Tips on getting into art schools? CalArts specifically
lol i thought all their schools where closing?!?!
Don't.
L I F E D R A W I N G
>>2260101
you need to let the arts cal you
Do vilppu tier figure drawing
Or
Draw in "indie","tumblr" style
>>2260101
Rich bitches are not allowed here
Just climb over the fence
>>2260118
M O D E R N
>>2260101
If you're good enough to get in, you'll get in.
If your work is so shit you have to come here and ask tips, you probably wont be getting in.
>How do I art good.
Go practice, thats the only "tips" you really need.
>>2260292
>If you're good enough to get in, you'll get in.
Nah, that's not all it takes. You also need a lot of $$$.
These giant art schools are run like businesses.
>>2260101
Have lots of money to burn
>>2260292
CalArts students aren't good though
>tfw you applied for cal arts, got in
>your art was later stolen from your classroom
>someone used those pieces to apply to cal arts
>didn't get in
>>2260399
Probably more is at play than just the portfolio, such as grades or whatever. Also maybe CalArts recognized that those same images had been submitted before so disqualified them for plagiarism. There's lots of possible explanations. Or maybe it's just art is subjective and one person reviewing portfolios might let you in and another not.
>>2260386
They are pretty good, otherwise they wouldn't get hired by Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks. But whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better.
>>2260423
All shit companies
>>2260425
What's a not shit company then?
>>2260419
Those big schools get A LOT of applicants. Half the skill lies in having enough luck for the "judges" to actually take a serious look at your stuff. If there is something that doesn't catch their eye at once, they'll trash it. No matter how good it is.
Also, when selecting applicants for a class, they'll want the class to be interesting and diverse while still coherent. So if they see someone that works in a similar fashion to you, but they think is a bit more interesting (not necessarily better) they'll probably take them instead. As well as if you are to different, they might think that it will be a hindrance to the group. Again, as I wrote earlier, half the application is luck.
Also, there are usually things like personal statements, or other written letters that you'll have to write. So if you are completely shit at writing and explaining you'll not get in. Unless you are Picasso reborn, or some shit.
Also, at least when it comes to fine arts schools, they don't give a shit about things like figure drawings or studies. They will see hundreds of applicants who think they are special because they know how to draw legs correctly in proportion to the head. Studies are a great way of getting better, but you will, again, have to be Picasso reborn if they'll take you in on a few still lifes and naked girls.
Also. The important one.
You will need to stand out.
Do something with chock value, something different. Something that will make them think "Oh, shit. That person will do cool shit in the future that will give our school cred"
And even if you do all of these thing perfectly, you'll still probably not get in. Which means that you'll have to try again the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, etcetera..
So, good luck.
Depends on what you are applying for...
If you want to go Character Animation, you want to do more traditional figure drawings and have a lot of sketches from life. Make a portfolio
Experimental animation is easier to get into, you can literally send any kind of art/animation.
Importantly, you need to convince them in your essay that you are intelligent enough to add value to the community. That you have taste, ambition, goals.
I mean you don't have to be incredibe, but you need to be good for a high school student. If you are older, I think you will need a more impressive portfolio.
Calartss draws a lot of international students, and out of state applicants as well.
Don't listen to the people saying its just luck, they pick their students for a reason. But it's not always based on technical skill.
Pay money
>>2260101
make a sketchbook like this, act liberal and as left wing as fuck, pretend to be a feminist and all that shit, colour your hair pink, find out whats the latest hipster thing, and bang you're in, make sure your sketchbook is literally like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqj2yJW6aYI
>>2262315
Ignoring the Hipster faggotry, her art is actually not half bad.
>>2260144
>>2260445
Gaumont, H5, Callicore, the list goes on man.
>>2264585
i don't speak french man
>>2260101
1. Pay enough money
2. Have some super liberal positive story about your life, lie if you must. Something about being a fag would work
3. Have an average sketchbook with daily drawings
4. Show you have cash
5. Skip all above if you're some genderbender black man with a ghetto past and enjoy your free ride into mediocrity.
>cal arts
>cries because I can't even afford community college
I have no clue how people afford Calarts. I'm in a Canadian animation program with a couple of Calarts refugees who finished their first year and then transferred because they realized they couldn't actually pay. As a domestic Canadian student I still pay (what I feel) is an outrageous sum per year ($9000). Calarts students pay like $43,000 per year. So if an international student chooses the Canadian program over Calarts, they're still paying "only" $25,000.
$172,000 for the degree WHAT THE FUCK! I'm nauseous
>>2265048
>Scholarships
>>2265048
Most american universities are like this, especially private schools. Most people don't pay sticker price after grants etc. (not sure how much that applies to this school in particular) but people really do go into extraordinary debt for higher education in the U.S.
>>2265075
are they all getting scholarships?
>>2260386
CalArts has produced more musicians that I can think of than artists. Ariel Pink, Julia Holter, John Maus...
>>2265075
HOW DOES ONE GETA SCHOLARSHIP!?
>>2265190
literally who... hipsters? thats all you had to say, hipsters
>>2265550
>I don't know them, therefore they must be hipsters.
You're embarrassing yourself, anon.
>>2265190
Your argument makes you look incredibly uneducated if you think that these 3 musicians are the biggest thing Calarts has produced.
Go back and look up any animated film and artistic milestone in the US since 1980. Theres probably about 150 big artists that came from Calarts. Musicians are about 3.
>have to go to art school and get a degree because I need a work visa down the road
I'm going to some mediocre school here in Ontario called OCAD. The classes and teachers look absolutely unimpressive. This is the level needed to get in:
https://conniechoiportfolio.wordpress.com/
I don't expect to learn much there but they have some programs where you can apply for internships or some other thing, maybe that will boost me a bit.
At the end of the day, it's almost all on me. I gotta not only improve as much as possible but be assertive and get connections. The 2nd part is hard because I am a social outcast.
>>2265030
What kind of shit situation are you in that you can't afford community college? Most people I know (including myself) go for free.
>>2265549
>be good
>don't not be good
>be poor
>>2268249
You've been complaining a lot about OCAD but it's a pretty good school. Dude, it's the main art university in Canada. Just by virtue of being the only significant art school in Toronto, Canada's biggest and busiest city. Other post-secondary art schools in Toronto are Sheridan, which isn't strictly art, and only better than OCAD for certain programs. None of the other unis in Toronto offer this breadth of art training. U of Toronto, York, Ryerson, etc. are not visual art schools.
Emily Carr is in Vancouver and I've heard it's better than OCAD, but it can't be much better. In Montreal you've got Concordia. Also not significantly better than OCAD.
Connie's portfolio is mediocre but not abysmally bad. But in any art program I bet only the top 10-15% are very good anyway. This girl is still above average in terms of the general public's drawing level.
Anyway I think I'm arguing for OCAD because it might reward you if you go in with a decent attitude. If anything, you can take advantage of the school's resources and forge some social connections. I think the social aspect is probably the most valuable thing you'll pull from the experience. I'm an animator, so I don't really depend on commission pieces, galleries, etc. but my friends who've gone to OCAD for illustration and painting truly depend on the acquaintances they've made there to get their art known
I've written too much but there you go
>>2268283
Thanks for the reply, it's appreciated. I will go to either OCAD or Sheridan at this point. I'm mainly looking to make a 2D digital art career, but will become proficient in 3D modeling as well if it looks like a good decision for me.
The only decision now is whether to apply for the Drawing & Painting program, the Illustration program, or the Digital Painting & Expanded Animation program.
The last one seems like the obvious choice, but I think it's a new program and there's animation study too, which I don't have any interest in.
>>2268250
Rather not talk about it. I didn't qualify for grants or loans. Its a long story.
>>2265048
i'm guessing you're in first year at sheridan? this is the first i'm hearing of people having gone to sheridan after attending cal arts for a year
>>2268335
fuck man, sorry- that truly sucks. On the bright side at least most of everything you could learn is accessible online.
I'm going to Art Center next year for ED, I just found out today I'm getting 5k per term, and thats AFTER groveling to the FA department about how poor I am. My only hope is to do fucking excellent and try to boost my continuing scholarship for the following terms. If I'm luck I can do 2 years and only be 30k in debt. Hooray art school.
>>2265048
Technically due to the USD-CAD difference it's $19000 for Sheridan's internationals. Still a hefty sum but more or less the same that you'd pay to go out of state at a public college. Not even that far from some bigger schools in state.
On a related note, anyone interested in animation that lives in California needs to check out SJSU. Strong ties to Nick, Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, etc.
Why is the student work at calarts so mediocre? I thought it was supposed to be the leading school in animation.
>>2271837
Technical quality of animation in the west doesn't matter. Most of those popular tuimblrtatsic cartoons on tv now are produced by post-calart students. It's probably the leading school in getting people hired.
>>2271837
What would possess some dipshit to draw and animated a dark skinned fat man skipping about like a complete faggot?
Fucking sickening.
>>2271837
fuck this gay earth
while japan still leads in animation we left with hipsters and rich boys having a go at it and forcing this faggotry on everyone, wtf
>>2271837
I actually really like how smooth the spin and landing is.
Not keen on the skipping though.
>>2272379
yea you would though, faggot! youve been indoctrinated by education to 'lik' certain things, prove me wrong. im in college now and being taught so much nbullshit and forced to like something adn work in specific ways rather than spread my wings and be creative, literally it's like they dont want us to create things and leave it only to the rich people
>>2272433
Not even sure if you're serious m8.
>>2260123
Heh
>>2272366
>thinking Japan is leading animation
>not the Koreans and Chinese
>>2260101
My advice to you OP:
If you're serious about going to an art school, but never really had the drive to do it in high school or on your own, you will have a shit hard time getting in to one.
If you know a good community college in your area with a good visual arts program, go to it because you'll be able to produce more work than you would be able to on your own where you'll likely get distracted.
Also if your financial situation is shit, bear in mind financial aid is a thing.
It also depends on what you are going for too. >>2260572 and >>2260505 bring up some important points about that.
>>2260423
I heard that Disney was pretty shitty when it comes to how they treat the people that work for them.
That being said it's probably the same reason why Alex Hirsch comes off as a Hack: He doesn't want to admit Disney fucks him over.
>>2260144
easiest
I'm just going to be completely honest here; as many amazing students there are at CalArts, there are a lot of mediocre ones that get in every year. Plenty of students get in with half-way decent life drawings and ok cartoons. I'm not saying it's absolute, but the biggest thing that gets you into this school is your connection to the faculty. The one thing a lot of accepted students had in common was that they either attended CSSSA, a CalArts summer residency, or were in this online portfolio dev class. Only a small fraction probably got in with no previous experience with the school.
Lots and lots of well-deserving students get rejected every year only because they aren't well known, and the students the faculty do know are given priority because they know how they work and see how they respond to criticism and feedback. It helps to maintain a tumblr and get notoriety that way, but in the end a connection with faculty speaks very loud, especially when they're on the review board.
Basically, don't suck really bad, draw from life everyday in a sketchbook with pen, have somewhat inspiring life drawing, and take a class with one of the faculty and maintain a relationship with them, and you're already in the top 20% of the applicant pool. You're not guaranteed to be accepted but you've got a better chance than a majority.
But it's already Nov so it's probably too late for this year
What's this board's opinion on SCAD?
>>2275588
I've heard that its become the new shitty ,art institutes, scam school.
Hey. I go to calarts and all I can say is: Don't.
A lot of the shit you learn here can be learned on your own. The only thing to make up for the massive price tag are the connections and talks.
The teachers are interesting but a lot of them come and go so often that you might end up with multiple terrible teachers for a year. It's frustrating because it happens so often with some teachers staying for maybe only two semesters since a lot of these guys have actual jobs outside of teaching.
When it comes to wanting to get into animation, just fucking network with people because that's literally what it comes down to. Most people get their jobs just from knowing someone and asking if there's a job available. Make friend, go to drink&draws, or wherever animation guys go to network or whatever.
Save your money for a vacation or something. This place is just not worth the stress or debt.
Art Centerfag here, about to graduate. The instructors become a lot more open with students that make it into the upper terms without dropping out, they start treating you more like peers than fresh young students - so because of this, they I have asked what goes into picking students that apply.
What I now know is that they have a portfolio day each term where they lay out all the portfolios, rate them, and select who's good enough to get in. The written shit is not really that important, they just wanna make sure you're not a retard. They really don't give a fuck if you can paint. If you're an amazing painter but your portfolio has no drawing, the answer is NO. They want drawing. If you can draw, you can learn to paint, but a good painting could have been finessed for months and months and months. That shit is no good in the fast paced way Art Center teaches. Life drawing is a must, and if the application asks for 15-20 life drawings, do 15-20. Full sized shit, classical charcoal drawings. If you don't constantly keep a sketchbook, start doing it, because if you throw in one or two of those in your portfolio, it shows you're constantly working and thinking. Don't be precious with your sketchbook. It's a SKETCHbook. Scribble in it, figure shit out, jot down notes, rip shit, splatter things in it, whatever it takes to figure out an idea. Went from someone that babied my sketchbook and never finished 1 to filling up one moleskine every 2 months. It's a tool- use it, show it.
>>2268373
Hi new ArtCenter recruit.
This is me:
>>2277040
I'll be out before you're in, but here's some advice:
Ask for more. I've gotten it by asking.
I started with departmental scholarship of 7500 per term (but tuition was 17,500 when i started, now it's like 20k). I worked my ass off and made more and more with each scholarship review. My first review was brutal, but after that, I quickly added scholarship up. Haven't paid for a term since like 3rd term. I was just under having enough when they raised the tuition price, and I simply asked for more and got it, but by that point I showed that I was working my ass off. So fucking do that and be a squeaky wheel. Don't be the quiet one in critiques because nobody will fucking know who you are. Get involved with shit, ACSG, events, clubs, peer mentoring, etc. The more you speak up, the more you're known, the more likely you are to be rewarded when it comes time to reward students with scholarship money. There are students that sometimes make it to graduation and because they were the quiet ones, teachers hardly even know who the fuck they are. These students are the type that take out $100k in loans , it's sad.
If your parents make good money, disassociate yourself from them legally somehow, because you're less likely to be rewarded than students in need.
Non-financial advice: First day you get homework, do it that day like it's due tomorrow. The work piles up. Foundation terms are torture, stick it out, it gets fun later.
Is it better to just go to a standard 4-year college and study another skill (ex. computer science, engineering) and continue my art studies independently, or should I go to a school that specializes in art?
I'm really attracted to the idea of being in an environment full of artists/being able to make connections, but the latter option will most likely bankrupt me. And not going to college isn't really an option for me.
>>2277334
Well if you are passionate about the art, then go to school for that. A better option is to go to a smaller art school that fits your budget
>>2277053
would love to check your work out. i get the feeling it would generally be the best of the best of student work
>>2260386
pretty much this
>>2277028
>Save your money
what if my rich mommy will buy me into any art school I want if I can be accepted?
Don't go to artschool unless your parents are paying for it. Chances are oyu won't find work after you graduate, and if you do you will still make peanuts and have crippling debt.
work part time and do art in your free time.
>>2278236
Then go. It's arguably going to sculpt you in a better way as opposed to just struggling on your own. Youre lying to yourself if you believe you can educate yourself better than an institution founded on an artform
Have the people that say save your money are being honest. Don't go to art school till you are certain. The other aspect of art school means you need to give up a lot to be good. No vidya, no parties. Also you need to keep a really healthy schedule or expect to fall behind.
I can't stress this enough as well, do some research. Gnomon, AC, CalArts, Academy, these aren't schools to joke around with, you fuckaround and they will bounce fast.
Art students expectedly should spend at minimum 10-16 hours a day on learning their trade. Its one of the smaller fields, and thats for a reason.
Bump so we don't need to make another art school thread anytime soon.
