Syllabus
What You Should Already Know
This course is the second half of Art Foundations. If you have not taken
Art 41, you may still take this course; however, some of the concepts in
this course will build on things that were taught in Art 41. This course
is designed to benefit students with some previous background in art. If
you have taken Art 41 or another art course before, you should already be
familiar with some of the techniques and terms that are taught, but you
will still have the opportunity to learn more about art and to expand on
your art skills. If you are unsure about your knowledge of art, it may be
assuring for you to know that each new technique is explained in great
detail and has examples for you to learn from. I hope the skills that you
learn and develop during this course will continue to grow after you
complete this course.
Course Outcomes
Once you have successfully completed this course, you should be able to
do the following.
1. Have confidence in the exploration of a variety of materials through
art production.
2. Incorporate the elements and principles of art into your artworks.
3. Distinguish the differences between various twentieth century art
movements through an exploration in art history.
4. Form personal views and definitions for aesthetic issues.
5. Assess and critique your art projects.
What You’ll Need
Other Materials
There isn’t a required textbook for this course. However, there is a list
of art supplies that you are required to purchase. The art supplies can
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ART 43: Art Foundations: 1900 to Present
be purchased at most art or craft stores. You will use these art supplies
to complete the art projects for your art portfolios.
If you are unable to find the art materials you need in a store, you may
also purchase them online at the following Web sites. You can also go to
their home pages and request to have a catalog of their supplies sent to you.
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Dick Blick: http://www.dickblick.com/homepage/a/
Sax Arts and Crafts: http://www.artsupplies.com/
Utrecht: http://www.utrechtart.com/
The list of art supplies is divided into two sections. The first section
is a list of required art materials that you must purchase for this course.
The second section is a list of optional art materials. In this course you
will have the opportunity to experiment and create artworks using different art materials. The nice part is that you will be able to decide which
art materials you would like to use. For example, if you enjoy painting,
you may want to purchase a set of watercolor paints. You will need to
purchase two materials from the optional materials list and to use the
art materials in at least one artwork each. However, if you already own
some of these supplies you will not need to go out and buy new supplies.
You are also welcome to use more than two of the optional art materials.
You must purchase the following required materials:
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a number 2 or HB pencil
drawing paper - 8” x 11” or 8” x 10”
a kneaded or white plastic eraser
a ruler
You must purchase two items from this list of optional materials:
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oil pastels
chalk pastels
colored pencils
crayons
an inexpensive set of watercolor paints
tempera paint
charcoal
black ink
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Syllabus
If there is another type of art supply that you would like to use such as
acrylic paint, oil paint, scratchboard, printmaking, etc., you are welcome
to use it. The list of optional supplies only lists inexpensive and easy to
use art materials. However, if you already own other art materials feel
free to use them. You just need to make sure that all of your artworks
are on 8 by 11-inch or 8 by 10- inch sheets of paper and that you do use
at least two different art materials other than pencil on your art projects
for this course. Also, throughout the course there are some projects that
may require the use of a photocopy machine, a potato (for printmaking),
old magazines, glue sticks, a camera, and a computer. However, the lessons are set up so that you can choose which projects you would like to
complete, so if you do not have access to some of the materials needed
to complete a particular project, you may choose to complete one of the
other projects listed for the lessons instead.
One other thing that you will need when you are creating your artworks
is some grubby clothing or at least an old shirt or apron to wear. Creating
art can be a very messy thing and you do not want to accidentally wreck
your nice clothes. When you are using just a regular pencil it shouldn’t
be too messy, but you will want to cover up if you are working with paint,
charcoal, or pastels.
Below are some quick information and tips about some of the various
art supplies for this course. Hopefully this will help you to decide which
optional materials you would like to try out and will help you to figure
out how to use them.
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Pencils — There is only one type of pencil that you will need for
this course and that is a number 2 pencil or an HB pencil. This is
the standard type of pencil and you can buy it pretty much anywhere; however, you may already have some lying around your
house. There are different drawing pencils that you will also find
in art supply stores, but they are not necessary for this course. The
drawing pencils allow you to create darker or lighter shades without having to press harder or lighter. When drawing with pencils
it is a good idea to put a tissue or piece of paper underneath the
hand that you are using. This will prevent the side of your hand
from getting covered in pencil, and will help prevent your hand
from accidentally smudging your artworks.
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ART 43: Art Foundations: 1900 to Present
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Paper — For this course, you will want to buy some drawing paper.
It is thicker than the average sheet of paper, and it also has a different feel to it. You will want to buy a pad of the paper so that
you have enough for your projects, and extra sheets to practice
on. The majority of your artworks should be completed on white
paper; however, if you want to experiment by creating some artworks on colored paper, you may do so. If you are planning on
using watercolor paints, you may want to buy a couple sheets of
watercolor paper. This type of paper is thicker than other paper,
and will help to make the paper not curl when water is put on it.
Erasers — There are two different types of erasers that you can use
in this course. The first type is a kneaded eraser. They are small
gray erasers that you can bend and shape. The fun thing about
them is that they are self- cleaning, so if they get really dirty you
can just stretch it apart and it will become clean again. Each time
you go to use the eraser, it may be a bit stiff at first, but if you
stretch it apart, it will become easier to manage and use. Kneaded
erasers are great if you are trying to lighten an area, rather than
erase the whole thing. You can just press the eraser lightly on
an area and it will take off a bit of the pencil. If you rub or press
hard on the kneaded eraser, it will erase like a normal eraser. The
other type of eraser is the white plastic eraser. It is used to erase
large amounts of area in a quick amount of time. The edges of the
eraser are also great to use if you want to create a crisp, clear line.
Oil pastels — Oil pastels can be rather messy, and they will smear
a little when you use them. Oil pastels are a mix between crayons
and chalk pastels. It is hard to create details or fine lines with oil
pastels. However, I have found that if you combine oil pastels with
colored pencils, you can get the details you want and still keep
the look of oil pastels. The trick is to fill in an area with oil pastel,
and then blend it with a colored pencil of the same color. A few
of the different brands of oil pastels include Cray-Pas, Colorific,
and Crayola.
Chalk Pastels — Chalk pastels are very soft and blend very well.
Be careful when using them so that they won’t break; however, if
they do break they work just as well; it will just be a bit messier.
When using chalk pastels you can fill in an area and then blend
it with a cotton swab, cotton ball, or even your finger. Once you
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Syllabus
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have created an artwork in chalk pastels, you may want to spray
it with a fixative or hairspray so that it won’t smudge or come
off on your hands. The same is true with some pencil drawings.
Pastels also look nice on colored paper — especially black, because
it brings out the bright colors.
Colored Pencils — There are many different brands of colored
pencils that you can buy, but the less expensive brands like Prang,
Colorific, and Liquitex will work fine for this course. Prismacolor
colored pencils are far more expensive, but they do allow you to
blend the colors together well, and they create a waxy coating over
your artworks that protect them.
Crayons — You can use any type of crayons you like for this course.
You can even use old broken crayons. Although crayons can be
hard to create precise details with, there are other fun things you
can do with them. Since crayons are wax based, they repel water.
One fun thing to try is to draw a picture in crayon and then paint
over it with a watered down tempera paint or watercolor paint.
Wherever you have used crayons will repel the paint, but the blank
areas will be filled in with the new color. Crayons are also great
for layering different colors.
Watercolor Paints — For this course, you will only need an inexpensive set of watercolor paints. The ones in the pans with around
eight colors will work fine. You will also need to buy at least one
paintbrush. You will want to find something inexpensive because
some of the higher quality watercolor brushes can cost as much
as $20 each. When painting with watercolors, it is a good idea
to tape the paper down to the table or other type of flat surface.
This will help to keep the sheet still while you are painting, and
will help the paper to not curl as much. Wait until the painting is
dry before you pull off the masking tape, and pull it off carefully
so that it doesn’t rip the paper. Taping down the paper is also
beneficial because it creates a crisp border around the painting
when you pull the tape off.
Tempera Paint — Tempera paint is what most people have used
at some point during elementary school. Tempera paint can be
purchased as a liquid in bottles or as solid paint in pans like
watercolors. Tempera paint is water based and you can mix it with
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ART 43: Art Foundations: 1900 to Present
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lots of water to make it transparent and more like watercolors or
you can apply it thickly.
Charcoal — Charcoal is one of the messier art materials. It is frequently used for drawings, and drawings of figures. You can use
the edge of a charcoal stick for drawing, or turn it on its side to
fill in large areas. Charcoal also comes in pencil form.
If you are very serious about art and would like to learn more about
the different art materials, how to use them, and fun techniques you can
try with them, you may be interested in purchasing the following book. It
is an excellent reference guide for artists and will help you to learn about
all of the art supplies that are available for artists to use.
Gair, Angela, ed. Artist’s Manual: A Complete Guide to Painting
and Drawing Materials and Techniques. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 1996.
How This Course Works
This course consists of six lessons and a final exam. The following sections will explain how each lesson is set up. The sections also explain
the various types of assignments and projects that you are to complete
during the course.
Lessons
Lessons 1 through 6 provide you with an opportunity to learn the basics
of art. These lessons each have Self Check questions, computer-graded
assignments, and art projects. After the third lesson is your first art
portfolio and after the sixth lesson is your second art portfolio. These
portfolios are your opportunity to turn in your artworks so that both you
and I can see what you have accomplished.
Self-Check Questions
Lessons 1 through 6 each have ten Self Check questions. The questions
are either true/false questions or matching questions. The questions are
designed to help you see how well you remember what you have learned
in the lesson. After you have answered the questions, you can check your
answers.
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Syllabus
Speedback Assignments
The computer-graded assignments are called Speedback assignments.
These assignments are designed to see how well you can apply what you
have learned throughout the course. Each Speedback assignment consists
of ten multiple-choice questions and is worth 6 percent of your course
grade (6 lessons x 6% = 36% of your total grade).
Portfolio Assignments
In the lessons 1 through 6, you are required to complete various art projects. You will not turn in the art projects with each lesson. Do not wait
until the end of the course to complete the art projects. Each project is
based on techniques and concepts that were taught in the lesson. It is
very important that you complete the required art projects before you
proceed to the next lesson. You need to hold on to the first three lessons’
art projects and then turn them in as the first art portfolio after lesson
3. The next three lessons’ art projects will be turned in as the second
art portfolio after lesson 6. Now is a good time to decide where you are
going to keep your art projects so that you have all of them together for
the two portfolios. You may even want to purchase a small manila folder
to keep them together in.
This course has two separate portfolios so that you can receive feedback
on your first three art projects before proceeding to the final three projects. This will allow you to see how you are doing artistically and will let
you know if you need to work on some things or simply keep up the good
work! After lessons 3 and 6, you will turn in your art portfolios. Checklists
will be provided after both lessons so you can see exactly what needs to
be turned in. The portfolios are instructor-graded assignments, and you
must mail them in to the Independent Study office. You need to send in
each portfolio a coversheet provided before each Portfolio Submission.
You will also need to make photocopies of your art projects before you
mail in each portfolio, just in case something happens to them in the mail.
How to Turn In the Portfolio
All instructor-graded assignments mailed to BYU Independent Study
must include a coversheet and all the items listed in the checklist, which
comes before each portfolio submission at the end of lessons 3 and 6.
You may submit any of your assignments by mail to:
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ART 43: Art Foundations: 1900 to Present
BYU Independent Study
120 Morris Center (MORC)
Provo, UT 84602-0300
You cannot fax your portfolio. Your instructor needs your portfolio
in hard-copy format for it to be graded properly.
NOTE: BYU Independent Study is not responsible for items damaged
in the mail.
Format
Each project must be completed on an 8 - x 11- inch or 8- x 10-inch sheet
of paper. This makes it easier for you to mail in to the Independent Study
office, and it will be more convenient for me to grade and mail back to you.
You also need to have a clean border around the projects. The border must
be a minimum of one inch wide. You may alter the size of your artworks
to a minimum of 5 by 5 inches. The smaller artworks still need to be on
8 - by 11-inch or 8- by 10-inch sheets of paper.
There are certain art supplies that you are required to purchase for
this course, and you are also required to choose two of the optional supplies. When you are completing your art projects, you need to make sure
that you are trying out the different art supplies, and that you are not just
using pencil or another type of art supply for all of the projects.
Assessment
Both the first and second art portfolios are worth 15 percent of your course
grade apiece, for a total of 30 percent. There are three lessons with art
projects that will be turned in for each art portfolio; the project(s) for
each lesson are worth 5 percent—or 30 percent total—of the course grade.
In each lesson, you have the opportunity to evaluate yourself on the art
projects. You will assess how well you did by grading yourself on each
project. This is worth 20 percent of the project grade for each lesson. You
will also comment on and defend the grades you have assigned yourself.
These comments are worth 20 percent of the project grade for each lesson.
I will also evaluate your lessons. My assessment of your projects is worth
60 percent of the project grade for each lesson. Each project will have
an Art Project Assessment form attached to it. The forms can be found
through a link with the instructions to each assignment. How you will
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Syllabus
be graded and the criteria that you are graded on will be discussed at
length in lesson 1.
Important Note
It is important that you understand that plagiarism is unacceptable and
will not be tolerated in this course. Plagiarism is claiming someone else’s
work as your own. If you quote work from another author either directly
or through paraphrasing, you must cite your source both in the text as
well as in a bibliography page. Remember, if you quote someone directly,
you must use quotation marks around the text. BYU Independent Study
has provided you with definitions of plagiarism along with a website to
check your work for plagiarism. If you plagiarize any part of a lesson,
appropriate action will be taken which may include the following: rescinding the grade for the lesson, failing the course, or being prohibited from
retaking the course. Please take this information to heart and do your
own work. To check your work before you submit it, use the website www.
scanmyessay.com.
Final Exam
The final exam is worth 34 percent of your course grade. You must pass
the final exam with a score of 60 percent or higher in order to pass this
course. If you fail the final exam, you may retake the exam once. The retake
exam will be an alternate form of the first exam. The retake exam has the
same format but the questions are different. There is a fee to retake the
exam. If you need to retake an exam, contact the Independent Study office.
The final exam consists of forty questions. The exam consists of questions found throughout the course in the Self Check sections and in the
Speedback assignments. There will also be new questions that you have
not seen before. There is a practice final exam that you can take after
you have completed all of your lessons. It will help you to prepare for
the final exam.
My Expectations
Throughout the course, I expect you to perform to the best of your ability.
I hope that you will always try your best on your assignments and
art projects. Although it is important that you learn how to create art
during this course, the course is not designed for only students with
superior art skills to take. The lessons and grading are arranged so that
you can still do well if you work hard and try your best. I do not know
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ART 43: Art Foundations: 1900 to Present
the reasons why you may be taking this course, but I do hope that if you
do not already have a love for art, or confidence in yourself as an artist,
that throughout this course you will realize your potential and explore
your talents as an artist.
Grade Scale
A
94–100
A-
90–93
B+
87–89
B
84–86
B-
80–83
C+
77–79
C
74–76
C-
70–73
D+
67–69
D
64–66
D-
60–63
E (fail)
59 and below
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