I’m applying to art colleges at the end of this year but I’m really unsure about the portfolio aspect so would it be possible for someone to tell me what exactly colleges want to see in the art portfolio and what I should start painting or doing in preparation
Hi girlonline253, different art colleges want to see different types of items in your portfolio. You should attend a National Portfolio Day next Fall. Bring a few “line holders” otherwise known as your parents, who will stand in line at an art college that you are interested in while you have your portfolio reviewed at another. Tag and switch. Get in line 2 hours early. Been there, done that.
It is very difficult to answer your question. Different schools want different items in the portfolio. At National Portfolio Day, my daughter’s portfolio was
- torn apart verbally by school A - quite disheartening;
- accepted on-sight by school B (she still needed to apply - excellent school, and being accepted on-sight is rare);
- encouraged to include more figure drawing by school C;
- encouraged to create some more illustrative designs including text from school D;
- encouraged to create more concept art from school E.
- encouraged to include more drawings and paintings of still life by school F.
They all were very, very different. Reviewers are all individuals, and school A’s reviewer obviously got up on the wrong side of the bed. Or hated her job. Reviewer B had my daughter feeling really great about her work. We switched on and off with her in line, and she texted us a little of what the past reviewer said to keep track of what was said. You can see last year’s National Portfolio Day schedule here: http://www.portfolioday.net/2016-17-schedule
It can also be helpful to look up “accepted portfolios” for the specific schools you are interested in going to on YouTube.
Are you overall a good student? FWIW, you will most likely get better financial aid with good grades and a higher SAT score, so at least try taking it, if it wasn’t in your plans. Study for it first. My daughter was offered higher $ because she had a higher SAT score than the norm for the schools that she was applying to.
If you can afford it, try to attend a pre-college summer program for the arts. My daughter went to Ringling College of Art and Design for a month before her senior year, (she applied for aid and received some) and came away with some amazing portfolio pieces for her college application. Being immersed in such an environment also gives you a taste of what art school is like.
I know that it seems forever away, but you need to think about if you are interested in exploring only creating/art, or are also thinking about making a living in the arts in the future. If it is the latter, some of the big upcoming and very employable careers are in User Interface/Design. For example, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which has many highly ranked schools and majors; jewelry design, photography, film, ceramics, design, etc. (among others, though my daughter’s high school art teacher did not know anything about them). TOP students in their New Media Design B.F.A. program (where graphics, 3D animation, 2D design and a little coding are required) can earn $120,000 when graduating. Yes, that is $120,000, with a B.F.A. That is a lot more than many, many other new graduates.
This chart is helpful: https://www.rit.edu/emcs/oce/employer/salary - you can search for “BFA” to see which BFA programs it has, and get an idea of future earnings as well as co-op earnings, if you do one, for different majors. I am always surprised to see the difference in earnings between an illustration versus a graphic design major. Both my husband and I were art majors and went to art colleges. I am an art teacher, and he does a little art work on the side, but mostly sells appliances. He wishes that he was able to make a living in the arts, but he doesn’t have the skills now that are needed. I encourage an art major where you will be prepared to get a job that you love in the future.
Our daughter was accepted at 9 art schools. RIT gave her BY FAR the most financial aid. It costs us less to send her there than it would to MassART, our state art school, especially taking into account the very different living costs after the first year. Spending $480 a month on housing at RIT for 10 months is quite a bit different than at LEAST $900 x 12 months in Boston. That is a $6,000 a year difference, just for her room.
If you like the idea of any of the media/3D arts, this summer I suggest learning MAYA - it is a free download for students, and there are many on-line tutorials. It is a fairly high learning curve, but many design companies want some MAYA experience. Do you know Illustrator? Photoshop? My son and daughter knew the basics before going to college, and this really helped them. They are free for a month. Learn the basics this summer.
Last, don’t depend on your school counselor or your art teacher to steer you in the right direction. My daughter went to a very good high school, but the counselors did not know anything about art schools, except to recommend the three nearby. The school uses Naviance, a software for college searches, but it was not helpful at all for art school. Neither was The College Board search engine. At the time of applying my daughter was interested in Motion Graphics - she needed to search for “Motion Graphics” “Motion Design” “New Media Design” “Broadcast Design” (the old name) etc., and finally ended up asking me to search college majors in depth at different schools. We found RIT because I finally searched “top ranked design schools” - you need to take rankings with a grain of salt, but they did give me a starting point. I looked at the specific colleges for their majors for a possible good fit, and helped to narrow the list down. There are MANY great schools of art out there. Make sure to run their “Net Price Calculators” - that can help to narrow down the list of where you apply. Before all this no one at her high school had ever applied to RIT’s art program, because no one had hear of it. Her art teacher kept pushing Pratt, RISD, SCAD and MassArt, because those were the ones he knew. He was certain that MassArt was the best, because that was where he had gone. So far, RIT has been a fantastic school in most ways (though my daughter wishes it was in NYC near the museums.)
FWIW, my daughter is a graphic design major interested in learning more about User Interface (she is taking a class on it now). She will have many work opportunities post-graduation if she decides to focus on this aspect of art and design. Sorry for the length. I hope that this is helpful.
^ @MazeArtCrew, this is a terrific post - really well thought out and helpful. Thank you.
I would also suggest checking out the website of Clara Lieu, a RISD grad and professor who write for the Huffington Post:
She has extensive advise for students under her blog (select the “Blog” option, and then the “Ask the Art Prof” option on the Blog page; there are blogs about “What are the common mistakes in college portfolio submissions?” and “What should you include in an art portfolio for art school or college?”, as well as blogs on many other art-related topics, technical and otherwise. She also does portfolio critiques for $90 (select the “Art Prof” option on the home page). She also has online courses for free. Her website is a wonderful resource. She is going to be focused more on fine arts than on graphic design or digital media, but her website is a good place to start.
I think the first thing you should do is figure out what you want to do and what schools offer good programs for your intended path of study, and then see if the school’s website has anything to offer. A lot of schools offer portfolio guides and lists specifically what they’re looking for in a portfolio. Having just finished the whole portfolio submission process, I ended up tailoring a specific portfolio for each school based on what they looked for in their portfolio guides. It’s also never hurt anyone to email an admissions rep and ask what they look for in a portfolio, whether it’s more heavily based on technical life drawings or conceptual thought. It’s hard to make a blanket statement on what art schools look for, but you’re always safe with things that show technical skill.
conceptart.org is one place where many post their portfolios asking for review. You might want to look it up just to get an idea of other student’s work. Many forums about schools, types of art etc. Great site to ask questions.
Your portfolio should be tailored to what type of art you want to major in. A portfolio for fine art (painting, still life as examples) will look very different than one for animation (action, quick sketch, drawing from life) just because the majors will look for different skills. Figure drawing is always important.
Attend a National Portfolio Day.
When we went to Ringling for NPD, Ringling had separate lines for portfolio review dependent on the major. There were separate lines for fine arts/illustration, graphic design, animation. We learned a lot just standing in line and listening to other student’s critiques so my suggestion is to keep your ears and eyes open–learn from others.
(And yes, parents make great line place holders–as well as extra eyes and ears).
Every reviewer will have a different opinion as mentioned above. Seems every school has a different vibe and standard of admission–so don’t let a harsh critique of your portfolio get you down in any way. Just find out what they are looking for. And find out what that reviewer’s specialty is so you have some perspective. Just ask what they think you need to incorporate or strengthen in your portfolio to be competitive. And specific suggestions to get there.
Try to find a school that fits your style of art and goals. NPD is a great way to talk to representatives from the schools. Do research BEFORE you go to narrow down your top picks. I think that fit in art schools is very important
Short story: My D’s review (for animation) at the time was harsh–it went (as the reviewer turned pages)—“Nope. Nope. Nope. NEVER do that (anime) again!.. (and just as we thought it was all over…) .This is perfect…go home and do a ton more of this .” And D did. The reviewer gave some very specific direction to take at the end which was invaluable.
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Just to add in a funny aside…I wish there was some PSA art teachers would give out that tells the kids “NO ANIME IN YOUR PORTFOLIOS”. I totally get why they draw it (& my kids love anime too) but it’s an instant turn-off for any reviewer. 