<p>Has anyone out there taken a year off after high school to improve his/her portfolio, explore the world, etc? Art school is a big investment/comittment, so I wonder if it's worth taking a year to chill, or to shore up a portfolio, take art classes, get some work experience?</p>
<p>I took a year off. I traveled to Italy, Spain, France, Croatia, Monaco, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and a couple places in the U.S. Then I built a studio (22' x 13' with a vaulted 10' ceiling) from scratch. Then I worked my ass off in it to get into grad school. I also worked as a freelance designer and developer (web and print) to save up for tuition. So if you need a website, let me know. I have tuition I need to pay for. :)</p>
<p>I hope that helps.</p>