Make relief work that sits between flat and fully three-dimensional, and combine materials in mixed-media and collage forms to add texture and contrast

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to make relief work, which sits between a flat picture and a full sculpture, and to combine materials in mixed-media and collage forms. Relief and mixed media are accessible ways into three-dimensional work that do not need carving big blocks or modelling in the round. They let you explore real texture, depth and contrast, and they give you the vocabulary to describe these qualities in the written paper. The key ideas are raised form against a background, and the richness of combining materials.

The answer

What relief is

Relief is a form that is partly raised from a flat background. It is attached to a backing surface and usually seen from the front, so it sits between a flat picture (no depth) and a fully three-dimensional sculpture (seen from all sides). Because the forms are raised, real light falls across them and casts real shadows, giving the work depth and texture that a flat image cannot.

Low relief and high relief

• Low relief has forms only slightly raised from the surface, with shallow depth, like the design on a coin. The shadows are gentle and the effect is subtle.
• High relief has forms projecting much further out, almost like a sculpture stuck to the wall, with deep shadows and strong three-dimensional presence.

Choosing how far the forms stand out, the depth of the relief, controls how bold and shadowed the work looks.

Mixed media and collage

Mixed media means using more than one material in a single artwork. Collage is a related method where you stick materials, papers, fabrics, found objects, onto a surface to build an image or texture. Combining materials brings together different textures, colours and qualities, creating contrast and richness that one material alone cannot. Each material can also do what it does best: smooth card for clean shapes, fabric for soft texture, foil for shine.

Using texture and contrast

The power of relief and mixed media is real texture and contrast. Placing smooth against rough, shiny against matt, or raised against flat creates interest you can both see and feel. Real shadows from the raised parts add another layer of contrast. The skill is choosing materials and depths that work together to create a deliberate effect, rather than sticking random things down. Planning where the textures and contrasts go is what turns a pile of materials into a designed work.

Examples in context

Example 1. Carved temple panels. The decorated walls of old temples often use relief carving, with figures and scenes raised from the stone background, some shallow and some deep. The real shadows in the deeper carving make the scenes read clearly, a classic example of relief between flat and full sculpture.

Example 2. A mixed-media collage portrait. An artist building a face from torn paper, fabric, buttons and foil creates a portrait rich in texture and contrast, with shiny and matt, smooth and rough surfaces side by side. It shows how combining materials adds interest that paint alone could not, the essence of mixed media.

Try this

Q1. Explain what relief is and how it differs from a full sculpture. [2 marks]

• Cue. Relief is a form partly raised from a flat background and attached to it, usually seen from the front, so it sits between a flat picture and a full sculpture seen from all sides.

Q2. Explain the difference between low relief and high relief. [2 marks]

• Cue. Low relief is only slightly raised from the surface with shallow depth (like a coin); high relief projects far out, almost like a sculpture on the wall, with deep shadows.

Q3. Explain how combining two different materials can add interest to a work. [2 marks]

• Cue. Different materials bring different textures and surfaces, so placing smooth against rough or shiny against matt creates contrast and richness you can both see and feel.