uwloo

FINE 150Appreciation and Expression

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Fine Arts

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The course delivers an introduction to a variety of basic techniques and concepts relevant to contemporary 2D, 3D, and digital art practices, through a series of structured studio exercises and assignments.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Notes

  • Studio course.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
STU 001327322 / 25TTh 18:30–20:50
STU 002327418 / 25TTh 18:30–20:50

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
STU 00132140 / 25TTh 18:30–20:50
STU 00232150 / 25TTh 18:30–20:50
STU 00385170 / 25TTh 18:30–20:50
STU 701122077 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

81% liked it75% easy41% useful

From 32 ratings and 10 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • fun but time consuming (for someone in gbda who has a fine arts background)

    Mar 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I loved this course. As someone with little to no art experience, the course was harder than I'd hoped for. However my prof was great and each assignment was well thought out and explained/demonstrated in depth. Tons of different mediums to explore and a lot of creative freedom. Lots of time to work on projects and lots of hands on instructing which was fun. The TA teaching my class is an incredible artist, Sandra, she made the class enjoyable for me and was super friendly and understanding.

    Jan 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is very similar to Fine 100 - so you'll be exploring multiple different kinds of mediums during the semester.
    For the workload, its very similar to Fine 100. With even some projects being similar between the two courses. But overall, very manageable.
    The course has (student) TA's teaching it, which is an interesting thing for a course to do. But it also means that your going to be taught by people without much experience in the fields of teaching. - But they are always talented/skilled artists who were chosen for the role.

    Sep 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Took it with Paige Smith and had a great time! There were 4 major projects (these can vary by term and prof): Pinhole photography, Gouache painting, Public art installation, and a Mixed-media stop motion video. Attendance is mandatory and she reviewed our process for each project. It's an elective so there were a bunch of STEM kids (myself included) looking to take a course where they could turn their brain off and just enjoy creating. Class was a vibe.

    Dec 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I mean it was a pretty chill class and it's easy to talk to people but I think that the prof was definitely biased towards certain students. I thought that it would be a bird course but I was wrong like I have no idea how the prof graded the assignments but I did not do as well as I thought. The course also isn't that enjoyable if you aren't good at art, like I literally felt like the least talented person in the class and I ended up just throwing out all of my projects because I didn't want to look at them anymore...

    Mar 2023 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

36 posts and comments in 27 threads mention FINE 150, May 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

FINE ARTS Classes 2 points, 1 comment

“Hi friends, Is anyone taking ANY FINE ARTS this fall term? Are they hard - or easygoing classes? Can you recommend any to take this term or next winter term? Thanks :)”

u/Beginning_Try3235: “… I took FINE 130 and 150, also 230 can be fun if you want to work with printmaking. …”

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Winter 2024

Any electives where you get to make stuff? 5 points, 1 comment

“By stuff I mean anything. I know music275 let’s you make music. I’m looking for an elective that’s engaging, where I can actually do something instead of reading slides.”

u/Stranger_Natural: “The studio FINE courses might work? I took FINE 100 (they ran out of space in FINE 150 that term, so I got put there instead) and it was pretty fun (art fundamentals, some figure drawing, a couple of projects).”

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Fall 2023

Winter 2022

Is FINE 100/150 hard if I'm bad at drawing? 2 points, 9 comments

u/RocketPenguins: “I want to choose FINE 100/150 as an elective since it seems interesting plus it would be a nice change of pace from the rest of my courses. I'm not the best at drawing though so I'm wondering if it'll be a struggle”

u/DifficultyFull4693: “Currently taking FINE 150! It’s a course meant for students not in Fine Arts, so there is varying levels of skill in the class. We didn’t have to do as much technical drawing as FINE 100 and we experimented with different drawing techniques/mediums”

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Spring 2021

Are things in the Wstore overpriced? 7 points, 12 comments

“I'm an incoming first year and I need to know whether I can rely on Wstore, or whether I should find another source for my supplies.”

u/betahaxorz: “Yes very overpriced. And if you take FINE 150 you have to buy a kit from there for $120 for essentially $10 worth of pencils. LMFAO”

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Fall 2020

FINE 100/105 Online for Winter 2021 5 points, 1 comment

“I'm thinking about taking a FINE course next semester, but I just wanted to what the courses are actually like (especially since everything's online now). …”

u/nettikw: “I took FINE 150 and it is specifically geared towards non-FINE students. I had a fun time and honestly would recommend. …”

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Has anyone taken FINE 150 before? 3 points, 3 comments

u/EmotionalFace2532: “… Has anyone heard of or taken FINE 150 on campus or have taken the online version? If so how was it in terms of workloads (assignments, quizzes, midterms, final)? If someone has/is currently taking this course could you send me a link to it or pm me the course syllabus? …”

u/trippy-mac-unicorn: “I've been doing FINE 150 online this semester and personally I'm having a hard time keeping up with the workload (my other courses are CS135, M135, M137 and ENGL 109). …”

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Winter 2020

Spring 2019

Winter 2019

interested in Art courses 4 points, 5 comments

“Hey everyone, I’m an engineering student but always had a passion for art. I do my own art on the side but they are mainly line arts and sketches cause I’m bad at painting. …”

u/whitepenguins: “… You can also give FINE 150 a try. The instructors change every term and the projects also differ, but you'll be able to do a variety of art. If you're looking for digital art courses, the most basic one is FINE 130 which I've heard is basically fooling around with photoshop. …”

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Fall 2018

FINE 100 vs FINE 150 6 points, 3 comments

u/lordgeesusflyinghigh: “Has anyone taken these courses recently? How do they differ and are they a huge time sink? I took high school art and enjoyed them so I'm not a complete noob. Is 100 really that stifling on creativity and is 150 really that much work like the uwflow reviews say?”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar