Experimenting With Media, Materials and Techniques

Trying it more than one way

Strong art is rarely made in a single attempt. AO2 is the assessment objective about experimenting: trying an idea in different media, materials and techniques to discover what works before settling on a final piece. A medium is what you make marks with, such as pencil, ink or paint. A technique is a way of using it, such as blending or layering. By experimenting, recording what happens, and then refining the most promising results, an artist develops an idea rather than just repeating it. This module covers media and techniques, why and how to experiment, and how experimenting leads to refined, developed work.

Media and technique words

Learn these terms before the ideas are described. They name the tools of experimenting and refining.

Match each art term to its meaning

Experimenting against refining

Experimenting and refining are two stages of AO2, and each has its own purpose. A strong project moves from one to the other.

Why experiment with media?

In AO2, why does an artist experiment with different media before making a final piece?

• To find out what works so the best can be refined
• To use up as much time as possible
• To make the sketchbook look messy
• To copy one finished piece exactly

How to experiment well

Good experimentation is purposeful, not random. Take one idea and try it in several different media or techniques, so you can compare them fairly. Do not play safe with only what you already know; taking a risk with an unfamiliar medium often leads somewhere new. Crucially, record what you did and what you learned, because an unannotated experiment teaches the next page nothing. Then choose the most successful results and refine them. Try widely, annotate honestly, then refine the best: that cycle is what moves a project forward and what a moderator rewards in AO2.

Pick the good experiments

Select every practice that makes for strong AO2 experimentation.

• Trying the same idea in several media
• Taking a risk with an unfamiliar technique
• Annotating what worked and what did not
• Only ever using the one medium you know
• Leaving every experiment unexplained

Order experimenting then refining

Put the steps of developing an idea through AO2 in a sensible order.

• Start from an idea or a source
• Try it in several different media and techniques
• Record and annotate what works and what does not
• Choose the most successful results
• Refine and develop the best towards a final piece

Complete the AO2 facts

The materials used to make marks are the _____. A way of using them is a _____. Trying different ones to see what works is _____. Written notes explaining the choices are the _____.

One idea, several media

Imagine a student developing a study of a single leaf. Rather than draw it once and stop, they try it several ways. First a careful pencil study to capture the shape. Then the same leaf in ink, where bold lines lose some detail but gain energy. Then a wash of watercolour, which catches the colour but blurs the edges. Then a torn-paper collage, which simplifies the leaf into shapes. Beside each attempt they write a short note on what that medium gave and what it lost. Looking across the page they can see that the ink and the watercolour together suggest a strong final direction, so those are the ones they refine. That is AO2 working as it should: try widely, judge honestly, then develop the best.

Tap the drawing media

Tap the TWO items that are media an artist makes marks with.

• charcoal
• ink
• a moderator
• a deadline

The media and techniques run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Advise in the studio

Read each situation and choose the best advice.

• A student has drawn their idea once, in pencil, and wants to move to a final piece. What should they do first?
• A page is full of experiments but has no writing at all. What is missing?
• After trying an idea in four media, a student must decide what to do next. What is the best move?

Build a point about experimenting

Choose the word for each gap to complete one clear point about AO2.

Explain experimenting with media

A friend thinks the best way to make art is to draw an idea once and call it finished. Using what you have learned, explain how experimenting with media leads to stronger, refined work.

• Explain what media and techniques are
• Explain why an artist experiments rather than making one attempt
• Explain how annotation helps
• Explain how experimenting leads to refining a final piece