<p>As the title suggests, my main interest is photography. I have done a fair amount, and have put together a pretty strong portfolio (I showed it to admissions officers at Pratt while I was at the Pratt precollege program, and they told me I had a pretty amazing photography portfolio. Though, my understanding is that RISD's portfolio standards are a bit higher than Pratt's). </p>
<p>And then comes my drawing. It is not atrocious, but it is nowhere near as good as probably the average student being accepted to RISD. I've taken a few figure drawing classes so I can get the figure pretty much in proportion and some basic shading but nothing that realistic. </p>
<p>I guess what I'm asking is whether RISD will overlook some average (or worse than average) drawing work if its clear that I am there for photography and my photography work is really good? I'm not sure how much anyone can answer this of course.</p>
<p>Also, some other stuff that may affect admissions to RISD. Last summer I did the RISD precollege program but took the Architecture class. While in the other Foundation classes I got As, Architecture was not my thing and the professor and I truly did not get along. I received a B- in the class. Supposedly, RISD does not look at pre-college grades when considering applicants. My GPA is also pretty strong (3.86) as are my SATs (2240) which I think reveal that I'm a hard worker, and probably indicate that Architecture as a class was just trouble for me. Do you think this will hurt me?</p>
<p>aren’t you the one of my old fav kid? How the last summer going? done with all tests for fall? what else to do now, multiple ivy apps?
Is Brown dual in the picture, or why RISD for photo?
I can already hear about million moms naming noted alms ( like the one who killed herself) but my overall feeling is it is not strong nor particularly putting effort in photo.
I read in somewhere recently in this forum they ditched some of traditional (non digital) facility. I am not photo people and can not remember nor know jargons, you might want to check it up.
Our tour guide was a senior photo major. I asked
" so what are you going to do after this?"
" donno… want to travel, maybe"
" what are your folks saying?"
" they are supportive."
The sneaker the kid was wearing could have about payed my month’s grocery.
I know ^ it is one student’s sneaker, one sinior’s prospect, but if you hear and see and experience often enough in stretch of years, it means something, no?
If you have no money worry, that’s fine. from what I know I don’t think your family do.</p>
<p>More people would give you idea what to do with portfolio and bad (you mean B- ? grade from arch) , but if you did port prep at Pratt, it should’ve covered the basics.
I am sorry but the biggest mystery of RISD is, the accepted bike drawings just are all over the place. Really, I do not know who what how they are looking.
I have a feeling for the kids with really good grades scores like you, it might
“I did the best I could humanly able because this is how much I want to come here, and it is the best work I ever did, I worked really long time on this, my mom thinks it’s great, everyone likes it, too” kind of sunny attitude were shown in drawings. Technical or artistic aptitude at the moment does not matter as much for them, because that’s why you choose RISD. To get trained in those areas by their special own way from the ground up.</p>
<p>I agree with Bears, with those grades and stats, good photo portfolio and decent drawing skills but lots of enthusiasm, you will most likely get in. </p>
<p>Can you make something out of your so called “average” or “worse than average” drawing skills. By that I don’t mean learn more traditional techniques but make something shine out of where you are now. Have you seen how many approaches there are to illustration? A naive drawing style can be charming and in fact it is kind of trendy now. I’m not saying to be all style over substance either. It just bugs me when people believe that good drawing is only one kind of drawing. Good drawing is drawing done by someone who loves it while they are doing it. Maybe you don’t love it. But I bet you can get yourself into a space where you feel good when you are drawing. Those should be the ones you put in your portfolio. This is about you. Not them.</p>
<p>just so you know I am totally open to all types of unconventional drawing/art, and I think gary panter’s drawings look great. In no way do I think that the only good drawing is realism. </p>
<p>So I guess in terms of portfolio, would RISD prefer to see more creative drawings that arent technically well done, or attempts at drawing realistically and technically (figure drawings, etc.). A mixture of both?</p>
<p>I do actually really love and enjoy drawing, but I am not quite good at it, as I have said. I have been more trying to learn to draw realistically because I have always sort of believed/been under the impression that before drawing abstractly or in a more unique, nonrealistic style, one should understand how to draw realistically (and then one’s style will develop better). I suppose I believe this because alot of the great more abstract artists, cubists, etc. (Picasso for one) were pretty masterful painters/drawers, and then departed from that and developed their own style. Perhaps this has been a misguided belief.</p>
<p>Sorry if I got little passionate there. I was just responding to something I sensed in your original post. You obviously are a hard working, earnest person. And it sounds like you have some talent (I haven’t seen your work but I believe you). I just felt like you were being a bit hard on yourself about the drawing stuff. It’s a great conversation to bring up about going the classical route first before you break away. It is never going to hurt anybody to take a figure drawing class and revel in representing the human body. But I do know that Picasso often said he was searching for his original line. The one that was there before he was classically trained. I think that is why he is one of the greatest artists of all time. He had a gift even before his teachers got hold of him. </p>
<p>On a practical level, I think that unless you have come to a fully formed personal drawing approach, it would be good to show a mix of the creative loose ones and the more realistic attempts. My son approached the 3 drawings this way. He wanted to show them with the bike that he could do the realism thing and for one of the others he went hog wild into his rambling fantasy line drawing style. (Don’t quite know how to explain it).</p>
<p>I lurk around on the RISD blogs and facebooks. There is a RISD Lucy’s Admissions Blog and Facebook page. She is a really nice and supportive person. All kinds of kids are asking questions like yours. Her answer us usually “have fun with it!”. I recommend checking it out. If you really want to be a lurker you can check out RISD 2014 facebook page. A lot of the kids who are starting in September are there talking to one another. It’s a public page. Gives you a lot of insight. They’ve got these upper classmen moderating it and answering questions.</p>
<p>I’m currently a sophomore at RISD, so I’m no expert by any means but I can offer some insight.</p>
<p>RISD is basically major-blind when it comes to admissions. Freshmen frequently switch their declared majors, so they do not really take intended major into account while reviewing applications.</p>
<p>As far as I know, if your submitted portfolio is solid, you have nothing to worry about. One guy I know was admitted with a portfolio that was primarily blown glass (and his drawing isn’t that great). Someone else I know was admitted with a portfolio of textiles - again, drawing isn’t her main focus. If drawing isn’t your best, try to fill your portfolio with the stuff that is, and your work should speak for itself.</p>
<p>As for the home test, just do your best and have fun with it. I don’t know who this was, but someone my year submitted a page full of triangles for the bike drawing. If there was a representational bike in there, I couldn’t find it. Of course, I have no idea what their portfolio was, but I’m just saying that all bike drawings don’t have to be the same technical, representational study.</p>
<p>Architecture class - If they say they don’t look at it, I’m pretty sure they don’t. As far as I know, RISD doesn’t favor precollege students. I didn’t go at all and neither did the vast majority of people I know. (A large percentage of precollege students end up going to RISD, I think, but that probably stems from their enthusiasm and interest to begin with.)</p>
<p>Your GPA and SATs will definitely help as well. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>that’d explain some of the mystery, thanks.
Stay around and do tell more !!
We are told at the info session as examples, alphabet soup drawing with pasta spelling the word
b-i-c-y-c-l-e" or the person wearing polo shirt with tiny emblem of bike instead of the polo figure were IN-s.</p>
<p>^ Picasso
yes I read in somewhere he said
" it took few years to draw like masters but took whole life to be able to draw like a child"
I like wagdog’s attitude, it have been my pet-peeve ever since start spying artschools in US, sorry to bug you.
I think that artists who start doing childish thing in the hi point of their career seem had traditional training covered long gone but people tend to judge them by what they are best known for
Cezanne! apples!
Picasso! the messed up face!
Duchamp! the toilet !
Murakami! anime sex figurines!
Warhol! soup!</p>
<p>^^Wesleyan… dear-est drae, this is not laugh out funny. no one wants to go there for real. art kids who get in would usually get cross admit to Yale Brown and ditch Wes.
We have to do something.</p>
<p>I know, I know. I am excited my son is going to spend 8hr days and more drawing, drawing, drawing. What an experience. What a discipline. What a chance for discovery and awake-ness. Do you know at NYU Photo (Tisch) there was no drawing requirement? The Fine Art Department at NYU is in a different school, Steinhardt I think. It floors me that they could consider it a full training without offering basic drawing and 2D design classes. I did feel at a loss after graduation. I longed to be able to express through the hand and not just the eye.</p>
<p>Go Wags! You are on the right track. </p>
<p>Have you noticed that you guys belong together?: Wags and Bears and Dogs too!</p>
<p>@ bears and dogs: I’m not sure if you were replying to me, but I’ll have a go? (I’m new here, sorry.)</p>
<p>Many bike drawings I’ve seen were very straightforward, but I have seen funny and clever drawings like those on the wall too. I doubt you could do those examples again, but possibilities are basically unlimited.</p>
<p>When I was applying last year, I thought that RISD wanted something much more traditional from its applicants than what I ended up seeing on the walls in the Waterman building. I think the only thing “wrong” that you could do would be to not think about the assignment and treat it as a joke. In my opinion, they just want to see evidence of your thought process.</p>
<p>Again, I’m obviously no authority, but if anyone has questions about RISD freshman year I’d be happy to answer.</p>
<p>^Yes, I meant YOU !!
RISD wannabes are most enthusiastic bunch until they get in, then tend to disappear. In the past RISD kids posted were often who thinking about transferring out or in academic probation, thou most posts were favorable.
Parents are another story. I have no idea how moms in Cal, Midwest, AZ could tell what’s up with their kids’ daily goings I mean, do they call, e-mail, write to them what they ate, who they spoken to, what happened with their assignments up to senior years?
It is great to hear from the student who is going through themselves, not the second hand info.
I took tour when my kid was still HS freshman thinking better start from the tippy top first, impressed and confused at the same time.
more I hear parents rave about the school, more I become suspicious self being somewhat artist and had to deal with RISD and non RISD alms, plus immigrant and all.
As I understand the system better and many more schools I saw, there really aren’t much differences wherever you are, as long as the school has your intended area of study and doing so well.
No RISD for us and happily so, but many many others can use your advice, is what I wanted to say.</p>
<p>Yeah, I totally agree with you, especially on the last part - bright kids are going to thrive basically wherever they go, and they definitely don’t need a school with a lot of “name” to do so. I’m glad if my posts here help in any way. Looking back, I knew so little about RISD before I enrolled - it’s really hard to get a sense of what a school is like, but particularly so in an art school where it’s hard to quantify what’s a good art school in the first place, let alone whether one of the so-called great art schools lives up to the hype.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not surprised that students admitted to RISD sometimes drop off the face of the internet. We jokingly call it “the RISD bubble” - it’s partly because you have so much work, partly because the community is so tight and insular (because you have so much work). After about a semester everyone loosens up again. But yeah, that probably contributes to the air of “mystery” around RISD: at least at first, it can be easy to lose track of the outside world, haha.</p>
<p>Your D or S is lucky to have a mom like you who’s really involved in the college search. I bet they’re very happy wherever they are right now!</p>
<p>Yes, he is happy alright doing physical labour in the fresh air for the summer.
No, it backfired totally.
My kid will not do traditional college anymore, doubt even any artschools besides Cooper.
Good thing I run out of the gas about the same time.<br>
I no longer see much value in higher education unless he really wants and ready for it.
getting in somewhere is easier part, but keep paying for, staying in, get out in about time and be ready to face adult life from; HYSP or RISD, nowhere public U does not matter - is the hard part.
I am here now for my own merit ( to learn about culture, geography, life in general here in US where more likely I get old and die) and check up on kids/moms I got attached to.
keep posting!</p>