Studio Art Digital Submission
- How Digital Submission Works
- Stage 1: Setting Up Access
- Stage 2: Working on Your Portfolio
- Stage 3: Submitting Your Completed Portfolio
- Technical Requirements
Beginning this school year, the College Board will implement a digital, Web-based submission process for the three AP Studio Art portfolios. For the May 2009 exam administration, artworks for Studio Art portfolio sections that have traditionally required slides will now be submitted as digital images.
Please note that changing from slides to digital submission will not change any of the content requirements for the portfolios. The Quality section for the Drawing and 2-D Design portfolios will still require you to submit actual artworks, and the number of images required for all sections will remain the same.
How Digital Submission Works
In the spring of 2009, you will use the AP Studio Art Digital Submission Web application to prepare and submit your portfolio. The Web application will enable you to:
- Upload digital images of your artworks in the portfolio sections that require images
- Add written commentary where required
- See your work as it will appear to the evaluators
- Work on the sections of your portfolio(s) in any order, save your work, and return later to make additions or changes
- Formally submit your portfolio when it is complete
To see a preview of the Web application, including screenshots of a student home page and portfolio work area, download A Preview of the AP Studio Art Digital Submission Web Application (.pdf/224K).
Your AP Studio Art teacher and the AP Coordinator at your school will also have access to the Web application and should work with you throughout the school year to help you prepare your digital images and arrange your portfolio.
Stage 1: Setting Up Access
By sometime in February, you should receive an email from your teacher with the information required for you to set up your access to the Web application. Once you receive this email, setting up your access is a quick, easy process during which you will:
- Designate a username and password
- Identify your teacher and school
- Specify which portfolio type(s) you will be submitting
Students who are homeschooled or otherwise not submitting through an AP Studio Art teacher: You will be working with the AP Coordinator at the school you are associated with. The AP Coordinator will send you the access email mentioned above and can review your portfolio the same way a teacher would. If you are homeschooled and haven't yet signed up to take an AP Exam, visit Registering to learn how to locate an AP Coordinator in your area.
Stage 2: Working on Your Portfolio
After completing the setup, you will be able to sign in with your username and password. Your home page will include information and instructions about the portfolio you are currently working on and will allow you to easily navigate to the work area for each section of your portfolio. As soon as you have your first digital images available, you can begin uploading them. You will be able to rearrange the images as you work on the portfolio sections.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- File requirements: Please be sure that your image files meet the file format and file size requirements listed below.
- Adding written commentary: In addition to images, the Concentration section also requires a concise written commentary describing what your concentration is and how it evolved. Clicking the Commentary button will display the questions and boxes for you to type your responses. When preparing your commentary, keep in mind that the application has a built-in character limit for the responses to each of the two commentary questions:
- What is the central idea of your concentration? (500 characters maximum)
- How does the work in your concentration demonstrate the exploration of your idea? When referencing specific images, please indicate the image numbers. (1350 characters maximum)
- Making changes to your portfolio: You will be able to work on the sections of your portfolio in any order, save your work, and return to it to make additions or changes at any time before formally submitting your portfolio.
- What your teacher can see: While your portfolio is in progress, your teacher (and/or AP Coordinator) will be able to view your work when accessing the Web application, but they will not be able to make any changes to your portfolio.
Stage 3: Submitting Your Completed Portfolio
After you have completed all work on your portfolio, your final step is to formally submit your portfolio to your AP Studio Art teacher by clicking the Forward Portfolio to Teacher button in the left navigation column. (If you are homeschooled or otherwise not submitting through an AP Studio Art teacher, you will forward your portfolio to the AP Coordinator you are working with.)
Your teacher (or AP Coordinator) will have the option to review your submitted portfolio to ensure that it is complete and accurately presented, and then will either:
- Forward it on for final submission to the AP Program.
- Return the portfolio to you if he or she has recommendations for further action. Whether you make changes or choose to keep your portfolio as is, you will need to resubmit your portfolio to your teacher (or AP Coordinator).
After you submit your completed digital portfolio, you can sign in to the Web application later to see your portfolio's status and monitor its progress in the digital submission process.
Students submitting a Drawing or 2-D Design portfolio: Section I: Quality will not be completed using the Web application. This section will require you to submit five actual artworks in addition to your digital submission. Your teacher or AP Coordinator will provide materials and instructions for labeling and packaging your artworks in the spring. (The 3-D Design portfolio consists solely of digital images.)
Technical Requirements
If you will be accessing the Web application from a computer outside of school, please note the required operating systems and browsers listed below. You won't be restricted to specific hardware configurations, though you may experience slower response times when using older computer hardware.
Software Requirements
- Your operating system must be one of the following:
- Windows XP (Home or Professional)
- Windows Vista (Home, Business, Premium, or Ultimate)
- Mac OS (10.4 or higher)
- Your Web browser must be one of the following:
- Internet Explorer (6.0 or higher)
- Firefox (2.0 or higher)
- Safari (2.0 or higher)
- File format: All images must be submitted in JPEG format (file name extension .jpg).
- Image size: The image sizes below are recommendations. Your image sizes may be different.
- Landscape orientation:
- Recommended maximum size: 780 × 530 pixels (10.83 × 7.36 inches)
- Recommended minimum size: 480 × 480 pixels (6.67 × 6.67 inches)
- Portrait orientation:
- Recommended maximum size: 530 × 780 pixels (7.36 × 10.83 inches)
- Recommended minimum size: 480 × 480 pixels (6.67 × 6.67 inches)
- Landscape orientation:
- Maximum file size: 3.0 MB per image
- Drawing portfolio: Based on the maximum file size of 3.0 MB and a total of 24 digital images, each student would need a maximum of 72 MB of free disk space.
- 2-D Design portfolio: Based on the maximum file size of 3.0 MB and a total of 24 digital images, each student would need a maximum of 72 MB of free disk space.
- 3-D Design portfolio: Based on the maximum file size of 3.0 MB and a total of 38 digital images, each student would need a maximum of 114 MB of free disk space.
Requirements for Digital Images
Free Disk Space
