Part 1: Sharing tips on Media and Techniques - Painting and related media (Art & Design IGCSE 0400)

Hello!

Thank you for visiting my art blog. I received quite several emails regarding your feedback and concerns about Art & Design IGCSE 0400. Thank you for the positive feedback. I am glad that this blog helps you and your students in preparing the work for the exam.

Today, I want to share tips on media and techniques used by referring to my former students' work.

If you have any questions, you can share them at the chatbox (at your right), or you can email me at missfeeda@artandfeeda.net

Some of the samples here were from the old syllabus of 0400. However, you can refer to the technique and media used here for the current syllabus. Would you please not confuse the numbers of the studies at each prep presented here?

Each prep presented here were from a different student with a different topic/theme.

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Looking at the above studies, we can see that some of the work focuses on the primary art technique: pencil drawing. You can also paint lightly with watercolour on the surface, wait until it is dry, and then you can explore a pen drawing on it. As for the bare mixed media surface, you can use recycled paper to draw or paint over it. 

The above studies involved mixed media using Chinese Ink, watercolour paint, and the texture detail emphasised with coloured pencils. You can plan with your student to make some creative arrangements in colour-mode by highlighting certain areas with colours and around them. You can remain the black and white technique or monochromatic colours exploration. 

For the above media exploration, you can see that the studies involved various papers as the studies surface. You can see graph paper, recycle thin board, newspaper and brown paper. There was various exploration with dry media (pencils, charcoal pencils, and coloured pencils) for the media applied up there. The wet media was poster paint, watercoloured paint, and Chinese Ink. You can guide your students to do smaller studies or enlarge some studies and explore various media on it. 

The media used in the above studies was Chinese Ink, watercolour paint, dry media, pencils, black pen and colour pencils. There was a small highlight with acrylic paint as well. Guide your students to plan the layout as not all the subject matter studies are in a box (square/rectangle) style. Some can be frameless exploration. 

 The studies above were quite 'heavy' in getting the water effects as close as to the subject matter pictures. The student used acrylic paint, and the tips for this technique are close to Impressionism art and as well as you always have to step back or distance yourself from time to time to get the right impact as you refer to the picture. The outcome from rough strokes are meant to see from far. At the side of the studies, you can see a separation between dry media on 2 different types of surfaces. Black and white background with pencils and pen studies on it. For the top right side studies, I suggested emphasising the glass with colours, and the model will remain in a black and white Chinese Ink exploration. 

Here are the various flower studies using different paint exploration. If you have a limited type of paint, you can always mix or focus on a kind of paint as realistic as you could observe and apply to your subject matter picture. Above was the combination of watercolour and poster paint. According to the object colours, you can paint some of the backgrounds with dark colours for the lighter objects to stand out. 

As for the above media exploration and arrangement, there was a combination of thick paint, detail with pen and coloured pencils, and the light line exploration at the back was white charcoal/coloured pencils on a black surface. For the bottom combination, there was a mixture of watercolour paint and poster paint exploration on it. You can always discuss and plan with your students on media suggestions on each area before applying them on the paper/prep. 

The cat and some of the cat's close up exploration above involved a thick white emulsion surface on a recycled thick brown board, and the huge cat's background study was a Chinese ink experiment. You could see the Contour Line studies, Texture - for fur exploration and investigation, not to forget the watercolour paint used on this piece. 

The above planning is suitable for a neat and 'perfectionist' student. You can guide them in this method - arrange the subject matter neatly in a box/frame. There was a soft pastel exploration in this prep. Watercolour paint, poster paint, oil pastel on a white emulsion experiment, pencil and charcoal pencil studies. Also, there was a study on brown paper - a light exploration with watercolour paint and ink on it. 

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I hope my sharing helps you in guiding your students for the exam. 

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Thank you again for exploring my art blog here. I truly appreciate it. 

If you have any questions, do email me at 

missfeeda@artandfeeda.net

or you can DM me at Instagram

@artandfeeda

Best Wishes and stay safe.

- Ms Feeda