Visual Arts
G3N tutors you through the full International Visual Arts syllabus offline — from Exploring colour: primary and secondary colours through mixing, Basic mark-making: lines, dots, shapes, Texture: feeling and representing rough, smooth, soft, hard and more — with adaptive lessons, instant quizzes, flashcards and exam-ready summaries.
Syllabus
What you’ll cover in Visual Arts.
The complete topic outline G3N teaches, mapped to the International curriculum.
Phase 1 (KG)
10 topicsExploring colour: primary and secondary colours through mixing
Basic mark-making: lines, dots, shapes
Texture: feeling and representing rough, smooth, soft, hard
2D art-making: drawing and painting self-portraits
3D art-making: modelling with clay and playdough
Collage: tearing, cutting, and arranging materials
Responding to art: talking about what you see and feel
Art from everyday life: patterns in nature and the environment
Simple printmaking: hand and sponge prints
Art and stories: illustrating narratives
Phase 2 (Grades 1-2)
10 topicsFormal elements: line, shape, colour, space, texture
Colour mixing: tints (adding white) and shades (adding black)
Drawing from observation: still life and nature
Painting techniques: wash, blending, layering
Art of different cultures: mask-making, textile patterns
Printmaking: monoprints and block prints
3D sculpture: wire, recycled materials, cardboard
Responding to artists: describing and comparing artworks
Introduction to art history: cave paintings, ancient art
Creating art that expresses emotion and imagination
Phase 3 (Grades 3-4)
11 topicsFormal qualities in depth: proportion, balance, rhythm in art
Perspective: horizon line, vanishing point, overlapping
Drawing techniques: cross-hatching, stippling, contour lines
Printmaking: relief printing (linocut, collagraph)
Painting: watercolour and acrylic techniques
Textiles and fibre arts: weaving and dyeing
Photography: composition and framing basics
Art movements: Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism
Comparing art across cultures (African masks, Aboriginal dot painting, Japanese woodblock)
Artist study: researching and responding to an artist's work
Portfolio development: selecting and reflecting on own work
Phase 4 (Grades 5-6)
11 topicsConceptual art-making: art driven by ideas and themes
Advanced drawing: foreshortening, figure drawing
Mixed media: combining materials, processes, and techniques
Digital art: introduction to image editing and digital drawing
Photography and film: communicating a message through images
Sculpture and installation: 3D work in response to a concept
Cultural and historical contexts: Modernism and contemporary art
Art for social purposes: protest art, public murals, community art
Comparative study: analysing and comparing two or more artworks
Artist's statement: articulating the intent and meaning of own work
Exhibition preparation: curation, presentation, and display of artwork
MYP 1 (Grade 6)
10 topicsArt as communication: how images convey meaning
Formal elements: line, shape, form, colour, value, space, texture
Drawing from observation and imagination
Introduction to colour theory: hue, saturation, value
Exploring a range of media: pencil, ink, watercolour, collage
Art history: Ancient Egyptian and Greek art
Responding to art: describing, analysing, interpreting, judging
Sketchbook as a tool for investigation and development
Simple printmaking: relief and stencil
Introduction to design process: inquire, plan, create, evaluate
MYP 2 (Grade 7)
10 topicsConceptual thinking: art driven by questions and ideas
Advanced colour theory: complementary colours, colour schemes
Perspective drawing: one-point and two-point perspective
Cultural contexts: art from Africa, the Americas, and Asia
Painting techniques: acrylic, gouache
Photography: composition, lighting, and editing
Sculpture: additive and subtractive methods
Art and identity: how artists express personal and cultural identity
Process portfolio: documenting experimentation and reflection
Peer critique: giving and receiving feedback constructively
MYP 3 (Grade 8)
10 topicsHistorical contexts: Renaissance to Modernism
Contemporary art: installation, performance, new media
Typography and graphic design as visual art
Mixed media and experimental processes
Environmental art and sustainability themes
Printmaking: etching, screen printing
Figure drawing and the human form in art history
Art and society: propaganda, advertising, social commentary
Research and reflection: contextualising own practice
Exhibition planning: curation and artist's statement
MYP 4-5 (Grades 9-10)
12 topicsDeveloping a sustained personal inquiry
Formal qualities: compositional strategies and art principles
Conceptual qualities: communicating complex ideas through art
Cultural contexts in depth: indigenous and diaspora art practices
Historical contexts in depth: Post-Modernism, Dada, Expressionism
Functions and purposes of art across contexts
Advanced techniques in chosen medium
Digital and new media arts: video, animation, interactive art
Comparative study: in-depth cross-cultural analysis
Process portfolio: iterative development documented and reflected upon
Exhibition: curating and presenting a cohesive body of work
Preparing for DP assessment frameworks
Comparative analysis of artworks
10 topicsSelecting artworks and artists from contrasting cultural or historical contexts
Formal qualities analysis: composition, line, colour, form, space, texture
Conceptual qualities: ideas, themes, and meanings communicated
Cultural contexts: the role of culture in shaping artistic production
Historical contexts: how time period influences style and purpose
Functions and purposes: religious, political, aesthetic, social
Citing and referencing sources using appropriate conventions
Structuring a comparative argument with evidence
Producing a written analysis with integrated visual evidence
(HL) Extended comparative study: additional artworks and deeper contextual analysis
Sustained studio practice (portfolio)
11 topicsSustained artistic inquiry: developing a personal theme or concept
Experimentation with materials, techniques, and processes
Formal qualities in practice: deliberate compositional choices
Conceptual development: evolving ideas across the portfolio
Cultural and historical influences on own practice
Documentation of process: annotations, reflections, critical evaluation
Responding to influences: artists, movements, and cultural sources
Technical skill development in chosen medium (drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, digital, photography)
Risk-taking and creative problem-solving
Selecting and editing work for coherence and progression
(HL) Increased volume of work across a greater range of processes
Curated exhibition of resolved work
10 topicsCurating a cohesive body of resolved artworks
Demonstrating formal qualities: mastery of compositional elements
Communicating conceptual qualities: clear artistic intent
Connecting work to cultural contexts
Connecting work to historical contexts
Articulating functions and purposes of the exhibited works
Writing a curatorial rationale: artist's statement for the exhibition
Presentation and display: title, layout, labelling, audience experience
Reflection on the development from process portfolio to exhibition
(HL) Extended exhibition: greater number of artworks; deeper curatorial justification
How G3N helps
Turn this syllabus into a pass.
Concept-led learning
Lessons that match inquiry-based, conceptual international curricula rather than rote answers.
Practice on demand
Generate quizzes for any unit and review marked answers with explanations.
Summarise anything
Turn dense readings into clear, structured study notes in seconds.
Master Visual Arts, offline.
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