Advanced Drawing homeschool curriculum.
Your student practices observation, composition, and value, then uses critique and revision to develop a portfolio.
A personalized lesson from the course
A drawing records more than an object's outline; pressure, speed, erasure, and value reveal how the artist is looking and deciding.
- Lesson
- The Line Remembers the Hand
- Goal
- Use repeated observation and materially different studies to connect mark-making to a developing visual claim.
How a lesson works
A 9-minute reading
This example lesson comes from the unit on observation, mark, value, and sustained inquiry. It moves from “Observation is selective” to “Variation reveals the inquiry” and builds to one idea: a line is not just a border around a thing; it is evidence of what the artist chose to notice.
Help inside the reading
Your child can highlight any line of “The Line Remembers the Hand” and ask our Always-On Mentor about it or ask for a visual, and it offers help on its own whenever they seem stuck.
A check halfway through
Your child answers “How can a distorted drawing still be evidence of careful observation?” before reading on, and the Reading Check at the end asks new questions.
A project your child hands in
Draw one observed subject through direct observation, memory, distortion, and a changed surface.
- Task
- Use the series to argue what changed and what stayed visually essential
- Hand in
- Four-drawing study sheet with process notes and a 150-word visual analysis
Build the portfolio as the work develops
The portfolio includes observational studies, experiments, critique, and revisions, so you can see how the work develops alongside the finished drawings. Advanced Drawing runs through 19 units and 95 skills, starting with inquiry and sustained investigation, line and mark making, and light and value.
- Studies that make technical growth visible
- Critique notes and materially different revisions
- A selected portfolio with concise written evidence
The AP portfolio has two sections
- Sustained Investigation60% of AP score
- 15 digital images, with written evidence explaining the inquiry, experimentation, and revisions.
- Selected Works40% of AP score
- 5 digital images of 5 artworks, with written descriptions of ideas, materials, and processes.
Units and skills
Advanced Drawing19 units · 95 skills
Inquiry and sustained investigation5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Inquiry and sustained investigation
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Inquiry and sustained investigation
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Inquiry and sustained investigation
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Inquiry and sustained investigation
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Inquiry and sustained investigation
Line and mark making5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Line and mark making
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Line and mark making
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Line and mark making
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Line and mark making
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Line and mark making
Light and value5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Light and value
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Light and value
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Light and value
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Light and value
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Light and value
Composition and spatial illusion5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Composition and spatial illusion
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Composition and spatial illusion
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Composition and spatial illusion
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Composition and spatial illusion
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Composition and spatial illusion
Observation and representation5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Observation and representation
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Observation and representation
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Observation and representation
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Observation and representation
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Observation and representation
Abstraction and expression5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Abstraction and expression
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Abstraction and expression
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Abstraction and expression
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Abstraction and expression
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Abstraction and expression
Media and surfaces5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Media and surfaces
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Media and surfaces
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Media and surfaces
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Media and surfaces
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Media and surfaces
Iteration and experimentation5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Iteration and experimentation
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Iteration and experimentation
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Iteration and experimentation
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Iteration and experimentation
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Iteration and experimentation
Critique and revision5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Critique and revision
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Critique and revision
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Critique and revision
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Critique and revision
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Critique and revision
Written evidence5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Written evidence
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Written evidence
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Written evidence
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Written evidence
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Written evidence
Selected works5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Selected works
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Selected works
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Selected works
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Selected works
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Selected works
Portfolio presentation5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Portfolio presentation
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Portfolio presentation
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Portfolio presentation
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Portfolio presentation
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Portfolio presentation
Sustained artifact development5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Sustained artifact development
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Sustained artifact development
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Sustained artifact development
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Sustained artifact development
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Sustained artifact development
Selection, reflection, and presentation5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Selection, reflection, and presentation
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Selection, reflection, and presentation
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Selection, reflection, and presentation
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Selection, reflection, and presentation
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Selection, reflection, and presentation
Formal visual analysis5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Formal visual analysis
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Formal visual analysis
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Formal visual analysis
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Formal visual analysis
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Formal visual analysis
Context, purpose, and audience5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Context, purpose, and audience
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Context, purpose, and audience
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Context, purpose, and audience
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Context, purpose, and audience
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Context, purpose, and audience
Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Advanced Drawing cumulative assessment
Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Advanced Drawing exam-mode practice
Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer5 skills
- Analyze formal choices and relationships in Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer
- Explain how context, purpose, and audience shape Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer
- Develop and test an original inquiry through Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer
- Document experimentation, critique, and revision in Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer
- Select, justify, and present evidence of mastery in Advanced Drawing reflection and transfer
Questions parents ask
How does Advanced Drawing prepare my student for AP Drawing?
- Advanced Drawing follows the AP Drawing framework unit by unit, as its skill tree shows. Your teen explains and applies the ideas in written responses and projects, so the work shows which skills are secure and which need more practice.
How does my child submit an AP art portfolio?
- Your child submits through AP Digital Portfolio with coordinator-arranged access, following the AP coordinator’s earlier deadline and AP’s May deadline. Upload images and written evidence; mark all three components final: Sustained Investigation Images, Sustained Investigation Written Evidence, and Selected Works.
How do I find a school that tests homeschoolers?
- Search College Board’s AP Course Ledger by city or state and the exam subject. Call nearby schools, ask for the AP coordinator, and ask whether they accept homeschooled students this year. Start early: each AP-authorized host school sets its own deadlines and outside-student policies.
Which course title goes on a homeschool transcript?
- Advanced Drawing, not AP Drawing. The AP designation requires College Board Course Audit authorization of the course, which framework alignment does not give. We generate the transcript with that title, ready for you to sign as homeschool administrator.
How can AP scores earn college credit?
- Colleges award credit under their own AP score policies. College Board reports scores on a 1–5 scale, separately from our coursework grades; check the college’s required score and whether it grants credit, placement, or both.
Advanced Drawing, with the teaching and records handled
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