IB Visual arts artist project (HL): structure and steps

Some details on this page are still being checked against the IB guide.

At a glance

The structure, section by section

1. Project proposal

Required by the IB (content inferred from the criterion name; the IB sets the caps) · Criterion: Proposal

The project's intentions and plan, including the context where the work will be realized, within 3 screens and 500 words, with the section's word count stated.

1. State what you intend to make and why.
2. Describe the context where the work will be shown.
3. Show early visual evidence of the idea.
4. Stay within 3 screens and 500 words.

2. Connections

Required by the IB · Criterion: Connections

Links with at least 2 artworks by different artists, within 4 screens and 1,000 words, with the section's word count stated.

1. Choose at least 2 artworks by different artists.
2. Show each with full details and a source.
3. Explain how each one connects with your project.
4. Stay within 4 screens and 1,000 words.

3. Dialogues

Required by the IB · Criterion: Dialogues

How the student responded to feedback during the project, within 2 screens and 500 words, with the section's word count stated.

1. Record each piece of feedback you received.
2. Show what you changed in response, with images.
3. Explain why you acted on it or set it aside.
4. Stay within 2 screens and 500 words.

4. Project evaluation

Required by the IB · Criterion: Post-production evaluation

An evaluation of the realized work after production, within 2 screens and 300 words, with the section's word count stated.

1. Judge how far the realized work met your intentions.
2. Refer to the work in its context, as the video shows it.
3. Stay within 2 screens and 300 words.

5. Ideas for further development

Required by the IB · Criterion: Future development

Where the project could go next, within 1 screen and 200 words, with the section's word count stated.

1. Name 1 or more directions for further work.
2. Link each one to what the project showed.
3. Stay within 1 screen and 200 words.

6. Video with artwork details and finalized intentions

Required by the IB (criterion link inferred from its content) · Criterion: Curation and realization in context · Submitted separately

A video of at most 3 minutes showing the artwork realized in its chosen context, with the artwork details and a finalized-intentions text of at most 100 words.

1. Film the work in its chosen context, with long shots and close-ups.
2. Add the artwork details.
3. Write the finalized intentions in 100 words or fewer.
4. Include sound only if it is part of the artwork, and reference any soundtrack.
5. Keep the video to 3 minutes or less.

7. Sources file

Required by the IB · Outside the word count · Submitted separately

Every source used, in a separate file.

1. Log each source when you first use it.
2. Export the list as a separate file.

What counts toward the limit

Every word visible on a screen counts, typed or handwritten, including words inside scanned material; title pages, image labels (artist, title, medium, size, location), words that are part of an artwork, citations and references do not. The counter cannot read images, so you declare the words visible in each image yourself, after cropping, blurring or covering any text you want left out.

The limit: 2,500 words on at most 12 screens, inside section caps of 500, 1,000, 500, 300 and 200 words, with the word count stated for every section and a video of at most 3 minutes. Examiners stop reading at the limit. Finalized intentions text: up to 100 words, counted apart from the rest.

Graphs and visuals

• Photos and scans of process, experiments and journal pages Image, very common
  Evidence must come from work made for, or directly connected with, this project. Use a screen layout at 200 dpi, legible without zooming, and declare any words visible in the image for the word counter.
• Reproductions of other artists' works Image, very common
  Required in the artist project, for at least 2 artworks by different artists. Label fields (artist, title, medium, size, location) sit outside the word count; give the source and use a good-quality reproduction.
• Annotations drawn on images (arrows, compositional lines, colour notes) Drawn, common
  Their words count. Frequency is inferred from the guide: short annotation is the expected form of writing.
• Mind maps, flow charts, ideation diagrams Drawn, common
  Named by the guide as possible evidence. Their words count.

The frequencies are our estimates, from what the IB guide expects and what teachers advise. We did not count them in marked work.

Citations

The IB prescribes no style and your school chooses; MLA 9 is a common choice for artworks. Sources go in a separate file.

The workspace keeps your sources and writes the bibliography in MLA 9th to start with. You can switch to APA 7th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes (footnotes) or Harvard at any point.

Pitfalls

• A section over its screen or word cap: each of the 5 written sections has its own limit.
• Evidence from work made for another task: only work made for, or directly connected with, this project counts.
• A video over 3 minutes, or one without the artwork details and the intentions text.
• Sound in the video that is not part of the artwork, or a soundtrack with no reference.
• A collaborative artwork or an item without 1 clearly identified author: neither can be submitted.

The workspace is free with an account, and it never writes or rewrites your text. What we will and will not do with your coursework →

Sources

• IB, Visual arts guide, first assessment 2027 (published Feb 2025)
• IB, Visual arts subject brief, first assessment 2027
• IB, "Study visual arts" course page
• IB, "Read curriculum updates" (page last updated 24 March 2026)
• Visual arts guide, first examinations 2017 (published 2014, updated Feb 2017)

The IB documents behind this page, checked 29 October 2026. The linked ones are on ibo.org; the others are IB documents we read in copies hosted elsewhere, so we name them without a link. Everything above is in our own words: the official wording is in your subject guide, which your coordinator can give you. LimeAdmissions is independent of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed this page. Every coursework structure →