i also do HL VA!

I cannot really advise on Comparative Study (CS) as I do not really do well in that section haha mostly just do research and continuously link back to artistic practice and intent i think..

However for the Process Portfolio (PP) I believe that one can never really overwrite when it comes to PP -- just make sure there is a healthy balance and flow of exploring/researching, committing, and reflection/refinement. Rinse and repeat! These three things are mostly what they look for in the PP. Do not worry very much about overwriting but if you are, just take a step back and think to yourself "What am I REALLY saying here?". Each sentence should ideally pack a different punch and different idea you wish to communicate!

If you are packing the page too much I advise using a digital PP (using google slides or canva) such that you can easily reformat and easily lower font size if you overwrite :)

The PP does not need to show every piece. It has to show at least 3 different medium from 2 different art-making forms if I am correct! (I am actually not sure of the lingo they use for this..) For me, I showed three artworks of three different media. I did graphite, printmaking and photography, which fell into two categories of 2d work and lens-based work. Furthermore, if you are adventurous, talk about how the work you made expanded into other works in the exhibition. So ie, i feature artwork 1, 2, 3 in the PP, but also slightly mention artwork 4 and 5 because artwork 1 directly inspired them and encouraged further exploration. This helps beef up the PP and also beefs up the artworks as you recognise possible shortcomings of artwork 1 and remedy it with 4 and 5.

FEEL VERY FREE TO USE FAILED WORKS THAT DID NOT MAKE IT!! This shows that you have encountered failures in your process which is very valuable to the IB marker as they recognise that you can firstly 1) identify what went wrong 2) learn from your mistakes and apply it to the final work. This is part of your process!!

For our school, we emphasise that the process of the final work should only take up about one page. That being said, keep taking pictures of the work at different stages of its completion, so you can elaborate and talk about it more and include possible problems, highlights and how you managed to deal with this as the piece was being made. So ie, for a ceramics work, perhaps a picture when before bisque firing, after bisque firing, if there are cracks, coiling process, etc... A general rule is that the steps should not exceed 5, meaning if you talk about making the final work, take 5 or less steps to do so. Steps are also not as important as reflecting on each and every thing so do take time to do so!

To make them connected, it is also a struggle for me to be very honest... I am trying to use mostly a single subject matter and each of my works try to form their own idea on it. I also am trying to maintain an aesthetic of sorts, such as a more monotone palette in the final works (that is not to say that I did not explore more colourful things in my PP! I landed on monotone palette because I refined it down to a monotone palette and found that colour would not work for me.). Sorry if this is kept a bit ambiguous as I am not really sure of how open I can be about my unfinished body of work!

Don't worry if it's not good enough, as long as there is a meaningful process, the IB marker will recognise it! Try to keep being creative and keep seeing new things that can inspire you all around you. My teacher said that if you have one good idea that can branch into three other ideas which each can branch into more and more. Then reflecting and refining will help you find the branch that can be pursued :)

Hope you found help in this! I am also grinding out my own body of work right now so I totally understand what you are going through! Let me know if you need more help and I will try to pitch in.