An explanation of the IGCSE Art and Design syllabus in simple terms
If you're beyond confused after skimming through the Cambridge IGCSE Art and Design syllabus, don't worry, I don't think they understand it themselves. Although the syllabus and its requirements may seem daunting at first, it's actually a very simple structure that can be broken down into basic elements.
There are a total of two components that have to be submitted by the end of 10th grade.
Component 1
Ideal Time allocation : Start of 9th grade - a few months into the 10th grade
(I say ideal because you can work on this component until the day you have to submit it at the end of the 10th grade; however, it's advisable that you focus on component two then.)
Topic: You're free to choose your own! Make sure to choose one that isn't too specific, so you can explore ideas and experiment with it. For example, mine was basically Theatre, although i had to change the title to 'Broadway Street' to make it catchy.
Amount of work : a maximum of 8 A2 sheet sides ( 4 pages ).
Component one can be broken down into 3 broad categories:
First Hand Studies
Artist references
Compositions
1. First Hand References
This refers to studies and sketches that you've made, taking reference from your immediate surroundings. It may be live studies, or copies of photographs that you've taken. So if your topic is " In the Kitchen," you would make drawings of objects and arrangements found in your kitchen rather than referring to a stock photo of a chef in Paris. You might make a charcoal study of a teapot, or a pencil sketch of the inside of your spice cabinet.
You will be making several first hands, so it's okay to use a few pictures from the internet, books, magazines, etc. to use as a reference.
Mediums: I'll elaborate on the idea of exploration and mediums later, but dry mediums are recommended for first hands as it speeds up the process.
Some dry mediums:
Willow Charcoal sticks
Graphite Pencils
Soft pastels
Colour pencils
Oil pastels
Black fine liners
This is a sample first hand for the topic " Peeled Away."
Medium: water soluble colour-pencils on watercolour paper
This piece is fairly large, but your first hands can be of any size.
2. Second Hand References
This refers to Artist references-you need about 5 artists whose art you will include in your component. To choose an artist, you must be able to connect their work with your topic. This can be in terms of:
Colour- their art may have a colour scheme that appeals to you. For example, the light pink and green tones in Renoir's Jeanne Samary ( left) enhances the soft expression on the subject's face, and creates a dreamy atmosphere. This feeling can be used in your art.
Texture- you might want to employ certain textures, such as the impasto technique. Find a reason why you want to use this particular technique in your art- maybe it emphasises/highlights something, or maybe it adds depth.
Subject- The subject could be directly related to your topic. For example, i used this piece as a reference because it's a portrait of an actress, so it fit with my topic.
more examples:
3. Compositions
To put it very very simply, these are mash-ups of artist references and first hands. You have to compose your own art, applying the techniques that you picked up from your chosen artists. You can now include those colours, textures, and possibly even subjects to your own compositions.
4. Final Piece
This is just like a regular composition, except that it has to summarise your entire component and will be worth 25% of your grade. Your final piece for component one isn't necessarily made under exam conditions. I made mine at home, at 12 in the morning.
Component 2
Time allocation: You get a list of topics, conjured by Cambridge, to choose from. This usually arrives around October, by when you should have wrapped up component 1. You start working on component 2 ASAP.
Topic: The board provides a list of topics to choose from. For example, "Peeled Away," "By the Pool," " Decay and Decomposition."
Amount of work: a maximum of 4 A2 sheet sides ( 2 pages ).
Component 2 follows the same pattern as component 1, except you have fewer pages to fill. The final outcome will be made during your IGCSE board exams in Feb.
"Exploration"
Possibly the most annoying word, in this context it means exploring mediums. Using different mediums means using different surfaces to make art on, and different tools to make the art with.
Surfaces can include:
Newspaper
textured paper/ watercolour paper
magazine pages
Cardboard
Canvas
coloured sheets
Panels
Plastic covers
apart from the dry mediums mentioned above, you can use:
Oil paints
Watercolours
Acrylics
Gouache paints ( slightly thicker than watercolours)
Poster colours ( honestly don't know the difference between these and gouache )
Using a range of mediums shows the examiner that you're skilled at using a variety of paints/ dry mediums/ surfaces and that you've made an effort to explore different techniques.
It's also beneficial if a few pieces use more than one medium - maybe a combination of acrylics and colour pencils.
I painted this using acrylics on a paper covered with newspaper and coated with glue. The words and jagged edges of the newspaper are clearly visible, which i thought added a rustic touch to the already battered blue box and rusty lock.
I painted this using acrylics on a magazine page. I tore the page from an Autocar magazine, and i decided to use it because of the muted cocoa colour of the car seats. The glossy pages helped the colours pop and also helped me achieve the texture i wanted.
Planning
This is an example page that i assembled for the topic " Peeled Away."
I stuffed all my pieces together, but there should be some space left to write about your piece.