@niku30_'s post on Artfol

Were/are you a ‘bad at school’ artist or a ‘good at school’ artist?


I was average/bad at school (math and chemistry specifically) which prevented me from graduating - I went straight to art university at age 18 - and after struggling a lot at school I was a fantastic student at art university so guess why that was... I finally felt like I could be myself and learn things I love and know will actively shape my future! I wish that for everyone! 🧡
May 1, 2021
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Fantastic...I feel even the same myself tbh. I’ve never been great at math and was just thinking of going straight into an art college. I believe we all should invest our time doing something we love, and to have it as work as well, makes it all the better, since it’s your passion, you will enjoy it.
You are such an inspiration to artists! Keep at it! Love your work
I think I’m solidly in the “good at school artist” category I think XD In high school I was that one kid who’d get all As even without studying, and my favorite subject is math so I voluntarily took calculus in high school even though it wouldn’t give me the college credit and I’d have to redo the class in college anyways. I’m in college studying forensic science now and admittedly I’m not doing too hot but like I blame a lot of that right now on the pandemic, I am HORRIBLE with online learning. Honestly I feel like math and science comes a bit more naturally to me, I just kind of forced myself to push into the creative work because I have too many ideas in my head and I wanted to put pen to paper to get them out into the world. I did consider going to art college for a bit, but I ended up figuring out I was more passionate about forensics than art, plus I’m not a fan of being creative on a deadline, I’d rather work at my own pace.
I was good at school, but not necessarily because I really wanted to. I was good at math and more technical classes, but some of my grades in high school were artificially boosted by my primary teacher, to make whole class look like we are doing great as a group. I didn't really care about those grades tbh, but I was still considered a "gifted kid" and now I struggle in life.
I was horrible at school but still just good enough to pass all my classes and graduate. I strictly refused to do more than necessary to get exactly the grades I needed and my teachers hated me so, so much for it lol.

For me it was clear I wouldn't need any of that math or chemistry and what have you bs because I would go straight to art school after graduating from high school, except that ended up not working out because my mother really didn't want me to go to art school.
Good at school, even though I have my lower grades moments
I’ve read all your posts and identify with so many of you in different ways. I was good at my studies and went to art school with only a vague idea of what I could do with my life.

To all those of you who are sad you didn’t or haven’t made it to art school, I would say don’t let that hold you back. My art school had a good reputation but it completely destroyed my creativity and confidence. Where before art school I could create freely, art school taught me what I liked wasn’t fashionable, that I was never good enough, and that others who tried less hard and could draw less well but did the trendy stuff would always be better than me. The time away from home taught me a lot but the course was a negative experience, enough so that I gave up art for 10 years and trained in a completely different field! I’m coming back to it now using the free resources available online and every time it’s my birthday I ask for an art book that will help me.

Anyone wanting to learn art now could be better off not going to art school and doing online courses and using books instead. And signing up for a life drawing class somewhere!
I was a 'bad a school' artist, except for maths. I have a really bad memory which wasn't great when it came round to exam time. Yet at art uni I was the same as you and was top of the class.
Terrible school student in middle than early high school, then slingshot my way to being top of my class at the two colleges I attended. I flourished out of the house and in my own field.
I am a good at school artist, and the rules in my head are as long as it starts with an A it counts! I also love/hate every subject in their own way, such as algebra, where I love putting the puzzle pieces together, in the end when I’ve got the equation right, it’s super rewarding! Then at the end of algebra, I’m practically burnt out and my brain doesn’t work, haha! With Biology, I loved learning about animals and plants, but I did not enjoy learning about genes... I love writing stories in English and I’m good at writing essays, not so much as enjoy them, but when I can get invested in a topic? That is where I shine the most. I absolutely love learning about world history!!! Ahhh, I love reading about historical figures and events like the Holocaust. I also love learning about different cultures at different times! Although, this year, the workloads were overwhelming! I actually hated PE class, it felt like if I didn’t do anything right during games, I would be considered a failure.... but I loved guitar class, it was really fun and easy. I could be labeled your basic nerd, haha, and I’m proud of it. Plus, I’ve been homeschooled almost my entire life (discounting the last two years) so I hadn’t had many people make fun of me for being a nerd, so that was lovely :D
I was good at school but it meant people were surprised that I enjoyed art so much, and wanted me to focus on the more practical subjects instead
I was a “gifted kid” but only with drawing and writing. Why my parents didn’t just send me to art school is beyond me lol. I was average but my math and history grades really really sucked lol. Great at chemistry though
I was good at school but I didn't like it so much. I especially liked maths (it was like a "logical game" for me) & philosophy.
But I was good only because I have a good memory because I never learned my lesson lmao I just did the verified homework to not be punished xD

I tried an art school but I was terrible and fired 4 months after :/
After that I made a scientific baccalaureate and then a philosophy degree x)
I was one of the top on my class at school, and while that might be something to be proud of, I now regret putting that much effort into it. Why? Well because of my high grades art university was "out of question". No one approved and I found myself in the middle of science field. Again. I'm now waiting till I gain my independency after I start work so that I can enroll myself wherever I like . I like science tho😂
I wasn't bad exactly. I just didn't do my homework really and that hurt my grades. I knew the stuff for the most part and didn't really struggle in many subjects. So I graduated high school with a C average but still got into my art school (pretty sure you just had to tell them you were willing to pay and they'd take you regardless of grades or portfolio lololol). I was 🤏 close to being cum lade when I got my BFA so I'd say I excelled in college comparatively. Though I can still recognize how I held myself back at the time and came out of it not being of a caliber I should've been. But I'm learning and improving every day in and out of school so I'm not complaining.
I had good grades at school, I’m a huge perfectionist who craves approval so ofc I’m like that.. I did get bullied for being a nerd, so that sucked.
Doing well at uni now and at least I don’t get bullied for it anymore lol yay
I was a "good at school" artist for the most part, with math always being a pain to deal with.
I'm really the "bad at school artist" :') especially at maths and physics (I've just got a 4/25 on a test ;-;)
My math teacher passed me out of pitty but I got dean's highest honors in art school so I guess it evens out lol 😥
I was a good at school person but that really reflected on how shit my portfolio and academic art skills are so I hella regret studying so much
I was a good at school but could really apply myself more artist. Like I refused to/couldn’t put too much effort into anything I didn’t find interesting, but I passed all my classes. That didn’t mean I didn’t break down crying in the middle of every single math test though
That’s... a lot more complicated than your example.
I’m both gifted and learning disabled, and didn’t get help working around the latter until well into my 30s. What that meant for school was that I mostly excelled at it... until the giftedness couldn’t carry me along any more, and then things utterly fell apart. High school was a breeze, but college and art school were insurmountable challenges for me.
Depends, I switch out from bad to good when it comes to math and English every year. But was still 'the smart kid' but in reality I half assed everything to get at least a B or a C (maybe a D if it was economics, but I still that AP exam tho lul)

Senior year I failed physics cause I did nothing in that class and bombed the finals by doing nothing. Still ended up with a 3.7 gpa and still did nothing with it, don't learn from me kids, do better
I was an average student. Honestly? I didn’t care about school through middle school till my junior year in high school. I was more dedicated in art, music, and drama and casually enjoyed math and science—but dreaded the tests. Oh, and I was HORRIBLE at English writing and learning foreign languages. Thank goodness I decided to go to a community college because it resparked my love for learning, because I realized that there are topics aside from art that I actually am interested in knowing about.
Im so glad you could turn your experience with school around and become a great student at something you are good at!

I was a very good student unfortunately so I have the 'she ruined her potential' reputation with my family but yea, I make very little money but I’m absolutely happy with what I’m doing right now!
I was the "above average" student in most subjects but never the best at anything. 😂 Basically a 4 on a scale from 1-5. The biggest hold-back for me was maths. I was SUPER interested in chemistry and physics and wanted to go study to be a surgeon but /maths/. So many subjects from sciences to history needed you to be able to work with numbers. I just couldn't handle numbers at all aaand that's how I ended up becoming an artist/writer. 8'D

But maybe that was for the best. :')
Went to highschool, where my 'good at school' reputation ended, bio-chemistry profile, wasn't reaching the level of education, second worst student at the subjects I've chosen for final exams' advanced level, passed them with great scores except for chemistry - 13% (biology - 55% though not the worst). Then the university I applied for (stomatology) didn't take me, so I chose Italian filology, but my parents' pressure made me to prepare for attending the chemistry exam again. That was 1 year ago, the exam is on 14th May and I decided to study psychology instead, so don't need to redo the chemistry score 🤡 life is a cabareeeet~

So yeah, bad at school artist. Our chemistry teacher didn't know I choose to advance her subject and she was worried I'd ruin the statistics. Did it anyway 🤡
I was good, didn't struggle with anything but certain kinds of math and all my teachers loved me. Can't say I miss high school tho
I was a (I think🤔) "good at school" artist, except for chemistry. I hated it with a burning passion and I was reaaally bad at it no matter how much I studied or asked the teacher, I just didn't get it and I still don't know how I passed 😅😂
That's good actually, there's a point in basic education where it really feels useless 😔 I'm glad you could take a path you liked and were interested in!

Overall I was a good at school artist but thankfully my parents, specially my mom, never put much pressure on me. And that was actually better. I suffered a lot with math tho hahaha
I'm a currently still suffering from school artist