5 Things You Should Know Before Joining an Art School
Illustration by azzween Isml
Is this you right now? 😂
If you're here, you're probably considering to join an art school to pursue your creative dreams... and I'm here to share with you some things I wished I knew before joining an art college. This is based on my experience and observation when I was an art student, I hope this information could be a useful tip for you to make your decisions and be very well prepared.
1) INTENT
First and foremost important is acknowledging your true intent of why you wanted to join an art school. It could be a passion? interest? hobby? career path? boredom? portfolio? or you just wanted to try something new? whatever it is BE HONEST with yourself and acknowledged it. Sit back and reflect, will attending an art school help you achieve what you wanted? Is there an alternative? or should you jump apply to an intern/job?
When I was in my FIRST year studying visual arts, one of my classmates who is literally one of the top 3 students in our class, QUITS school. WHY? she simply realized that she should do something else instead of studying.
2) PORTFOLIO
Its never to early to prepare your portfolio, its always great to show a good variation, for example, if you're signing up for a fashion course, you may showcase not only your hand-sketches but also some photography, digital-illustrations, design/pattern ideas or even samples of your sewing and DIY craftworks. Curate and organize smartly, make sure your portfolio looks neat. It helps to put little captions to explain your works. You are not the only one to attend the interview, try your best to produce a great portfolio. Do it for yourself, you don't want to embarrass yourself with just a piece of paper and a stick-man drawing. Ridiculous? no, my fellow interview mates literally did that.
credit: GIPHY
3) SCHOOL RESEARCH
Different schools have different beliefs and styles. Do a little research on your own, ask your art teachers or someone who knows.
Some schools may teach modernism and minimalism, while others may teach avant-garde.
Some schools may solely focus on digital works while others may teach traditional ways.
Does it matter? yes.
Art schools are usually open to whatever style of approach you do, but they usually mark/advice your works in accordance with their system.. So if you know you want to learn traditional? then you go to a traditional school.
Art schools are expensive and time-consuming so you would want to MILK all you can from your time in school. Compare and analyze what each school has to offer before making your decision.
4) FINANCIAL STABILITY
"You don't have to be rich to pursue art," they said. somewhat true.
But you will need a lot of money to SURVIVE an art school.
The fees, the daily materials, the printing, the experimentation, the submissions, the necessities.
Does the money issue affect your work?
YES.
Reality 😂:
Producing a professional high-quality photograph may require it to be printed on a good film paper by professional printers. If you couldn't afford to pay for such services and thus proceed to an affordable option, your quality work is compromised. Your ideas and vision may be great but if you couldn't deliver to execute such required quality? 💀 *ded*
With that, it's best that you start saving as much as you could! When you take your schoolwork seriously and get to produce professional works, you can add it to your portfolio for future endeavors!
5) GATHER KNOWLEDGE
Yes, the school will teach you, but pack your self with the basic knowledge before the school starts.
Familiarize your self with the subjects/topics that you are taking, so you could understand better in your lectures. For instance, if you're taking a photography class, you might want to start reading on their technicalities, variation and histories etc.
The internet has more things to offer than your free movies marathon, indulge yourself in the How-tos and tutorials !!! How to use Photoshop, How to edit videos, How to use gouache paint!
Also, start exploring Pinterest and Tumblr for visual inspiration and references!
Here are some basic topics you may start with:
- Design Principles
- Design History
- Art movements
- Growth of Technology
- Symbolism
In addition, you might want to consider reading on real life events in terms of political, sociological, economical and environmental landscapes etc. Its a little dry but everyday-life events DOES have an influence on art and design!😱
These are some of the things i wish i knew.... before attending an art school.
Prepare yourself henny! Trust your guts! Break some rules!
Do tell me if you want more blog post on art schools 💓
Comments
Post a Comment