# AP Drawing exam guide > A drawing-focused portfolio course scored on sustained investigation and five selected works, with no exam. - Canonical page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-drawing - Markdown source: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-drawing/llms.txt - Exam family: AP exams - Governing body: College Board - Official exam information: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-drawing - Who takes it: Students developing drawing and painting skills who want AP credit, placement, or a documented body of work. - Follows the fall 2026 course and exam description, from 7 May 2027 - Guide structure last checked against official sources: August 30, 2026 ## Overview AP Drawing is a portfolio course centered on drawing skills — mark-making, line quality, surface manipulation, the representation of space and light, and composition — pursued through media including drawing, painting, printmaking, and mixed media. Like the other AP Art and Design courses, it has no end-of-course exam. The portfolio has two components. Sustained Investigation is fifteen images plus typed written responses documenting an inquiry you define and develop through practice, experimentation, and revision, weighted 60%. Selected Works is five works with brief written identification of materials, processes, and ideas, weighted 40%. The distinguishing question in AP Drawing is what your marks are doing. Readers look for decisions about surface, mark, and light that serve an idea, so a portfolio of technically clean but unquestioning renderings usually scores below one that shows genuine investigation. Document everything as you go and let the inquiry evolve on paper. ## Exam format - **Structure:** Two components: Sustained Investigation (15 images plus writing) and Selected Works (5 works plus writing) - **Timing:** No timed exam; work is produced across the course - **Weighting:** Sustained Investigation 60%, Selected Works 40% - **Delivery:** Submitted digitally through the AP Digital Portfolio by College Board's spring deadline; confirm the exact date for your exam year - **Score range:** 1 to 5 ## Scoring Trained AP readers score the uploaded portfolio against published rubrics, weighting Sustained Investigation 60% and Selected Works 40% to produce a score from 1 to 5. There is no multiple-choice or free-response exam, and written responses are scored as evidence alongside the images. ## Portfolio components AP Drawing is organized into 2 portfolio components. Each one below lists its published weighting where the governing body publishes one, the topics it covers, and study tips specific to it. ### 1. Sustained Investigation - Position: 1 of 2 - Published weighting: 60% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-drawing/sustained-investigation Fifteen images document a drawing inquiry driven by your own questions, and may include finished works, studies, and process documentation. Typed responses explain the guiding questions and how practice, experimentation, and revision shaped the work. This component is weighted 60% of the portfolio score. #### Topics - **Inquiry and guiding questions** — A question about subject, method, or material that can sustain fifteen images of real development. - **Mark-making and line quality** — Deliberate variation in mark, pressure, and gesture that produces meaning rather than decoration. - **Light, value, and space** — Building depth and atmosphere through value structure, edge control, and compositional space. - **Experimentation with materials** — Testing surfaces, tools, and media, including results you rejected and why. - **Revision and iteration** — Returning to earlier images with new questions, which readers treat as core evidence. - **Written evidence** — Typed responses that state the inquiry and point to specific images that advanced it. #### Study tips - Photograph work at each stage; drawings change irreversibly and process cannot be recreated later. - Number your images so the sequence tells the story of the investigation, not the calendar. - Write about failed experiments explicitly; rubrics reward evidence of revision, not perfection. - Check documentation for value accuracy, since photographs commonly crush darks in graphite and charcoal. ### 2. Selected Works - Position: 2 of 2 - Published weighting: 40% - Page: https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-drawing/selected-works Five works are submitted with brief written identification of materials, processes, and ideas. They are chosen to show skillful synthesis of technique and concept, and may come from your Sustained Investigation or from other work made during the course. This component is weighted 40%. #### Topics - **Synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas** — Drawings in which the handling of media and the idea reinforce one another. - **Selection strategy** — Choosing five works that each show something different about your control and thinking. - **Written commentary** — Short, specific statements of the materials, processes, and ideas behind each work. - **Documentation fidelity** — Even lighting, square framing, and accurate value and color reproduction of the original. - **Originality and source use** — Working from your own references where possible and citing any source imagery you use. #### Study tips - Photograph all five works in one session under identical lighting for a consistent presentation. - Crop to the artwork itself; visible tape, desks, or hands distract from the work. - Read your commentary aloud and cut anything that merely restates what the image already shows. ## Study strategies - Draw on a fixed schedule rather than in bursts; sustained investigations reward accumulated hours. - Keep a sketchbook of experiments and photograph pages as process documentation. - Calendar backward from College Board's spring deadline with monthly image targets and upload checkpoints. - Get critique from someone unfamiliar with your work and note what they cannot see or understand. - Review the published rubrics at mid-year and identify which criterion your portfolio serves least well. - Test your photography setup early; poor documentation is the most avoidable way to lose points. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does AP Drawing have an exam? No. AP Drawing is scored entirely from the portfolio submitted through the AP Digital Portfolio, with no multiple-choice or free-response exam. ### What media are allowed? Drawing, painting, printmaking, and mixed media all qualify when the work demonstrates drawing skills such as mark-making, line quality, surface, and the representation of light and space. ### How many pieces do I need? Fifteen images for Sustained Investigation, which may include process documentation, plus five works for Selected Works. ### How should I choose a sustained investigation topic? Pick a question you can pursue visually for months and that allows genuine revision. Broad themes work only if you can name specific questions that guide individual works. ### How is AP Drawing scored? Trained AP readers apply published rubrics to the portfolio, weighting Sustained Investigation 60% and Selected Works 40%, yielding a single score from 1 to 5. ## Related exam guides - [AP 2-D Art and Design](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-2d-art-and-design): A portfolio course with no timed exam: build a sustained investigation and five selected works in two dimensions. - [AP 3-D Art and Design](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-3d-art-and-design): Build a three-dimensional portfolio — sustained investigation plus five works shown from multiple views. - [AP Art History](https://www.arcadesacademy.com/exams/ap-art-history): Learn the 250-work image set and the ten content areas that structure the AP Art History exam. ## Independence and trademark notice AP® is a registered trademark of College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this site. Arcade Academy is an independent educational resource. Confirm current portfolio requirements, deadlines, and policies with College Board. AP® is a registered trademark of College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this site. Arcade Academy is an independent educational resource.