Explore Visual Arts processes and conventions to inform own art making
This is a Level 1 Art History/Visual Arts standard worth 5 credits. It is assessed externally, meaning NZQA (not your teacher) makes the final call on your grade. You submit a portfolio — up to 8 pages of A3 work — that shows how you experiment with art-making processes, materials, and techniques to develop an idea or intention. Think of it as showing your working: sketches, tests, mock-ups, small studies, and experiments that show how your thinking evolved, rather than just handing in a finished artwork.
You try out processes, materials, and techniques and produce some work that responds to a theme. You might have a few compositional sketches or tests, but the connection between pages is loose and the work doesn't show much development or exploration of further possibilities.
You experiment with a range of materials and processes, then apply what you learn in small studies. Your pages are connected through colour, subject, or approach, and you use mock-ups or sketches to show options for where your work could go next. The evidence clearly supports and advances your art-making intention.
You refine your processes and techniques through repeated attempts, making clear links between your thematic and stylistic ideas across all pages. You consistently show next steps — thumbnail sketches and plans before executing, and a focused progression from early experiments right through to a refined intention. Your portfolio reads as a coherent journey, not a collection of separate tasks.
Standards typically taken alongside or after this one. Same subject, grouped by level.