My D will be starting this fall at Ringling as Game Art major. I am trying to figure out if she will benefit from attending a pre-college program on Drawing / Illustration during this summer.
Her drawing skills certainly need improvement (some of the comments I have heard about her portfolio - need more work on line, gestures, proportional accuracy etc) .
She started drawing seriously only during senior school year. California College of Arts & LCAD offer pre–college program covering the fundamentals of drawing & figure drawing.
The curriculum of GA (http://goo.gl/bJPouX) include 4 courses on drawings during the first year and after that the curriculum takes a turn toward animation & game art design. I have heard that the animation programs are
super intensive and students have to put in a lot of work. I assume it is best for her to have the highest skills in drawing so she can focus on learning technical aspects of animation.
Is the pre-college program is worth attending to beef up drawing skills? The CCA program is quite expensive and from the course description (https://goo.gl/vawCqi) it appears to be exactly what she needs.
4 weeks of drawing (9 AM – 4 AM M-F) – I like the idea that she will be focussed on drawing without any diversions – I am kind of torn that she won’t get a full break in summer & if the drawing courses in the first year at Ringling will be enough. Please share your thoughts.
Wf.
I am new to the artist side of things (my college freshman can’t draw a stick figure; his HS junior sibling is the artist), but while I think a break before matriculating is a good idea, I don’t think 4 weeks is too long and it would be good to start on an at least equal footing with her classmates.
What does she think?
My S is finishing up his freshman year as an illustration major at MICA, and he tells me the best training he ever got for art school were the summer drawing classes he took at Otis…His figure drawing class there was taught be a real faculty member, not an adjunct, and it was intense in a good way, a real boot camp for future art school students. I’m not sure if Otis has a program specifically designed for kids about to enter college, but it’s worth a look.
Is she able to do pre college at Ringling? She would get college credit for it which makes the price more palatable. Or does CCA give credit that ringling would accept?
I was more than amazed at the improvement in my D art skills after pre college. But since she’ll be at ringling in the fall that’ll happen anyway I suspect.
She should be studying even if on her own proportion and perspective.
Thank you all for your thoughts.
@IxnayBob - I agree that 4 weeks is not long. She will still get to enjoy some vacation time. She is open to spending a part of her vacation learning drawing.
@spoonyj - Thanks for the info about Otis. I looked it up and it is quite well designed.
@gouf78 - Precollege at Ringling is a good idea but I’d like her to spend some time with us at home during the summer (as she anyway will be in Ringling this fall). CCA is at a comfortable 1 hour distance from home. CCA does offer credits for the classes, but you bring up a good point - I will have to check with Ringling about accepting them.
1 hour away is handy. I think you are right about the value of a break before college. DS had a wonderful summer after having been busy for previous summers, seeing friends, sleeping in, reading books. I am a SAHD, so we enjoyed a very close time.
My 27-year old daughter, who is now a full-time professional painter, took one pre-college drawing summer course after her HS sophomore year. She also took many drawing courses at Art League schools, both in our city and in NYC. Both systems were good for her in terms of training, and showing her which direction she wanted to go in in terms of skill level and type of art. Art League classes are not connected to colleges, but had better drawing instructors (as the instructors were full-time professional artists, not professors). The pre-college program provided a more diverse program–drawing, painting, sculpture, photography. I recommend doing both, if you can afford them.
D just completed the precollege figure drawing class at Laguna College of Art and Design, taught by Hope Rainey. The students were mainly late high school, but there were also several that were already enrolled at LCAD and started their program in the summer. Many took fundamentals of drawing in the am and figure drawing in the PM. The course was absolutely awesome for a pure, foundational figure drawing class. The teacher is an A plus plus. There was one student there who is a rising senior at a liberal arts school she chose for its high quality art program. She said she learned more in this class than the three years at her college, and was returning to repeat it.