<p>I'm a 17 year old junior in high school nearing my senior year. I have always made good grades in school and am in mostly AP classes. It was not until about 3 months ago that i decided i wanted to pursue a career in graphic design. I have been using photoshop for about 3 years and know my way around it and can use it pretty well. But i am currently not in an art class and haven't been since freshman year. This obviously is a very bad thing, considering i'm going to need a portfolio to even be considered being admitted in an art school. I have applied and been accepted into RISD precollege 2011 this summer under the major graphic design (partly to see if it's exactly what i want to do as a career, but mostly because i need to work on my portfolio because they require foundation drawing and design classes). So as it stands now i have pretty much no portfolio, and minimal drawing skill, yet i am pretty creative and artistically minded. This scares the living ***** out of me because i know colleges expect killer portfolios. So what should i do NOW to develop a portfolio? Do i need to find a private art tutor to help me? any help on this would be GREATLY appreciated!!</p>
<p>I would suggest you go to any nearby Art program and speak with students/instructors and lastly admissions people. Pursuing Art/Graphic Design is not for the feint of heart. My brother, an illustration instructor tells his Freshman Drawing class this cold, hard fact: after graduation, when you to bid on a job, I’ll be in the line as well. A good number of graduates from his esteemed school do not work in the hyper-competitive art field whatsoever – burdened with 10000s of debt.</p>
<p>I commend you on this exploration but you should count the costs now.</p>
<p>thanks for the the reply! and the advice… i know graphic design won’t provide financial stability but in my case i choose it over a job that would make me want to shoot myself every day. But that is a pretty moving fact.</p>
<p>I know AP Studio Art does some type of portfolio thingy, and you can still probably talk to your counselor to enroll you for next year (if they have it). I would say if you turn 18 soon, try a logo contest on hatchwise or a similar thingy to add to your portfolio. Offer free banners/brochures/ads/logos to local businesses if you want to add things to your portfolio quick. Offer your school to design a class t-shirt/ next years PE wear, or flyers for clubs or events in your school or community. This helps with your community service, dedication, and graphic design effort! Good luck! (btw, I’m a junior interested in pursuing graphic design as well, pm me!)</p>
<p>They don’t offer studio art at my school the department here really sucks. And i had never heard of hatchwise til you told me and it looks like an awesome website! i’ll definitely be using it. I’ve done banners/flyers/logos for a few bands and ironically i have also designed a few t-shirts for my ap classes, but i never thought of using it towards my college app. Thanks!</p>
the department here really sucks. And i had never heard of hatchwise til you told me and it looks like an awesome website! i’ll definitely be using it. I’ve done banners/flyers/logos for a few bands and ironically i have also designed a few t-shirts for my ap classes, but i never thought of using it towards my college app. Thanks!</p>