How do you guide an artistic kid?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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Looking for tips / advice from other parents or artistic types.

Younger kid starts HS in the fall and loves to draw (used to love legos too) so I am encouraging her to do Art classes as an EC. She’s had art in school since kinder, the usual kind. In HS they can create a portfolio and I think the school also offers AP Studio Art now (just started last year). I’m also going to start looking around locally for art instruction outside the school.

She’s starting to wonder what careers are art-related. This kid’s original ambition is to “travel the world” so she’s not one to suffer for her Art I think. Nor do we have the funds to support her after college - whatever she pursues, it will have to be also financially rewarding. I know in general there’s animation, game design, even architecture. But I am a bit clueless as to how a High Schooler can start exploring these fields while in HS? Also clueless as to how kids can get honestly evaluated on their talent & potential. How do they figure out if it’s something they want to build a life around or if it’s a hobby / avocation?

Any stories to share on your own experiences?

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Well, I was always good at art and did a lot of extra art stuff, but since I was also a top student and had no interest in producing abstract art, I didn’t feel I could off to art school which in retrospect I think might have been more sensible. (I’d have majored in illustration.) Instead I figured since I liked math, and I knew my grandparents had been architects (they died before I got to know them I went off to college with some vague idea I might go to architecture school later, but that I’d major in history and lit or something intellectual.) I discovered early on in college that I really didn’t want to be a scholar and so I did a sort of interdisciplinary major that combined architectural history (where I actually loved writing papers), design and drawing courses, a little bit of film history and some art theory. I had a great time and did go on to architecture school afterwards. I’m a practicing architect, but do show my watercolors locally. (See my avatar.)

As for what I did in high school. I took Saturday classes at the Corcoran School of Art, took art every year I was in high school which included life drawing once a week. I also took AP Art senior year - putting together a portfolio was a great experience and helped me get into my college major which was limited to a select few. One summer I took art as part of a summer academic program at a prep school.

Around here there are numerous opportunities for taking art classes. While many are aimed at seniors and people around during the day there are weekend and evening classes - art centers, community colleges, the local high school all have classes. There are also some local artists who have classes out of their own studios. Local galleries and art store bulletin boards are worth checking out.

Artist friends of mine do or have done a variety of different things. Some do art on the side, but those with more art related professions are: art teachers, art therapists, book cover designers, illustrators, graphic designers, mural painters, framing store owners, gallery owners.

I’m not sure the best way to evaluate talent and potential except to ask the opinion of various art teachers and to enter contests, send art to student publications and to do the AP.

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OP - Repost this in the Visual Arts Forum. Lots of parent there with artistic kids!

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I wonder if a mod can move the thread?

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I too am an avocational artist. I’ve painted since I was a kid and went on to a masters degree in art history and later a degree in painting conservation from an Italian U. I’ve sold paintings locally and I still sit in on painting or rendering classes at local places like Art Center School of Design in Pasadena where I inevitably end up meeting HS and College kids working on their portfolios. … I would reiterate what @mathmom said above. Keep your eyes open for classes taught by professional working artists. Classes that encourage foundation techniques (especially drawing). Encourage her to meet and chat up professionals. Due to the explosion in digital technology—lots of traditional paths to an arts career have closed, but plenty have opened as well. And make it a point to visit lots of museum and gallery exhibits. Encourage her to really LOOK.

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If she isn’t already, I would get her Photoshop so she can play around there/start to learn graphic design. Get her a tablet–digital illustration is the thing to do right now. It’s a very practical arena in which to apply artistic aptitude–I know many graphic designers who make decent livings and started off as generally artistic kids. Another area she can look into, depending on how strong her illustration skills are, is publishing–if you’re good/get the right degree/network well, there’s work in illustrating covers/children’s books, creating world maps, etc… the individuals I’ve seen who do that honed their illustration skills for many years (many drew fanart as teens) and got a college degree in a related art field. Publishing isn’t exactly easy to get into, but the cream does rise to the top. Several friends who started out as fanartists (in fandom) are now professional illustrators. Then again, I know as many people who are truly talented artists (illustration specifically) who do other things, and art is just a passionate hobby. One is a pediatrician. Another a journalist. As your daughter explores her interests/options in high school, she may decide to draw on the side (for fun, not money).

I was an artsy kid, too, and my mom just encouraged me to take the art classes & ECs I wanted, but it was always very clear I wouldn’t be going to art school or trying to be an artist. In fairness, I wasn’t that good at any specific aspect of art (other than photography), just found it really fun. My mom didn’t have the means to support me in any starving artist type career (writing included), and I’m the one who decided I wanted a FT job doing something practical. Just let your daughter find her own way… and see how art teachers, etc. evaluate her. It’s wisest, IMO, to plan for a traditional college & career trajectory, but look at schools that have a broad liberal arts focus (many majors to choose from, etc.) + robust art program or school, just in case. Unless she decides to go 100% for an art niche like animation or graphic design, that is. Art-specific school can be a smart choice if one is laser focused–and sure of–a specific career path within art. Of the two professional graphic designers I’ve worked with in my company, one went to an art institute (but comes from money), and the other want to a Cal State school and got a degree in graphic design.

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I work at a graduate art school with a focus on contemporary studio practice. We have many graduates who are very well known in the art world. It is not an “easy” career path, but those who choose it seem to love it. I am all about following your passion. Of course, your D won’t really know that it is her life’s passion yet. She should make art and read about art. She should take summer art courses, if possible. She should put together a portfolio and get feedback (https://aicad.slideroom.com/#/Login). She should do as much research as possible. The truth is, she does not necessarily have to major in art in college to pursue it as a career, although many do … but I have met some wonderful artists who majored in other areas while also studying art. She can keep it a passion until she knows for sure that she wants it to be a career, if that point comes for her.

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Thanks for moving the thread, mods! And thanks to the posters for the advice. Keep it coming!

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I agree with the above posts, so I will only add our experience. We have one extremely successful professional painter who is a classical/skills based artist, and a 19-year old budding performance musician. The other was great at both, but decided on museum work instead. This is what we learned:

–for some, the passion for art begins at age 2. Provide lots of crayons, paint and sculpey clay and do not get upset when they draw on the wall occasionally.

–give them all the lessons in art they want. Age 5 is not too early

–give them the opportunities, and then leave them alone.

–don’t assume that art leads to the “starving artist”. In our case, the artist was the least expensive, self-supporting at age 19, and looks to make a great deal more money that my husband and I.

–they will figure out if art is a hobby or a vocation. In general, if they have to ask, it isn’t a vocation.

–my artist daughter DOES travel the world. It provides her inspiration to see art in museums and churches for 3-4 months each year, in many different countries.

–classes to take in HS: Mine did not like the high school art teacher. They studied art at the Art League in our area and in NYC. The artist took four different art courses outside of school every week. so you have options both in school and outside of it.

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I’ll add to what @kelsmom said: She should make art, read about art, look at art, write about art and talk about art. One informs the other.

High school AP (or IB if offered) art classes are a good place to start as are museum classes. Visit museums wherever you can. Look at architecture. If it’s possible, travel to get exposure to the history of art and art from other cultures. If it’s possible, attend a summer art session for teens.

So much of being an artist, architect, designer, art historian, art teacher/professor, fashion designer (and I would think a game designer though I’m out of my depth there) involves having a wide foundation of what came before so that you can build the vocabulary to articulate what you see.

I have two artists in the family. My husband went to art school and has been making art professionally for 40 years. It’s never been enough to be self supporting, but we’ve worked it out. I couldn’t imagine him doing anything else. Among his art school colleagues, some are working artists, some are art professors, some have moved into tangental industries like interior design, building contracting, fashion design.

My son took art courses through out high school, majored in art studio/art history in college, then got a Masters of Architecture. His colleagues in architecture school came from a wide range of backgrounds – undergraduate architecture of course, but also studio art, engineering, liberal arts. He liked fine art, especially print making, enjoyed museum work, but architecture was what spoke to him most urgently.

As your daughter progress through high school she will most likely follow the path that she’s most interested in – painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, tech design, fashion design, illustration, architecture.

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Great post, totally understand your issues/concern. High school may not have resources to satisfy her, don’t be afraid to look outside for opportunities. Our D was movie maker/drama/playwright obsessed from 2nd grade on. By high school (10th) she was independently making short movies, volunteering for internship with local movie makers, etc. If art will be her vocation, she will know it and there is not a lot you can do. Good news, they will find a way and being poor for a while will not bother them.

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DS is finishing his freshman year in art school. He was drawing from the time he could hold a crayon. For as long as I can remember he was/is always be seen with a sketch book in hand. He’s always been concerned with being able to make a living so he decided to major in graphic design but will probably end up doing some painting on the side.

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For possible careers go to the Ringling College home page and look under “Proof” “shattering the myth of the starving artist”. Under each of the majors/categories are listed the careers that a major can steer you towards. Good starting list for exploring possibilities.

My D was an artist since age 2 when I think back. You’ll hear that a lot. I should have gotten the clue much sooner than I did but remained in denial–LOL. I never really got to guide her art-wise since she always seemed way ahead of me and had her own ideas of what she needed to learn. Nothing has ever seemed more important to her I think than whatever project she has in progress.

She self-studied art to a great extent – drawing (proportion, perspective), writing,cartooning, graphic novels, web site design (more than one), computer programming, fashion design, architecture) but only what caught her fancy. Her focus and learning was always centered on a particular creative project. Not interested otherwise.
So (as much as it sounds good and I tried to point out the potential advantages) art history, artists, art lessons were not pursued prior college on an outside basis.

My guidance came when finding college choices.

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“they will figure out if art is a hobby or a vocation. In general, if they have to ask, it isn’t a vocation.”
" If art will be her vocation, she will know it and there is not a lot you can do. "
How true those 2 posts are. My D was one of the kids with the crayons in her hand 24/7. Everyone assumed she was going to major in art in whatever college she went to. A high school teacher asked her one time what she was going to college for and she floored everyone by telling them EMT/trauma nurse. We didn’t understand that at all - meanwhile she found a book in the library about art jobs and went running to her her high school art teacher, saying - there are actually art jobs!!! I may not starve!! He said "I was wondering when you’d figure that out. Turns out the EMT idea was because her dad is in the health care field and she thought if art jobs didn’t exist, she would like that. (She’s a science kid too, so I wasn’t that surprised). She ended up going to MCAD as an illustration major, and also took printmaking and comic classes. She graduated last year and has a studio up and running as well as a part time day job. She’s done book covers, illustration for children’s books (including writing and illustrating her own books), animal portraits and note cards which she sells in her Etsy shop.

There are pre-college summer programs for high school kids that are great for kids who think they might like art school. The one my D went to at NHIA in Manchester, NH was VERY reasonable, and gave her a good taste of what a stand alone art school might be like. It might not be too late to set one up for this year, depending on her age.

http://www.nhia.edu/pre-college-summer-program-2

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As a student going off to art school (RISD) this upcoming fall, this is just my experience…

I been interested in art since young, but it was more of a hobby thing - art teachers liked me and that was about it. I focused on my academics when I went into middle school and up till my freshman year in high school. During this time I did not take any classes related to art in school but started to just draw digitally with a tablet and photoshop on various game sites. My parents through out the whole process weren’t supportive of my new obsessions (including late night drawing sessions ) but because I kept up my grades in school, they didn’t complain as much. In my high school, we do not have any visual art classes. It didn’t bother me much because I enjoyed doing art by myself whenever I had free time. I used croquis café on youtube to practice figure, actively took commissions from sites such as ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and work as an artist on Aywas.com, Kaylune.com, chickensmoothie.com, and other various game sites for children. My parents didn’t know I was earning money by doing art until my Junior year in high school.

Since my school does not offer any visual art classes, that includes any AP art. My guidance counselor told me that I could just take the ap test (basically preparing a portfolio) by myself if I was ok with that. I took AP Drawing in my sophomore year and was able to get a 5. I don’t really think parents ‘need’ to support/guide an artistic student, usually a lot of us just find an artistic outlet by ourselves. In my case my parents weren’t very happy and sometimes we would get in huge fights about how I spend too much time drawing and not studying (however, I kept an 4.3+ GPA average through out high school), but here I am going for the illustration program at RISD on full scholarships in the fall! (some pieces I used in my portfolio are located here. http://yhportfolio.webs.com/ Some are a bit old and was not used as portfolio pieces )

She should definitely get the portfolio review on AICAD, it really helped me a lot and be sure when submitting her pieces, she should describe a bit more about what her pieces mean, what she was trying to achieve, what she had in mind when she made the piece etc. They really enjoy reading the artist’s thoughts. You can also call in admissions at the colleges she’s interested in, and ask for informal portfolio reviews. Many of them will be more than happy to do so.

Submit pieces for Congressional Art Competition, Scholastic Art& Writing Awards, YoungARTS foundation, all very good places to get recognition and art colleges really like seeing that on your resume. (I personally got more $ because I placed in Scholastic and received recognition from YoungARTS).

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My D has been a natural artist from a very young age, but also dabbled in music and photography. She is basically good at every sort of art, including singing, acting, and playing musical instruments (taught herself guitar and played oboe for 6 years). Luckily, the schools she attended all had wonderful art teachers and all students had to take art. In her ninth grade year she won a major school district art award, and her teacher told us she was the best student she had had in 37 years of teaching. That was kind of an “aha” moment for us. We were blown away by the drawings and paintings she did in that class. But she still was not thinking of art as her calling. We continued to encourage her do paint on her own, decorate her bedroom, take photos, etc. At one point going into high school she wanted to major in vocal music, mostly because her older brother was a music major. She took music theory as a sophomore and signed up for AP music theory as a junior. She took no art classes as a sophomore at all. That winter I talked to my son and he talked to her, and he convinced her that she was not a good enough vocalist to get into an audition music program and she was much better at art.

So she got serious about art classes as a junior. She made friends with other “art kids” at the high school and that got her to do more art. At the first Back to School night, her art teacher told us she was a special talent and we should encourage her to do summer art programs before senior year. We also bought her some art books and started visiting more museums to get her to think more about what kinds of art spoke to her.

One of her art class friends was in the class ahead of her and mentioned that she had attended a summer portfolio camp at Temple University and it got her portfolio accepted at Temple and other art schools. Another girl in that class won several local awards and got a full scholarship to SCAD. So we signed up for emails and brochures from several art schools to get their summer program materials. We let her choose which one(s) she wanted to do. She chose to do a one week workshop at SCAD and the two-week portfolio camp at Temple. We also decided to visit RISD in the summer just to get a feel for what happens at a top art school.

She had fun at SCAD but decided she did not like Savannah. But she loved the portfolio camp at Temple and it was a huge success for her. She came away with 9 pieces for her portfolio and also the knowledge that she was as good as some of the kids who had been taking private lessons, had AP art in high school, etc. We ended up visiting 9 colleges and looking at about 5 more seriously. Spent many hours on websites and reviewing materials. She also entered the Scholastic competition and won a regional honorable mention. She attended National Portfolio Day and got portfolio acceptances from all 6 schools she visited. She was accepted at all the colleges she applied to, and will be attending Temple this fall.

It is not too late to sign up for many of the summer programs. SCAD has a late one that has an application deadline of May 15 I believe. Temple’s deadlines are much later depending on the session you want to attend. I cannot recommend these summer programs enough! They give you college level instruction and you get a chance to measure your ability against other prospective art majors.

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Speaking as an artist, I recommend taking art classes, going to national portfolio day, and being accepting of any critisism. Talk to a professional and get good feedback.

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Thanks for all the tips!
Update so far:
We’ve acquired a tablet - not officially “hers” but attached to the family laptop and she’s been so happy using it every night with the included software ArtRage Studio. She’s taught herself to use the layers and brushes etc and ha managed to wear down the stylus nib already. Hmm… But she made a pretty anime girl drawing with it.
Maybe Photoshop wil be a bday gift.
I told her that starting now she should try to sketch stuff from real life, like maybe at least once a week, and after a year, when she’s a sophomore in HS, we’ll bring her sketchbook (and whatever stuff) to National Portfolio Day to get early feedback. So if she wants to make a Portfolio for college apps she’ll be well prepared for her HS’ Portfolio elective in Junior or Senior year.
I told her that it seems like sketching from real life is to artists what doing scales and practicing pieces is to pianists. (Dunno if that’s a good analogy)
I’m looking at local art classes to see what’s available & makes sense. She does have Art at school too.

@mathmom question for you - how can a kid figure out if they want to go into Architecture?

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Good question since the first year of architecture school is a pretty expensive way to find out you hate it! I knew some one a million years ago who did the Harvard program and it was very intense, just like architecture school: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/academic-programs/career-discovery/about-the-program.html .

They are apparently pretty common, the AIA has a partial list here: http://www.aia.org/education/AIAS075245

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@scholarme, I’m the parent of an architect. I agree with @mathmom that architecture career discovery programs can help high school students decide if they want to enter directly into undergraduate professional architecture programs. Many architecture schools offer exploration programs. Some are geared toward high school students; some more toward college students thinking about graduate school or adults wishing to change careers. The programs vary in cost, length of time and whether they are in residence or day programs.

If architecture consistently appears on your daughter’s career radar, you should be aware that there are several ways approach architecture school. You can get a Bachelor OF Architecture (BArch) which is usually a 5.0 year program started right out of high school. You can get a 4.0 year Bachelor IN Architecture or Architectural Studies plus a 1.0-to 3.0 year Master of Architecture (MArch). You can get a 4.0 year BA/BS degree in just about anything (art, art history etc) plus a 3.0 to 3.5 year MArch. I wouldn’t say that any of these options is better than the other, but the total time commitment varies as does the total cost.

My son was interested in architecture from an early age, but wasn’t prepared to commit to the intensive and narrowly focused BArch. He chose to get a BA in art studio/art history, worked for a couple of years for an architecture firm, then got his MArch. This was the right path for him, but different students will have different objectives. The Architecture Careers board on this site is a good source of information.