<p>I graduated from High School in 2008. Due to an unfortunate financial situation, I took a year off from academics in order to work. I have resumed my search for colleges, with my main area of interest being in Traditional Animation and Film Making - hardly a practical field, but hey, we can have our pipe dreams while we're young. In any case, my strong point in art has never been in life drawing. I have never taken any extensive classes on the subject, and I had hoped to take some courses in college. But practically every art college I look into requires an art portfolio. I understand the reasons behind the request, but it discourages people like me, who want to BUILD a portfolio. The whole process has been extremely frustrating. Are there any colleges that do not require porfolios, that would allow me to build up my portfolio so that I can achieve my goals? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Many people in your situation, who want to build a portfolio in order to apply to art school, go to community college for a while, and take all the art classes on offer. They then apply to art school. </p>
<p>Another option is to apply directly to an art school that doesn’t require a portfolio. There are only two reputable art schools that don’t require a portfolio - the Academy of Art University, and the Savannah College of Art. Interestingly, although AAU doesn’t have the greatest rep in the world, they’re considered strong in your major, so they may not be a bad choice. SCAD is a higher ranking art school, and not bad for your major either. </p>
<p>AAU is interesting, because their mission is to give students like yourself a chance to go to art school - students who, for whatever reason, don’t have a strong enough portfolio for other art schools. They are actually 100% open admissions because of that - they let everyone in, like a community college does. But they don’t let everyone out. The coursework is tough, so be prepared for that should you apply. </p>
<p>One other option is the Art Institute chain of schools. They don’t require a portfolio, but SCAD and AAU are stronger art schools.</p>