@hhiddntrackk's post on Artfol
Ppl that went to or are in art school, is it really necessary to go to an art school? how much it influences in your art style? is it expensive?May 26, 2021
#question
#artquestion
#artschool
#art
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I just finished my first year as an animation major and I can say I learned a lot- it is nice getting consistent helpful feedback on projects and all of my professors ha been very supportive of their student’s ideas and understanding of COVID and all that
I would say if youre going into a career like animation I would suggest it since you get a feel for working in a studio, professors who can guide you post graduation, experience working with deadlines, etc
In regards to style- I really haven’t changed my overall style that much (beyond the natural change that just kinda happens) I’ve had to make some changes to my style for some projects (simplifying it so I’m not animating complex characters/ an assignment that focused on shape language) but they didnt demand a certain way of drawing
This might not apply to everyone and I can only speak from an animation perspective- I would say it’s not necessary but it would be a good thing to consider if you want to go into the art industry. I know there are several videos on YouTube where artists talk about their experience at art school so you could look into those as well!!
I would say if youre going into a career like animation I would suggest it since you get a feel for working in a studio, professors who can guide you post graduation, experience working with deadlines, etc
In regards to style- I really haven’t changed my overall style that much (beyond the natural change that just kinda happens) I’ve had to make some changes to my style for some projects (simplifying it so I’m not animating complex characters/ an assignment that focused on shape language) but they didnt demand a certain way of drawing
This might not apply to everyone and I can only speak from an animation perspective- I would say it’s not necessary but it would be a good thing to consider if you want to go into the art industry. I know there are several videos on YouTube where artists talk about their experience at art school so you could look into those as well!!
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short answer: it is not necessary at all.
it doesnt influence your art style too much, but it does indeed teach you the fundamentals so you know how to make your art purposive and certain elements intentional. however, ive learned that certain art courses online already teach such things! and can be infinitely cheaper with much better teachers. however, some art schools offer training or internship opportunities, but personally i think if youre willing to hunt for those yourself, you can definitely reach it.
it doesnt influence your art style too much, but it does indeed teach you the fundamentals so you know how to make your art purposive and certain elements intentional. however, ive learned that certain art courses online already teach such things! and can be infinitely cheaper with much better teachers. however, some art schools offer training or internship opportunities, but personally i think if youre willing to hunt for those yourself, you can definitely reach it.
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It would depend on the school, my have bad teachers and good teachers, is funny that the teacher who lack on skills was the best one, he helped me a lot and in general I learned so much like leaving my comfort zone I was the best in my class and also what I learned help me now that I am a teacher at my my own art atelier
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From all of my experience throughout all standard schooling, no. I barely learned anything in school regarding art & how to draw better. Most of it is essentially busy work & they just hope you learned something out of it. Part of barely learning anything could be linked to my neurodivergence, but considering none of my classmates seemed to learn anything, I highly doubt it was just me & how I learn.
I’m a self taught artist, & I don’t think I’ve ever learned SO MUCH ever since I graduated; or to better word it, since I wasn’t in any classes, I actually learned a lot of important stuff! Since I had so much time to draw what I want, I was able to figure out many things I could’ve been doing better, so I had the time to actively learn how to do better. And now, I’m A LOT better than I was at the beginning of last year!
I think it’s up to the individual, & most art-related jobs are probably not going to look for if you went to college or not. Most of them look for if you draw good & if you’re a nice person.
I’m a self taught artist, & I don’t think I’ve ever learned SO MUCH ever since I graduated; or to better word it, since I wasn’t in any classes, I actually learned a lot of important stuff! Since I had so much time to draw what I want, I was able to figure out many things I could’ve been doing better, so I had the time to actively learn how to do better. And now, I’m A LOT better than I was at the beginning of last year!
I think it’s up to the individual, & most art-related jobs are probably not going to look for if you went to college or not. Most of them look for if you draw good & if you’re a nice person.
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I’m currently a high school student, and I am about to graduate! What I’m offering in my message isn’t exactly an art school experience but some stuff they’re looking for and why. Most of this stuff is important to learn going to school or not for better chances of finding a job, or starting your own projects. My specific experience is for animation schools and other animation programs. I had applied to several of these animation schools but I hadn’t gotten in any of them, and I’m going to be attending portfolio building programs later on to fix up some things. The programs I applied to did provide pretty good reasons though and I’ll explain them later! Again my specific experience is for animation only and don’t explain much for contemporary arts or illustration, but are still important nonetheless.
First from my highschool experience, the school I went to is basically a joke. The art program taught nothing, art class was the same as a free period. We were provided resources though, so that’s a good thing if you’re still working on art during that time. No one was taught perspective, anatomy, etc, which is what most students very clearly and desperately needed. We are grade 12s and some students anatomy, poses, colours even, were below standard. It’s shameful, and it really hurts. Fees for the art program yearly is 250 dollars, so for highschool it’s alright. Because of this program, my art is far behind what I should be going into college soon. As good as being given some free choice on what to do during art time is, it teaches nothing about fundamentals which are actually, I found, necessary going into something like animation. This is why I was rejected from my art programs this year. I am not proud of being a student from my school, and I refuse to give them credit on my minimal improvement over four years. if you know what to teach yourself, go ahead, but don’t credit your schools for your growth.
Now in the brief 4 month period of applying to schools and programs I learned a bit on what’s good for going into animation! Most importantly, if you want to be considered at all for any animation school, make as much of your application portfolio in pencil as possible! In a sketchbook or on some paper, real physical paper. I wish I’d known this, because I had used multiple media in my portfolio and that is a mistake. I was turned down from one of the schools specifically for digital art. Reason being, “easy to manipulate”. They also don’t like coloured pencil or marker or any of that. Using pencil shows them that you are able to shade, texture, plan out, etc, well. It is a really good skill to develop even if you aren’t going into any school. Same applies for jobs in the animation field! Being rejected from these programs also gave me some secret info- if you can, take the application portfolio building workshop some animation schools provide, they are FAR cheaper than the actual program and teach you a lot of the fundamentals that you might be missing. If you’re a Canadian like me in Ontario, a hint, make sure the teachers are kind. Avoid the school Max the Mutt. Their negativity will make you hate art. Make sure your program is kind!
Another thing I learned is a few things to work on even outside of school to give you a better chance in getting a job or starting your own show/other content, again in pencil, practice anatomy, perspective, shading/lighting, texture, poses, character design, and storyboaring. Now these are skills that all artists can use, especially angles, anatomy, perspective and colour. And specifically about storyboarding, schools and jobs look heavily into how consistent the character is, camera angles, and principles of animation. Going into animation, the principals of animation are critically important and very necessary! There are 12 of them and it’s best to apply them even to your still art. Back to consistent character, what they look for is for how well you can copy. This applies to the application for school too, when you are doing still life. Copying does NOT mean you do it line for line- they want to see how alive you can make it. If you draw a scene from outside your window, you don’t need to draw all the blades on the fan from the air conditioner across the street, just draw a few of them more spaced out, more clean, or not at all entirely if it takes away from the scene. In my application I included my moms decorative bird cage- but compared to the rest of the scene, it stood out and lead the viewers eyes to it. If something is complex, an eyesore, and stands out more than the scene itself, don’t include it. If you’re drawing a ceramic mug with stripes going down the sides, make sure not to copy them exactly but to draw them to make the mug look circular, round, or whatever it is. Stripes on the sides of the mug appear thinner than on the frontside facing you. Also make sure that the perspective is fine, that lines on the same surface are parallel or lead into perspective, darker lines for shadowed edges, lighter for ledges on top, and don’t focus on drawing the outline for every brick. Learning all these will change the way you draw, but hopefully for the better! My art style isn’t exactly realistic enough for what they’re asking for, but knowing these little facts make even the first time drawing it look clean!
Other small tips I have, jobs and schools both want drawings you provide them to be clean, polished, and organized. If you have facial expression practice and a character design on the same page, separate them, for example. Any scenes you draw should lead the viewers eyes to the main attraction- that be a spot in the sky or the main characters. Make sure to form the environment to frame what the main point is. Shape of clouds, trees, a crowd surrounding the protagonist- ect. Make sure your scenes colour palette is from a similar spot on the colour cube and that the colours all compliment each-other, aren’t too saturated/dull (unless it is the point), and that each characters silhouette is easily distinguishable from the others. I have more, but this is so long so I will stop! I hope this helps you with your decision!
First from my highschool experience, the school I went to is basically a joke. The art program taught nothing, art class was the same as a free period. We were provided resources though, so that’s a good thing if you’re still working on art during that time. No one was taught perspective, anatomy, etc, which is what most students very clearly and desperately needed. We are grade 12s and some students anatomy, poses, colours even, were below standard. It’s shameful, and it really hurts. Fees for the art program yearly is 250 dollars, so for highschool it’s alright. Because of this program, my art is far behind what I should be going into college soon. As good as being given some free choice on what to do during art time is, it teaches nothing about fundamentals which are actually, I found, necessary going into something like animation. This is why I was rejected from my art programs this year. I am not proud of being a student from my school, and I refuse to give them credit on my minimal improvement over four years. if you know what to teach yourself, go ahead, but don’t credit your schools for your growth.
Now in the brief 4 month period of applying to schools and programs I learned a bit on what’s good for going into animation! Most importantly, if you want to be considered at all for any animation school, make as much of your application portfolio in pencil as possible! In a sketchbook or on some paper, real physical paper. I wish I’d known this, because I had used multiple media in my portfolio and that is a mistake. I was turned down from one of the schools specifically for digital art. Reason being, “easy to manipulate”. They also don’t like coloured pencil or marker or any of that. Using pencil shows them that you are able to shade, texture, plan out, etc, well. It is a really good skill to develop even if you aren’t going into any school. Same applies for jobs in the animation field! Being rejected from these programs also gave me some secret info- if you can, take the application portfolio building workshop some animation schools provide, they are FAR cheaper than the actual program and teach you a lot of the fundamentals that you might be missing. If you’re a Canadian like me in Ontario, a hint, make sure the teachers are kind. Avoid the school Max the Mutt. Their negativity will make you hate art. Make sure your program is kind!
Another thing I learned is a few things to work on even outside of school to give you a better chance in getting a job or starting your own show/other content, again in pencil, practice anatomy, perspective, shading/lighting, texture, poses, character design, and storyboaring. Now these are skills that all artists can use, especially angles, anatomy, perspective and colour. And specifically about storyboarding, schools and jobs look heavily into how consistent the character is, camera angles, and principles of animation. Going into animation, the principals of animation are critically important and very necessary! There are 12 of them and it’s best to apply them even to your still art. Back to consistent character, what they look for is for how well you can copy. This applies to the application for school too, when you are doing still life. Copying does NOT mean you do it line for line- they want to see how alive you can make it. If you draw a scene from outside your window, you don’t need to draw all the blades on the fan from the air conditioner across the street, just draw a few of them more spaced out, more clean, or not at all entirely if it takes away from the scene. In my application I included my moms decorative bird cage- but compared to the rest of the scene, it stood out and lead the viewers eyes to it. If something is complex, an eyesore, and stands out more than the scene itself, don’t include it. If you’re drawing a ceramic mug with stripes going down the sides, make sure not to copy them exactly but to draw them to make the mug look circular, round, or whatever it is. Stripes on the sides of the mug appear thinner than on the frontside facing you. Also make sure that the perspective is fine, that lines on the same surface are parallel or lead into perspective, darker lines for shadowed edges, lighter for ledges on top, and don’t focus on drawing the outline for every brick. Learning all these will change the way you draw, but hopefully for the better! My art style isn’t exactly realistic enough for what they’re asking for, but knowing these little facts make even the first time drawing it look clean!
Other small tips I have, jobs and schools both want drawings you provide them to be clean, polished, and organized. If you have facial expression practice and a character design on the same page, separate them, for example. Any scenes you draw should lead the viewers eyes to the main attraction- that be a spot in the sky or the main characters. Make sure to form the environment to frame what the main point is. Shape of clouds, trees, a crowd surrounding the protagonist- ect. Make sure your scenes colour palette is from a similar spot on the colour cube and that the colours all compliment each-other, aren’t too saturated/dull (unless it is the point), and that each characters silhouette is easily distinguishable from the others. I have more, but this is so long so I will stop! I hope this helps you with your decision!
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•///Aaa sorry its gonna be a bit long, I wanted to cover them all haha///
Is it neccessary? Nah. (Unless you plan to work overseas, a degree might be needed...it varies place to place I believe.)
I found that art schools are generally good for networking, resources (bc you have access to professionals, programs, tech etc) and ah, the degree ha, for pay.
Though for learning, it's very...subjective? In my exp it can be both good and bad -- but do expect to have to pick up some skills and practice by yourself.
Art wise, I'm definitely more aware of say, fundamentals? Like what could make a piece -better- on a base level, be it composition or values, colours...(Tho again it depends on how much they teach xP)
I live in a place where its heavily government subsidised so I'm pretty fortunate! It's still pricey though, but not as bad as it could be.
Is it neccessary? Nah. (Unless you plan to work overseas, a degree might be needed...it varies place to place I believe.)
I found that art schools are generally good for networking, resources (bc you have access to professionals, programs, tech etc) and ah, the degree ha, for pay.
Though for learning, it's very...subjective? In my exp it can be both good and bad -- but do expect to have to pick up some skills and practice by yourself.
Art wise, I'm definitely more aware of say, fundamentals? Like what could make a piece -better- on a base level, be it composition or values, colours...(Tho again it depends on how much they teach xP)
I live in a place where its heavily government subsidised so I'm pretty fortunate! It's still pricey though, but not as bad as it could be.
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•I’m just about to finish my first year so here’s a bit from my experience. I’d say it isn’t really necessary but it definitely makes a difference. At mine you pay a fee at the start to cover the materials and you have to by all your own art supplies but after that you didn’t really cost much, though it might be different in other countries. You get to learn a lot of different mediums which is a lot of fun, and get to use a lot of specialised equipment which you might not otherwise. You may also learn a lot of new techniques and being around lots of other artists is really useful. Though it hasn’t effected my main art style I’ve definitely found new things I enjoy doing. Also the students are absolutely crazy, it’s so fun. Though it does get pretty stressful, even students who’d already been there for a year were stressing.
If you have any other questions I don’t mind answering them for you? Also sorry this was long
If you have any other questions I don’t mind answering them for you? Also sorry this was long
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