You will also be expected to write a short accompanying statement explaining your work — the background information, references, and reasoning behind your choices in the depiction. (my artwork is on the additional materials)

Following that idea of being a “planetary explorer,” as in your art creation, in this writing you can explain what you see and how you make sense of it — again, based on the background knowledge you bring to it. If your artwork is based on a real world, how do things look, up close? If it is an imaginary world, how is it similar to and/or different from some of the worlds you have studied before?

Criteria / Grading:
Your art work and accompanying statement will be submitted online (Canvas), to be viewable by the course instructors and by fellow members within a small (randomly-assigned) group of your classmates.

You will each provide peer-evaluations of each other’s work, using a simple grading rubric (to be provided), to generally assess whether a given submission satisfactorily includes and addresses the following…

Is the art work — image(s) — “complete”?
That is to say: level of artistic skill aside, is the submitted imagery at a sufficient stage of completeness that it is generally “readable” (and not a partial work or work-in-progress)?
Also: (as best you can determine) Is the submission an original work? — that is: even if elements are borrowed from reference photos, or the subjects otherwise inspired by previous work, … does the sum of the submitted work represent an overall new image?
Is there an accompanying written statement?
Does the statement explain the artist’s general intentions with the piece? Are the central themes and subjects identified and explained? — that is: are the inspiration and reasoning behind choices of subjects, forms, colors, etc., sufficiently covered, with references as appropriate?
Remember that this Astro 7N course is not a studio art course, and we do not expect any certain level or artistic skill in these landscapes. Just give an honest best effort. If that means thinking back to a time when you were younger, day-dreaming of exotic worlds, and felt compelled to reach for a box of crayons, or colored paper, or clay, etc. — go for it. We want you to be inspired by the subject matter, of the possibilities presented, and to have some fun with this!

So, for reviewers: bear in mind the point here is to determine whether the basic tasks as described above have been generally fulfilled — and not to give a rigorous or harsh deconstruction of your peers’ honest best efforts. Be aware that the instructors and TAs will be reviewing these peer evaluations, and we expect thoughtfulness and courtesy be faithfully maintained through the process.