"If you are told that your work must show development, your teacher is telling you that your work must change a little (both in use of media and composition) from one piece to the next. In other words, your portfolio must tell a visual story: with a starting point, a conclusion, and a journey in between. It is not acceptable, for example, to show the same things drawn or painted from different angles over and over again, or to execute the same composition first in pastel, then in paint, then in charcoal and so on…or to submit paintings of many different items that have no visual or thematic connection to each other.
‘Development’ means systematically working towards better artwork: trialing, refining and exploring compositional devices and technique, demonstrating to the examiners that you have gone through a learning process and arrived at a successful final piece." - Student Art Guide.
The Student Art Guide helps students in a wide range of high school Art qualifications, such as IGCSE, GCSE, A Level, NCEA, AP Studio and IB Art. All resources are free.
A really good example of a top marks Visual Diary: click the image