Art 1A

EC21133

Course Description

Art 1A has been created to provide the beginning knowledge and skills necessary to appreciate, evaluate, and create works of art. Components include commentaries, activities, and assignments that involve simple execution of artwork, writing, and reading. These introduce students to some of the significant periods and styles of art, the elements and principles of design of art, the creative thought processes, media, tools, and applications used by past and present-day artists.

Note: Those of you who are familiar with the previous syllabus for this course may have perceived an increase in the number of Graded Assignments in the course. However, assignments were not actually added to the course. Instead, in the interest of making them more understandable, longer assignments were split into smaller, more manageable ones to ensure that the Sketchpad activities were submitted before the Graded Assignments. This allows the students to have feedback from the instructor on their work before moving on to the Graded Assignment. Therefore, this course actually has the same amount of work as before, but the newly improved format helps the students to complete the work correctly, and to achieve a better grade in the course.

Required Course Materials

Course Organization

Objectives. The objectives for each lesson will help you focus your efforts. They indicate the concepts and skills you must understand or master when you complete the lesson.

Reading Assignments. Each lesson specifies the selections that must be read.

Commentaries. The Commentary on the Instruction page of each lesson provides key terms and concepts that give you background for the lesson.

Activities. These activities help to build your knowledge and skills and to identify your specific strengths and weaknesses. Some activities direct you to Internet sites with supplemental material for the lesson. All activities prepare you for the graded assignments and for mastering course materials.

Graded Assignments. Each assignment provides information about how your work will be assessed and how credit will be given for your responses. Most assignments will be submitted online and graded by your instructor. Some assignments will be computer-graded. The average of your assignments counts as 75 percent of your course grade. The Final Examination counts as the other 25 percent. You can apply to take the Final Exam after 100 percent of your graded assignments have been submitted, and at least 70 percent have been graded and returned to you.

Final Examination

The final examination is comprehensive; it covers the material from all of the lessons. To pass the course, you must receive a grade of 70 percent or better.

Format: Multiple-choice, short-answer, essay, and drawing, online
Time Allowed: 3 hours
Students must bring the following items to the final exam:

  • Five or more sheets of drawing paper, 11” x 14” in size
  • A soft drawing pencil
  • A hard drawing pencil
  • A pencil sharpener
  • A black ink pen
  • A ruler
  • An eraser
  • Colored pencils
  • Colored markers
  • A 12” x 15” envelope
  • Two 11” x 14” pieces of cardboard (to protect onsite artwork in the mail)
  • Two #2 pencils

Course Outline

Total Number of Lessons: 4

Total Number of Activities: 11

Total Number of Graded Assignments: 18 (See note in the Course Description.)

Instructor Graded (Online submission): 18

Computer Graded: 0

Lesson 1: The Impulse Behind Art

Activity 1: Reading and Commentary Review

Lesson 2: The Elements of Art

Activity 1: Identifying Color Categories, Values and Intensities

Activity 2: Multiple-Choice Review

Activity 3: Line and Eye Focus Identification

Activity 4: Identifying Positive vs. Negative Space

Activity 5: Thinking about Space

Lesson 3: Principles of Design

Activity 1: Understanding Design Principles

Activity 2: Design Analysis Checklist

Lesson 4: Two-Dimensional Art

Activity 1: Two-Dimensional Art Mini-Review

Activity 2: Methods and Processes

Activity 3: Linear Perspective