Course Outline
DES107 Drawing Practice
Course Coordinator:Suzanne Breeze (Sbreeze@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries
2026Trimester 1
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
In this course you will learn how to adapt and use established drawing techniques to effectively visualise and communicate your ideas. You will apply various mediums and creative techniques to represent a range of 2D & 3D objects sourced from the human figure, curated vignettes or from the built environment. You will develop conceptual and practical skills through portfolio development while strengthening analytical skills by documenting, evaluating and reflecting on your final submissions in a journal.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Asynchronous learning materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Face-to-face workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Asynchronous learning materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
Course Topics
The course topics may include the following-
How we see and make sense of objects
Curating the image for consumption
From where I stand...Perspective
Rapid Reproduction
Capturing the face and features
Figure Drawing from life model (Please note there is nudity in this section)
Representing the human figure- The Masters
Technical Drawing
Notational Drawing
Communicating to the client
Expressing yourself
Mature Content
What level is this course?
100 Level (Introductory)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Describe, analyse and evaluate design practice. | Creative and critical thinker |
| 2 | Use two and three-dimensional drawing conventions to communicate complex ideas and information. | Empowered |
| 3 | Produce and communicate design solutions in a professional and technically appropriate manner. | Engaged |
| 4 | Use a range of materials and methods to produce finished drawings and presentations. | Empowered |
| 5 | Communicate the creative process using written and visual modes. | Engaged |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Not applicable
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
FSH101
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Early formative feedback will be provided on drawing developments by Week 4.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Portfolio | Individual | 20% | 4 (sets of 2) weekly drawing activities and 1 reflective journal entry, including short process documentation (sketches) |
Week 5 | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Portfolio | Individual | 30% | 4 (sets of 2) weekly drawing activities and 1 reflective journal entry, including annotated process evidence (sketches) |
Week 9 | Online Submission |
| All | 3 | Portfolio | Individual | 50% | 4 (sets of 2) weekly drawing activities, 1 original drawing project, and 1 reflective journal entry, supported by curated process documentation. |
Week 12 | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Visual Observation Portfolio | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal is to produce a portfolio containing finished drawings that respond to weekly theme and demonstrate your ability to observe, interpret and communicate form. You will also critically track and evaluate your process in a reflective journal, including brief visual evidence of your weekly progress. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will create a portfolio of finished drawings (some may be single drawings, some may be a series) that explore each of the four weekly themes. At least one drawing must be shared during the workshop in Week 3 or 4. Your journal will include notes, reflections, visual process evidence (e.g. in-progress sketches), and insights into your creative development. Detailed task topics and weekly themes are available on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Drawing People & Places Portfolio | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal is to produce a portfolio containing finished drawings that explore weekly themes related to representing the human figure, objects and environments. You will also document and evaluate your creative process in a reflective journal, showing how your work developed across each module. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will create a portfolio of finished drawings (some may be stand-alone, some may form a series) that develop your skills in visualising people and places. Your reflective journal will include process sketches, iterations, and short reflections linking the workshop activities to your final drawings. The detailed task topics and weekly themes are provided on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Drawing Portfolio | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal is to produce a curated portfolio that demonstrates clarity, intention and technical proficiency across the weekly themes, supported by a reflective journal that documents your process, decision-making and creative development. This task also requires you to develop one original drawing project based on your preferred drawing method and technique explored in this course, demonstrating your skills and learning outcomes. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will create a coherent portfolio of finished drawings (some individual, some as series) that communicate visual ideas clearly and professionally. In addition to the weekly activities, you will produce one original drawing project that extends your preferred drawing method or technique introduced in this course. This project should show how you can independently develop and resolve a creative idea using the tools, approaches and conventions you have learned. Your reflective journal will include preliminary sketches, process notes, refinements and reflections that track how both your weekly work and your original drawing project evolved. Detailed task topics and the weekly themes are available on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
You will need to bring to class the basic drawing materials required for each week?s exercise. These are listed on Canvas in the weekly lesson folder and in the weekly planner.
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: