WASSCE SHS
A drawing from observation records what is in front of you. Proportion, the direction of the light, and perspective are the checks a marker can see.
Proportion is the size of one part against another. In a figure, the head is a useful unit: how many heads tall the body is, and how wide the shoulders are beside the head. In a still life, the bottle must not tower over the table it stands on unless that is what you see. Measure with the pencil at arm's length if that helps, then draw the relationship, not a remembered shape.
Light gives form. The side facing the light is lighter. The far side is darker. A cast shadow falls on the surface the object stands on, away from the light. Light from the left throws the shadow to the right. That shadow is not the same mark as the shading on the object. Perspective places the object in space. One point perspective uses one vanishing point, for a view straight on. Two point perspective uses two vanishing points, for a corner. Lines that are parallel in the room converge towards those points. They do not stay parallel on the page if they recede.
The Visual Arts tips guide sets out the papers, how to answer a theme, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE Visual Arts tips
A cast shadow and shading on the object are different marks. Say where the light is before you place the shadow. Proportion needs a comparison, not the word accurate. One vanishing point is not two. If the question shows a corner of a box, two point perspective is the one to name. Do not claim a measurement you did not take.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
2 marks
A bottle is lit from the left. State where the cast shadow falls, and why. (2 marks)
The cast shadow falls on the table to the right of the bottle, because the light is coming from the left and the shadow is thrown away from it.
2 marks
State two proportion checks in a figure drawing. (2 marks)
Compare the height of the body with the height of the head. Compare the width of the shoulders with the width of the head.
4 marks
Explain the difference between one point perspective and two point perspective. (4 marks)
One point perspective has a single vanishing point. It suits a view straight on, such as a road or a corridor. Two point perspective has two vanishing points. It suits a corner, where two sides of the object recede.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Visual Arts freeOn the surface the object stands on, away from the light. Light from the left throws it to the right. Shading on the object itself is a separate mark.
When you can see a corner and two sides receding. Each side aims at its own vanishing point. A view straight down a corridor uses one vanishing point. All WASSCE Visual Arts past questions