Honest Advise About Art Institute

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

<p>I am new to this site and just found it tonight. I am heavily considering going to one of the art institutes here in Georgia. However I have been burned before with Full Sail University. Full Sail showed me that they promise students one thing. Then give them something completely different. Such as a high placement percentile and real in field education. They then geared me in my major and taught me how to use Maya, Photoshop, Shake and Adobe after affects. Which later I could have just bought books and learned myself for a heck of a lot cheaper. </p>

<p>Once I had graduated their so called great career services offered me 3 web designing jobs. WHEN MY MAJOR WAS COMPUTER ANIMATION. </p>

<p>So as you can see I would like some 1st hand feed back on any and all students attending any and all Art Institutes. GOOD, BAD, INDIFFERENT, UGLY, AMAZING , ECT. It does not matter I would just like any and all feed back. Please Help!!!</p>

2

<p>Too bad you didn’t find the site BEFORE you wasted your time and money at Full Sail. Many of us would have steered you far, far away from it. I haven’t heard anything particularly bad about the Art Institutes, other than they are kind of take your $$ schools. I’m not sure what they offer in return.</p>

3

<p>It is too bad that you didn’t do a thorough search for Full Sail before you committed to going there. There is a LOT of negative information about them. The main problem with Full Sail is that they try to short-cut your education. Haven’t you learned that you can’t short cut anything yet keep the same quality? This is particularly true for art majors.</p>

<p>One thing that most folks have said about the Art Institutes is that they vary as to quality. Not all institutes are equal.</p>

<p>Personally, if you are interested in animation, you should look into more well-known and reputable places such as Ringling ( which will waive all gen eds if you have a prior bachelors degree), SCAD, Academy of Art university in San Francisco, SVA, Pratt ( computer art) or even RIT. Other choices in the US are San Jose State University and University of Colorado. Canada has some well known, and more reasonably priced schools too such as Seneca College, Sheridan College, and especially Max the Mutt.
You might want to alternatively consider two well known trade schools: Gnomon School of Visual Effects and Animation Mentor. Each has their pros and cons. Check out the following thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/783293-animation-schools-after-bfa.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/783293-animation-schools-after-bfa.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck</p>

4

<p>I had looked into SCAD and Ringling. All though my perception on scad is a bit bitter. Because of the fact that when I applied when I was 18 they denied me saying that act and sat scores were too low. All though my art work was leagues beyond their average student. SO my though was well if you are supposedly a top of the line art school you should know that artist do not thing along the lines of an everyday common person. And yes tend to suffer in certain classes. But then they excel in other areas. </p>

<p>That alone told me they were not a true art school. But then again I could be wrong.</p>

<p>So far I get a very meh appeal to the art institute. Is this true they really dont give you the education they say they will?</p>

5

<p>Cleric, not to be offensive, but are you just plainly being dense or are you simply ignoring what folks say? I am being a bit brutal with you because I want you to really listen to what is being said here with an open mind.</p>

<p>Any search of Full Sail on the internet would have shown a LOT of negative problems with the school. In fact, even a poor, limited search of the internet for Full Sail would have disclosed a number of deficiencies with the school.</p>

<p>Now you are asking about another program that has lots of negativity. You don’t seem to learn. Although some art institutes might be decent ( especially in Colorado from what I have heard), most have horrible reputations. Just search other forums about them. If I were you, I would stay with well-known traditional schools such as SCAD, Ringling, AAU, SVA or Pratt Forget the Art Institutes… Did I say that enough times?</p>

<p>If you can’t get into these programs due to academics, although I would think that graduating from Full Sail should have provided a waiver of a number of gen eds as well reducing the admission requirements, you can go to a community college first in order to get rid of any gen ed requirements. Other options would be to attend a good trade school such as Gnomon School of Visual Effects and/or Animation Mentor.I hope that I was able to guide you in the right direction. Good luck to you.</p>

6

<p>TAXGUY, 1st and for most I am not the one being dense if you had fully read my 1st stament and I will state it again.</p>

<p>“I would like some 1st hand feed back on any and all students attending any and all Art Institutes. GOOD, BAD, INDIFFERENT, UGLY, AMAZING , ECT. It does not matter I would just like any and all feed back. Please Help!!!”</p>

<p>I am simply gathering as many opinions as possible yes I heard you. However your voice is not divine intervention. And you, yes you, did offend me. So as of right now I do not care to hear from you. However I will say thank you for your time. Yes I have tried the whole admissions through the credits given at FULL SAIL but low and behold being that they are so bad nothing transfers. So yes I am slowly gathering up as much info as possible. but thanks for being nothing more than some person behind there keyboard with nothing but negative words.</p>

7

<p>I can only offer this information…when my daughter was investigating schools with one of the senior art teachers at her high school, she was advised that any of the Art Institutes should be a school of last resort. The indication was that the schools were far more interested in the money aspect via tuition and fees rather than focusing on the success of its students.</p>

8

<p>Thank you Msmayor,
So far from that is of the norm of what I gather. And that is exactly why I did this so that I an find out first hand what people have to say about them. I will keep this thread open, however I am looking further into other opportunities. Again thank you for the comment.</p>

9

<p>hi cleric, </p>

<p>There are great positive and horribly negative experiences of just about every school out there. Do a quick google search of any school listed and you will find a multitude of opinions and stories of all types. AI, FS, SCAD, Ringling, AAU, SVA, Pratt, Gnomon all have tales about how they are out to take your money (because they are all very expensive), how the instructors are terrible, how the students are unmotivated, and how someone learned nothing useful there. Then of course there are people who say they had a great experience, made many friends and connections and were very satisfied with money well spent. </p>

<p>I’d suggest you figure out exactly what your goal is, character animation, effects animation, modeling, etc, etc and focus on that. Since you already have a degree, is it worth throwing more money after another one? Your hard earned cash may be better spent taking an a la carte approach, seeking courses and studies targeted at improving your skills to achieve your goals. </p>

<p>If you are interested in character animation, perhaps double up on a program with Animation Mentor while checking out subscriptions to a number of online technical programs (gnomon, digitaltutors, fxphd, td-college, etc) to supplement your technical side, or enroll in a CC for life drawing courses, or some other local course on character design, composition, storyboarding. </p>

<p>If you are interested in modeling - some technical program/courses on modeling + traditional sculpture + life drawing + character design.
Or Camera/lighting/rendering - technical courses + film studies/cinematography + a la prima painting + color theory + photography. </p>

<p>Why be force fed by some overpriced program when you can maximize the return on your investment by laser targeting specific areas.</p>

10

<p>P.K. You have a very valid point. How ever I do have a associates degree in computer animation, as you previously stated. The only thing I find myself running into is a nice catch 22. Which is 3+ years of experience or a bachelors that must be had for most jobs. And as of right now I have neither. </p>

<p>As for my goal I would very much like to work in the industry for several years before breaking off and creating my own business. So yes the more a la carte is very valid however it does not get me past the nice catch 22. Hence why I would like to go back for my bachelors and why I am looking into schools. </p>

<p>But as for your points they are very valid and I greatly appreciate the advice.</p>

<p>Thank you again
Cleric</p>

11

<p>How bad was your SAT if SCAD had to say no?
There are schools don’t need scores like, FIT, PNCA or many others that does not care much about them if your work is good in case you’d care to start from scratch. And you can still study and improve on it. I am a middle aged parent immigrated from Asia but studying along with my kid, could do CR 550-sh within time limit. It cound be learned, and useful skill if you want to write and read better doing any job.
Sign up for the collegeboard SAT question of the day, it’s actually fun.</p>

<p>PS
noone here talks to taxguy in that manner. He is the guru.</p>

12

<p>Cleric, I apologize if I offended you. My goal was to shock you out of what I perceived ( perhaps wrongly perceived) as your penchant for taking the short- cut or taking the cheapest alternative without thoroughly checking things out. Short-cuts don’t generally work especially in art. In my humble opinion, you can’t ever get the full benefit of a four year degree in 28 months.It is just too concentrated! This comment would apply to any concentrated curriculum such as Full Sail, Dave School etc. Moreover, with some exceptions such as Gnomon and SVA, “for profit” schools like Full Sail and Art Institutes tend to be there to maximize the profit of the owners and not generally be beneficial to the students. Non-profits are generally better places for many reasons. Non profits pay no tax and can get endowments though charitable contributions. This is NOT true of “for profit” schools. Non profits can get much lower postage rates than for profit schools. The only reason to stay a for-profit school is to maximize the payout to the owners!</p>

<p>Likewise, although all schools have some negative comments, the Art Institutes in particular, have more negativity than most. I would refer to to a number of other forums, but check out students review forum. I can’t give you the URL since it would violate the TOS of College Confidential. I normally believe that “where there is smoke, there is fire.” With the Art Institutes, there is a LOT of smoke…and the vast majority of it is bad.</p>

<p>As for Pumpkinking’s advice, it might be the way to go. Frankly, most folks need a structured program, not to mention feedback from other students,which is why a program such as SCAD, Academy of ART University, Ringling, SVU etc. tend to be better programs than trying to learn all you need by yourself;however, if you are capable of learning by yourself, go for it. Gnomon has a number of good videos that you might want to try. I think they market these videos under the business of “Gnomonology.” SCAD also has some online training. Animation Mentor is all online BUT it solely deals with character animation. You will get no training in any other area of the animation pipeline such as lighting, shading, texturing, modeling, rigging, etc.</p>

<p>Anyway,I know I was a bit insulting in order to try to shock you into my way of thinking. I do apologize if I went too far.Contrary to what you may have thought, I really did have your interests in mind.</p>

13

<p>A very good friend attended Art Institute of Atlanta in the in their culinary arts program. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class. He has very positive things to say about the program. That said, though, he’s not working in his field, he’s still working doing what he was doing before he began at AIA.</p>

14

<p>Trin, </p>

<p>Thank you very much for that info. May I ask when they attended? I have compared research to what most are saying about them. </p>

<p>And yes all in all everyones opinion of this school does match. They have been very aggressive on trying to get my money in their said pockets. They do throw stats at you saying that 88% work in the field with in 6 months of graduating. However Because Of 3 or 4 different opinions on this thread alone I will not be attending this school due to a combination of things.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>the research and the advice of this school match so that means that again sadly the reps at the school are not to be trusted. </p></li>
<li><p>I feel that a more traditional out-lined learning setup is best for me. When I did attend Full Sail I was young and very insecure of myself. Which allowed me to falsely be lead into thinking they could help me achieve my dreams. </p></li>
<li><p>Anyone who sits you down and submits you to a mock interview on the spot to see if you are a “good candidate”. And then tries to force you to pay $150.00 in admission fees and get you scheduled within a week for classes, is not to be trusted period.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>However this being said I am still looking to improve my demo real to its best potential so that my artistic talent out shines my bad grades in high school. Even though I have an Associates in Science of Computer Animation. This is and will be a very hard hurdle. Due to the fact that I hold my work in comparison to that of high talent at CGTALK website. </p>

<p>So I will continue in this, BY THANKING EVERYONE AND LEAVING THIS THREAD OPEN. From which I will continue to reply to and take any and all advise.</p>

<p>AGAIN PLEASE ANY ADVISE IS WELCOMED HELP. AS LONG AS IT IS SAID IN APPROPRIATE MANNER.</p>

<p>THANK YOU ALL</p>

15

<p>It’s “advice.” And if you’re going to use caps, I’m going to <em>plonk</em> you.</p>

16

<p>Cleric, the catch 22 is not really a catch 22 and may only seem that way to students trying to get into the industry. It’s akin to a weeder filter, to discourage those who think they are not good enough, companies get more than enough reels and resumes as it is. </p>

<p>Finishing up and obtaining a bachelor’s would definitely be something good to have in the back pocket, and I would suggest that any art related field that improves your fundamental art skills would be a good choice. </p>

<p>You haven’t really clarified if you even know what area you are interested in getting into. For example, if you are interested in getting into compositing and post effects, then another generic animation program may not be a good choice. </p>

<p>I’d also like to clarify my suggestion regarding the “a la carte” approach. It’s not as taxguy would put it, unstructured and learning on one’s own. In fact I would argue that it is more structured than a generic computer animation degree and is especially good for those who know what area they want to pursue and want to get right to the point and a job in the industry. </p>

<p>The whole point is that one chooses what courses to take, which of course consist of other students (which often may be working professionals), feedback from professors, etc. One picks the industry related courses most applicable one’s goal and at the same time develops content for a demo reel. If there are local community courses or small studio/schools near by offering courses for improving drawing/painting/cg, even better. If the courses suck, quit early and get a refund, and keep looking for better sources of education.
Unlike a university or overpriced art school, one isn’t locked into specific courses, programs or professors where you may be shelling out thousands for a not so useful but required class. </p>

<p>Online education programs such as animation mentor don’t require you to only be enrolled in their program. That’s the beauty of online education, that from the same location you can also be supplementing your education with whatever area you like, whether it be more technical courses on rigging from a place like cgsociety or a modeling course from gnomon. Professionals often enroll in these courses to keep up to date or expand skill sets, and thus you may end up naturally networking and/or helping each other out over the length of the class. </p>

<p>There are some excellent industry professionals and top notch artists either making their knowledge available on the net, or teaching classes for a fraction of the costs of attending a place like Ringling. If you’ve already had the college experience and know where you’re headed it can be a great opportunity.</p>

17

<p>PK.
I find that you are actually very right in the fact that I have not been clear on what I want to do. So here it is.</p>

<p>I would like to be the creative voice behind the modeling of charters/ character modeler. and dabble a bit in how that said character should move and act. However after achieving this I should also like to own my own animation studio that rivals Pixar, Disney, etc. But this I know is going to take A LOT.</p>

<p>Also I do find myself looking into the gnom. And local art classes even private lessons, along with buying self help books. But my one worry with this is I have a nack for finding that one weird sinario that everyone dreds. </p>

<p>Example;</p>

<p>“Scenario puts you back in your chair dumbfounded wondering how did this result happen after you took all necessary precautions for my render not to go cablooy.” </p>

<p>Then after this I have no one to ask or turn too. And I find myself stuff again. Which is why I lean more towards more traditional teachings so that I can go to said mentor and show them my “Cablooy Scenario”. And get past my hurdle asap.</p>

18

<p>Well, from what you write it sounds to me like there are a few avenues you can set your sights on. Either concept artist/character designer, modeller or animator. If you want to be the creative voice behind something like characters then you would either want to be a character concept artist (in which you would have the most creative freedom), or a lead modeller (in which you may be more of a technical problem solver and less of a creative input over the exact design of characters).
Of course as an animator you would assist in developing the acting style of a character. </p>

<p>Owning your own studio rivaling Disney/Pixar is a rather tall order and most fx studios have trouble even staying barely profitable. And if you are interested in a broader creative control over projects you should definitely look into studying film and/or animation/story. </p>

<p>I think the word you want is “kablooey” =)<br>
Your worry is actually pretty much standard operating procedure in the industry, which is why you have to be fairly proficient at troubleshooting and debugging the technical side of CG if you are interested in pursuing it.</p>

19

<p>The daughter of one of my best friends attended the Art Institute in Dallas. It was very, very expensive. She is now a receptionist. They concluded that her time there was a terrible waste of time and money.</p>