A sustained investigation is guided by questions or inquiry and develops as you make.
• It shows practice, experimentation, and revision — not a set of unrelated pieces.
• The 2-D portfolio's Sustained Investigation section is 15 images plus written evidence.
• A clear, focused inquiry gives the whole body of work direction and coherence.
• The investigation can change direction as new questions emerge — and that evolution is valued.

Focus: Making advances through three linked actions — practice, experimentation, and revision. (CED 2.B)

• Practice is repeated work to build skill and understanding.
• Experimentation tries new materials, processes, and ideas to discover possibilities.
• Revision changes a work based on reflection, feedback, or new questions.
• These actions are shown across the body of work, not just in one final piece.
• Evidence of experimentation and revision is exactly what the AP readers look for.

Focus: Strong works show synthesis — materials, processes, and ideas integrated so the whole is more than its parts. (CED 2.C)

• Synthesis means the components combine (coalesce) to create a unified effect.
• The choice of material should support the idea; the process should serve both.
• When components are integrated, viewers read one clear message rather than separate parts.
• Synthesis develops through investigation — trying combinations and keeping what works.
• The relationships among components are what evaluation and scoring examine.

Focus: The portfolio must show 2-D skills — the elements and principles used to organise a two-dimensional surface. (CED 2.D)

• 2-D skills are the use of the elements of art and principles of design on a flat surface.
• Skilful work shows control of value, colour, composition, and mark-making.
• Skills are demonstrated across many works, in a range of materials and processes.
• The Selected Works section (5 works) is where 2-D skills are judged most directly.
• Skill is shown by decisions that are clear, purposeful, and support the idea.

Focus: Craft is the quality of making; composition is the arrangement of the work — both communicate care and intent.

• Craftsmanship is the skilful, controlled handling of materials and processes.
• Composition applies the principles of design to organise the picture plane.
• Purposeful decisions about surface, edges, and finish strengthen a work.
• Craft should serve the idea — sometimes rough or raw handling is the right choice.
• Consistent quality across the body of work signals a developed artist.

Focus: A sustained investigation shows ideas developing — growing and changing across the body of work. (CED 2.B)

• Development is visible when later works build on discoveries in earlier ones.
• New questions, materials, or processes push the investigation forward.
• Not every experiment succeeds — evidence of what did not work is still valuable.
• Documenting the sequence shows the readers a genuine journey of inquiry.
• A body of work with clear development scores higher than a set of finished-but-static pieces.

Focus: The AP exam is a portfolio, not a written test. It has two sections that are submitted digitally. (CED Big Idea 3)

• The Sustained Investigation section: 15 images showing inquiry, practice, experimentation, and revision, plus written evidence.
• The Selected Works section: 5 works that best show your 2-D skills and synthesis, with written information.
• Works may be physical or digital, but all are submitted as digital images (and short video where relevant).
• There is no written exam and no timed section — the portfolio is built across the whole course.
• Both sections are scored against the College Board scoring guidelines.

Focus: The Sustained Investigation is judged on the inquiry and the practice, experimentation, and revision it shows. (CED 3.A/3.B)

• Submit 15 images — works and process documentation that show the investigation over time.
• Provide written evidence: identify the questions that guided the investigation, and describe how the work shows practice, experimentation, and revision.
• Images should tell the story of the inquiry, not just show finished pieces.
• Detail images and in-progress shots are allowed and often helpful.
• Clear writing (within the character limit) makes the investigation easy to follow.

Focus: The Selected Works section shows your best evidence of 2-D skills and synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas. (CED 3.D/3.E)

• Submit 5 works (physical or digital) as high-quality images.
• For each, give the materials, processes, and ideas used, plus the size.
• These works are judged mainly on the skilful use of the elements and principles.
• They do not have to belong to the sustained investigation.
• Choose works that most clearly show control, decision-making, and synthesis.

Focus: Writing communicates your inquiry, processes, and ideas to viewers who cannot ask you questions. (CED 3.A/3.B/3.C)

• Written evidence must fit within the College Board character limits — be concise and specific.
• State the question(s) that guided the sustained investigation clearly.
• Describe how the work shows practice, experimentation, and revision — use evidence.
• For Selected Works, name the materials, processes, and ideas.
• Write plainly; the reader should understand your intent from the words plus the images.

Focus: How work is presented affects how viewers interpret it — image quality is part of the grade. (CED 3.F)

• Photograph work with even lighting, sharp focus, true colour, and no distracting background.
• Crop images to the work; avoid glare, shadows, and keystoning (tilted edges).
• Follow the required file formats and sizes; keep resolution high.
• Consistent, clean presentation lets the readers see the work, not the photograph.
• Poor images can hide real skill — good documentation protects your score.

Focus: Both portfolio sections are scored against published guidelines — knowing them helps you build the portfolio.

• The Sustained Investigation is scored on inquiry and on evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision (and their visual relationships).
• Selected Works are scored on 2-D skills and the synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas.
• Readers use visual evidence in the work plus your writing to apply the criteria.
• Scores use a rubric with described levels; the top levels show clear, sustained, well-integrated evidence.
• Designing your work with the criteria in mind (not to a formula) leads to a stronger portfolio.

Focus: Portfolios must be your own work; using others' work without permission or citation is a serious violation.

• Work based on published or photographic sources you did not take must move far beyond duplication and cite the source.
• Never present another artist's work — or an AI-generated image — as your own.
• Cite influences and references; acknowledging them shows integrity, not weakness.
• The College Board can withhold scores for portfolios that violate integrity policies.
• When in doubt, work from your own photos, observation, and imagination.