23 dec 2025, 10:55am
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what is a grade when you're taking art as a subject?
this year i went through a lot of difficult times working on my igcse art & design project. a few times throughout i considered dropping, one of the reasons being the amount of work, but more importantly, because i felt like my work wasn't good enough.
i've seen and heard most people drop art as a subject because of the workload, or because of a lack of dedication and commitment. however, that's not all there is to it - i've said this before and i'll say it again: it's hard to keep going when your confidence is practically in the dumps.
many times throughout the year i'd look at the pieces i'd done and think to myself, "that looks so bad. i'm definitely gonna get a bad grade for this." and actively compare myself to the work i've seen past seniors, or even people online, do. it was levels beyond what i could achieve. it was the work of years of doing fine art - an aspect of art i just didn't care to do as a hobby. that meant i could only develop my skills as i was working on the project, which isn't the best idea to say the least.
however, over the months after i finished my final exam in september, i've come to realise i don't really care about the grade i'm going to get. and yeah, it might be a privilege to say that. signing up for an exam is not cheap, so saying that might seem careless, but it's not that. sure, keeping my expectations low will help me deal with a bad grade, but it's more than just avoiding confronting the reality of it. what i'm saying is, is a single grade a true reflection of who i am as an artist? does getting b's or c's or even d's say that i'm a "bad" artist?
i'm working on my a level art project now. it's slow progress, but im happy with the pieces i've completed so far. it's a massive improvement from where i left off with my igcse art project, but knowing that i can keep learning and improving is enough for me to keep at this subject. i learnt that there are ways to improve without having to directly paint a picture every day. i used my strengths in sketching from character art or colouring from digital art to apply in traditional painting techniques.
this might seem cliche, but art isn't that straightforward. i might get a low grade now, but who's to say i won't get better in the future? and even if i don't, even if i get the same c in my a levels, in the end i tried my best and did cool art that, even if it wasn't up to a "professional" standard, i still enjoyed making.
yes i wrote paragraphs just to tell u that maybe the real art was the friends we made along the way /j
so yeah. fuck it, im gonna have a hella fun time drawing even if i have to squeeze the last bits of energy out of me. its just part of art to me. if im gonna cry doing the thing my entire purpose is centered around, then im sure as fuck gonna make sure that thing is gonna be cool.
do art. even if you think it's ugly or not worth it. it doesn't have to be illustration. just make something. a website, an essay, a song, a sandwich, i dont know. creating is cool and you should do it too
small edit to add on that ok grades are something when the university you want to go to rejects u cuz u got a d in art and u want to do an art major, but thats not the point i was tryna make here