UK Illustration courses

[EddTQ]

hi
im currently in the stages of applying to university, after uni i want to be in a sort of junior concept artist job.
my problem is i really don't know where to go
my teachers say that falmouth and brighton are really good for illustration but apparently the teaching changes massively between universities.

i could do with the finding out from people who've done it and become concept artists what qualifications they did and where?

any help would be great! - this uni thing is starting to look like a big expensive nightmare

[daveneale]

I went to Hull to do my illustration degree, and it taught me to rely on myself, because the actual teaching, well, lacked. The thing was that 3 years at uni does give you a good amount of time to concentrate just on drawing, and I did improve massivly during my uni years, but as I say, not from the course. A uni course (especially one that teaches stuff) will definatly give you a good chance to improve, but as you say, its expensive, so use your time well!

[Badger]

Hey there, I don't know about Brighton to do concept art style illustration, the type of style brighton pushes is a bit more contemporary. I haven't seen much stuff Brighton have done recently, but i think it's living on a reputation of being in brighton (i await some Brighton lecturer to come tell me i'm chatting shit)
There are a lot of Uk'ers here at uni's doing illustration degrees all over the place.
I for one am at Bristol school or art, see University of the West of England - Bower ashton. And i enjoy it a lot, hell i'm writing this from inside my studio, it's 18:40 and there are still people here mulling about drawing and painting.

I suggest going to have a look at places and not relying too much on your teachers, they don't know current reputations or lecturers. Also it's an expensive choice go see as many as you can!

Also, i'm assuming you've done a foundation year, but if not, do one, find a drawing centric one if you can, it's excellent.

-B-

[alesoun]

If you're prepared to go North, you could check out Edinburgh, Glasgow or Duncan of Jordanstone (Dundee). They all have excellent reputations, and Edinburgh has an open day this Friday.

[EddTQ]

daveneale: thanks i've been hearing that alot lately, it seems that its
better to go to a not so good uni and work your ass off than to get into a top
of the range uni and just coast.. !

Badger: Actually atm i'm doing a national diploma in art and design
which (i'm told) is equivelant to a foundation, i joined up because they said
we'd be doing life drawing and stuff which we still haven't done and i'm in my
second year :/
i've been nagging my teachers constantly about it though haha

UWE is actually my most favoured uni of all! - i love the illustration course
there, i went for the open day and bush house looked awesome!!
are you doing illustration in bush house?
My girlfriend lives in bristol too so bristol is kinda my first choice, im thinking
though if i don't get straight into BA Illustration i might consider doing a
foundation year at UWE to then have a better chance of getting a place?
ps: happy 1,500th post! hahah :D

alesoun my teachers actually told me about edinburgh, apparently the
tuition fees are alot cheaper there too! - although i'm a devon kid and the
prospect of moving to bristol still frightens me abit hahah i'm a total wimp!

[alesoun]

Ah! You'd have a blast in Edinburgh! It might be a city, but it's like a big village. You'd only be 50(?) miles from the Burrell Gallery and the Kelvingrove; the National Gallery of Scotland would probably be in walking distance, and you'd only be a phone call and a £45 plane journey from your folks. Check out the website...

Same with Glasgow. It's a vibrant city.

As for Dundee,- where do you think Oor Wullie came from?

Of the 3, I'd go for Edinburgh, after that, Glasgow

[lhazar]

Edinburgh and Glasgow are cities thriving with culture and art. I would definitely consider those in order to start my career!

But I have been browsing the students' galleries, and in both Edinburgh (http://illustration.eca.ac.uk/2007/) and Glasgow (http://www.gsa.ac.uk/gsa.cfm?pid=6) the work done seems more focused on contemporary galleries than concept work.

It is true that you are given freedom as where to lead or focus your own career... but what kind of inspiration or information can your teachers and classmates give you, if most that surrounds you are abstract paintings?

[Badger]

Yeah i'm a third year on UWE's illustration course, and i like it a lot. I'm in bush house right now as i type this. UWE don't run a foundation course atm, but there is one run at the RWA at the top of park street and possibly one at Bristol college. Bristol is a city with awesome nightlife and a lot of museums and a fair few galleries. The course itself has a really good rep due to it's consistent placing in competitions, due to this people keep an eye on the graduates.
And thanks, ha ha, i forgot i had so many posts to my name!
-B-

[Shantih]

I'm leaning mostly towards UWE right now. I'm actually having trouble finding 4 other places I like enough to have as my other choices :nohope: Got the UCAS fair next week though, maybe I can find something useful there.

From asking around and being generally nosey, Brighton came across as a bit too contemporary for my liking, but who knows.

[mynameisrichard]

I go to Brighton. Am starting my MA in Sequential illustration and design nnext year.

[mynameisrichard]

Edd. I lived in Devon all my life and moved to Brighton to do my digital design degree. Brighton is a nice place and i managed to do ok so I am sure you will.

[alice_]

I'm currently in my final year studying illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and I would suggest not bothering if you are looking specifically for concept art style tuition. The course is mostly project brief based (ie: illustrate this newspaper article/book cover etc) and it can be hard to do the type of work you may want to. It's not bad or anything, it just depends on what you are after. There is a strong emphasis on drawing and there is a pretty good print department too.

I don't know anything about anywhere else, haha

[Twiggy]

what does everyone think of Norwich school of Art & Design? I'll by applying in the new year, Norwich seems to be a good place, it's very arty with I like a lot. I'm thinking of doing Game Art Design.

Any thoughts/experiences on that?

Earlier I fancied London School of Arts, but now I'm not sure if I should go there or not.

[EddTQ]

Shantih: yeah i've been looking at brighton and have kinda decided its a bit too contemporary for my liking too - what year will you be entering, 08?
i've just entered my choices, i went for UWE, plymouth uni, plymouth college of art and design (2yr foundation + a one year BA top up) and i'm gonna apply to falmouth through route B
UWE and plymouth are my top two tho!
did you find anywhere other than UWE in the end?

mynameisrichard: wow - i'm really considering doing an MA, i guess its really too early to be thinking about MA's atm but it's the kind of thing i'd want to do afterwards - staying in education FOREVER! haha

Cydonix: actually i looked at norwich, game art and design course briefly at a Uni fair in exeter, i decided it was a bit far, also it looked very focused on 3D rendering?
when i was considering london i looked at the university of east london, london is hugely expensive to live in (most expensive uni accomodation in the UK apparently) but london college of art is supposed to be "best in the UK" according to the times and guardians uni listings.. but i wouldn't trust the uni rating systems too much..

[Shantih]

^ Yep, '08. I went to a UCAs fair last week but mostly all I gained from it was free sweets. I got a few prospectus's that seem interesting though, I need to get a move on and decide which ones I like best, I haven't gone on the UCAs site since September :$

[amer-nazri]

I'm applying to Kingston and Bournemouth. Kingston has an Illustration and Animation degree, which it says has a ground on life drawing/painting skills, so that attracted me. Bournemouth seems more ideas-based, more theoretical and modern, so it might not be the same type of stuff. Best idea is to go to Open days and talk to the teachers.

[Smarty]

I'm really thinking of UWE illustration for next year! I've looked around a few and some are too contemporary for me or the place is abit dull..

[EddTQ]

I'm really thinking of UWE illustration for next year! I've looked around a few and some are too contemporary for me or the place is abit dull..

hahah actually UWE is my first choice too at the moment - i also quite like bournemouthm, the student work gallery on their site has some really awesome work in it!
are you thinking about taking the animation route in the second year?

[Smarty]

hahah actually UWE is my first choice too at the moment - i also quite like bournemouthm, the student work gallery on their site has some really awesome work in it!
are you thinking about taking the animation route in the second year?

i thought the campus and work produced at Bournemouth was great :) but, i wasn't impressed with the town, apart form holiday makers it seems a bit OAP intensive. I also asked some students what life and night life was like in the town and they had little or no comment and basically said there wasn't much to do :(. Now this may seem like I'm nit picking and it would mean ore time to work, but as a creative type i'm going to thrive of a bustling, varied and fun place!

Erm i like the idea of the animation route (Aardman, awesome!), but i think i will be sticking to pure illustration stuff.

[Twiggy]

I was thinking Bournemouth too, actually I'm considering to apply at Bournemouth as my first choice. Shame that there isn't much to do there, but it'll most likely be more fun there than where I live, not much to do here really, not exactly having any social parties overhere.


My second choice is Bristol (West of England), and third is Norwich (which I thinking of doing Game Art & Design for that one)

Thoughts on Bristol?

[lefran]

Bristol is also going to be my first choice, i really like both Bower and Bush House, and the course seems like its what i would be interested in doing, i also really like the city, so hopefully i get into bristol! im really not too sure about where else to apply, falmouth i hear is good, but its in the middle of nowhere i think?

Cydonix- Bristol only accepts first choice, id be careful to check up on that before applying, a friend was caught out on that and missed out on going there. Also Quicksilver on the CA boards is in Bournemouth 1st year illustration now, so i'll point her in this direction to see if she could give any insight for you

[Atastrophea]

Hi everyone :) I really recommend going to see places before you set your heart on them, I know it can mean an investment of time/money etc but if your going to be there for the next 3 years its worth it.

Falmouth is indeed in the middle of nowhere, but the actual uni was really nice with a good creative vibe and a nice art materials shop.

I was offered a place at Bournemouth to do Animation & Illustration with them on my route A choice, And also for modelmaking on route A the second round of applications a year later (Long story involving deferred entries in order to take gap year and stuff) they had really good facilities but I just didn't like the place/atmosphere for some reason.

I was also offered a place at Kingston uni on the Animation/Illustration course there but felt it was really living off its reputation and looked pretty shabby.

My biggest suprise on going to look around was Southampton Inst & their animation dept. which really bowled me over, although I didn't like the town at all. The tutors and pupils were very well motivated and there was a great atmosphere and some beautiful work being produced.

Anyway point being you cant tell til you see the place and experience the people! I'd say the mood of the students there is possibly one of, if not THE biggest indicator of how rewarding the course is going to be.

P.S I don't know if tutors are still telling students that route B is THE place to put your favourite choice but heres my experience (Having assisted my tutor with interviews last round of applications and in personal application experience) in case it helps:

I dont know if this is universal but my uni HAS to accept a certain number of route A applicants (at least conditional) as tehy are allocated a number of route A places to award. Often the work standard of route A applications is signifigantly lower because A)applicants have had less time on their portfolio and B) The unis are not their first choice so they are not trying as hard(?)

Anyway if you have a really strong portfolio it can be worth applying route A (e.g if youve taken a gap year) as I would say the competition is likely to be less strong. I've certainly seen students accepted route A who probably wouldn't have been route B due to lack of competition.

Sorry been typing for ages, and obviously this is all just personal opinion, but thought it might help someone. :)

Oooh P.P.S also I'd say use all your ucas places up as the interview experience is BRILLIANT even if you end up applying for somewhere you don't really want to go Youve paid your ucas fee, might as well use it, it helps you get used to the nerves, and see some of the common questions. ;)

My fave ever interview "question" was at Bournemouth for animation/illustration where, before I'd even sat down the interviewer shoved a pad in my hand and said "can you draw me a dog please" :D I'd drawn it as a cartoony rough sketch before I had a chance to think - shi* this is a TEST I should be thinking about form, Movement and Character, not to mention the fact its probably some kind of psychometric asessment :o

Luckily I made it have an eager expression, waggy tail and the whole body was in a "pointer" pose so I guess he could tell I really wanted to do the course and I love drawing even if it was a bit slapdash!!! ;)

*ok officially shutting up and no more Pssing ;) * lol

[Quicksilver]

I'm applying to Kingston and Bournemouth. Kingston has an Illustration and Animation degree, which it says has a ground on life drawing/painting skills, so that attracted me. Bournemouth seems more ideas-based, more theoretical and modern, so it might not be the same type of stuff. Best idea is to go to Open days and talk to the teachers.
Heya, as lefran pointed out, I'm in my first year of studying BA Illustration at Bournemouth. :)
They do focus on ideas and how you expand and illustrate them, as well as solve problems etc. and rather than marking just your 'work', they mark your progress, or at least take that into more consideration, as it acts as better preparation for when working in the industry. That's how it's been for me so far anyway. There are lots of workshops too! The people are generally fun and friendly ^_^ Though yeah, outside the uni there are lots of OAPs and teeny boppers, so beware!

The first and second years share a studio so we can mingle/nose at eachother's work, whilst the third years have their own space upstairs. The facilities and materials provided are really good, and you get full access to it all providing you sign in, blah blah.
There's a gallery in the library and a show room near reception where you can book a space to showcase your work. The aesthetics of the Institute overall, imo, is very professional and well designed.

As for the town.....it depends on your taste. I'm not a party animal, but I have fun on nights out :) There are lots of events and gigs about too, and some which reoccur, like the annual major bar crawl 'Carnage', hehe.
The beach and overall scenery of the place is really beautiful and more inspiring and enriching to me, but that might not count to everyone. It just depends what you're looking for. Many people start groups and events within their friendship groups, like there's a CA meet every week or so, and some people in my class who are passionate about food take in turns to go to eachother's houses for a feast.

In the end, uni's what you make of it, isn't it? ;)

Though what attracted me to Bournemouth the most was their impressive connections and the lifestyle the area allows me (i.e. more beautiful and peaceful, which is quite the opposite to my hometown...)
Unfortunately in the creative field it's not always about what you know, but who you know, and it's always helpful to have people guide you while you're still in uni than to get a degree and end up stranded.

[UCT]

I cant add anything more to what daveneale said.

[dumpling]

Edinborough College of Arts is going to be my frist choice. My second maybe Leeds Met. The only thing that attracted me to leeds met (to do traditional painting) was when I heard a 21 year old won the National Portrait Award 1st prize, and she studied there. She mentioned something about she studied under a professional painter there? If not leeds, then Bornmouth. If anybody could give me some personal experience with Leeds Met, that would be awesome.

[TZA]

i've applied to Edinburgh too, hopefully planning to do the painting course after the foundation year. I checked out UWE too, but they seemed to contemporary for my liking and they didn't seem to active in the traditional arts.

[Badger]

I had traditional style painting classes in my first year, painting live figures, blocking in and using acrylics.
If you are applying to Bristol i'd put it first choice, they aren't much for second choicers, they have a very good rep.
Good luck finding a home to suit you!
-B-

[Shantih]

For those of you on your foundations right now, what pathway have you chosen? I picked fine art but then got my brief and it's turning out to be a month of making collages and twiddling about with wire. I worry non-stop that I won't have the skills to get into an illustration course and having to spend my time doing this instead of working on my drawings skills. I had a talk with my tutor and she told me to stay in fine art and I'd get to do the sort of stuff I'm more interested in later on (she also told me I was worrier and boring. Woohoo.) which I know is true...but it seems like I've got so little time left and all I have to show for it is collages of something even I can't identify and some life drawing.

Someone just tell me to shut up and stop worrying about it, that'd probably be just as helpful as any other advice.

[lefran]

Well, theres only 12 pupils on my foundation course, and they decided to take a vote for 2 specialism subjects, it was voted for print and 3D i think, i didn't want to do either, so i'm just sitting in on other lessons elsewhere and doing my own thing instead. I'm doing fashion, and illustration, so im going to draw characters etc wearing my designs, then make them for this unit - just so i can do illustration too ( fine art or illustration weren't actually an option for us, but im making it one for me as thats what i want to go on to do, but i also enjoy fashion)
I think that interviewers like to see a variety of work, so i wouldn't worry too much, obviously they will want to see more to do with that area your applying for, but other stuff will be beneficial too i believe- you can show your sense of design etc in other fields too, and sense of application.
As i mentioned about my course, what i wanted to do wasn't available, but i'm just going off and doing my own thing in someone else's lesson, would that sort of thing be an option for you?
Also, you still have your final major project, in which you can get a lot done for your portfolio in that time, as that should be self directed, so i wouldn't worry too much.
Anyone else feel free to correct me if i'm wrong!

[Shantih]

My class is quite a bit bigger, we can only choose from fashion, fine art (with 3d) and graphics though. I doubt I'd be allowed to do my own thing, with this brief I've got no leeway whatsoever, it's a case of "Set these up, draw, now make a college with this from that..." and so on. They've pretty much told me to shut up until it's time for my final major project.

Thing is, from what I garnered from my talk with my tutor today, what I want to do is available, and it's fine art. I'm just in a state of permanent bemusement at all of this, really :[

[Quicksilver]

I did the same Foundation course lefran's doing, but last year, and the situation was pretty much the same for me (doing my own thing). She has got a point of showing your versatility in your portfolio though - Illustration's pretty damn broad, so it helps to have an equally open mind when entering.

Hope your Foundation course lightens up, Shantih! Keep in mind that collages (imo) rely on composition to be strong, so maybe use this opportunity to learn and play about with composition, colour, texture....there's always a way of bending the rules to benefit you!! At least that's how I usually go about things, anyway ;P

[Disa]

I'm looking to enter Illustration in the UK too ... right now my top choices are UWE, Bournemouth and Anglia Ruskin.
Does anybody have any inside info on Anglia Ruskin, Kingston or Gloucester? I got them through recommendation but haven't really heard much else about them ...

Best of luck to everyone else who's applying. :)

[Shantih]

They loosened up a bit today, I think my steadily increasing in pitch ranting the other day unnerved a few people :bashful:


The general view of Kingston that I'm getting is that it lives off it's reputation rather than actually having a very good art department. I've never visited it though, that's from friends who've gone for a nose about.

Gloucester's been recommended to me a couple of times but my sieve like memory means I'm yet to look into it. I did some research on Falmouth today, but they only take first choice applicants and I'm pretty certain UWE is my 1st. Ach well.

[Nrx]

Hey guys ive got a semi offtopic question that i hope you can help me with,

i went to a standard college to do alevels in art psychology and english instead of going to a art college.

How badly or will it have any affect on my chances of going to do a illustration course?

[Quicksilver]

Nrx: Zilch, and if anything that English A Level will come in handy. Do consider taking a Foundation course though as you'll get to learn and practice other areas of Art, and it's good prep for uni as schools tend to teach under a different system. Foundation should help you stand on your own two feet and become more comfortable and independent with your work.
Hope that helped :)

[Badger]

Nrx Thats fine and in my mind better, depth in illustration is more important than how pretty the picture is. I did A levels in Art, biology and philosophy and ethics and i got in fine. Do a foundation tho!!

There is a thread about foundation and stuffs here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65644)

I looked into Kingston, it's illustration WITH ANIMATION.
-B-

[Disa]

Shantih: Hey, thanks for the info, that's good to know. Plus I saw just now that Kingston has the most expensive halls of residence of all schools I've looked at so far ... so I might skip that one yeah.

Badger: Yeah I know it's with animation, I'm still debating whether or not I want that. I've always been fascinated with 2d animation, and it'd broaden my competence ... but I dunno, maybe it's best to focus on one thing at the time.


Oh and here's a list I found of ... I think it's all universitys and colleges in the UK but I'm not sure. Anyway, it has short descriptions and useful info and I found it to be helpful so here it is if anybody hasn't seen it yet: http://student.independent.co.uk/into_university/az_uni_colleges/

[xxxxmc]

Hey, I've just graduated from Bournemouth's BA Illustration course, I'd strongly advise not to do the course, I found that although the lecturers are nice the course is very disorganised. Also if you want to do concept art it probably won't be a very good course for you as the work produced I found leans quite heavily towards editorial work. I also didn't like having to share rooms, there seems to be a complete lack of space and if the students from all the years are in it gets to be a real squeeze. I am sorry to be so negative but when I saw you were thinking of going there I thought I better worn you, lol.

However if you are thinking about doing Bournemouth's animation course I would highly recommend it, my friend did it and she found it to be an extremely well organised course, the course leader is excellent, they do life drawing regularly which is something I didn't do for the whole time I was in the illustration course. From what she has told me it seems like an excellent course where you are really pushed to fulfill your full potential, I wish I had, had the foresight to switch courses now rather than just sticking with the Illustration course thinking it would get better. Anywho all I really ment to say was the Illustration course isn't that great and the animation course is pretty damn good.

[dognamedblue]

in relation to illustration courses:

I wouldnt waste my time with edinburgh or glasgow
- they were both reviewed in the papers and were said to present students who couldnt even draw!
and that was their finals shows for both colleges of art

I did waste 2 and a half years and £15,000
doing an illustration course at an even lesser college than the main two

the only thing that will talk will be your work
you know what you have to do to achieve the position you want
and you know what it takes to produce it
there are plenty of places online and on tv that will provide you with more than you'll get in a single lesson at any college
[just look at people who all say the lessons at any college were "lacking"]
you could even try a library

if you're in the position of asking yourself [or anyone who will listen] "how do I do this?"
then you might be looking at the wrong profession

ok it's a realist point of view
but you are what you do
and no qualification or college will replace the experience of actually being able to do the work
[sorry to butt in]

[Disa]

Dognamedblue: Good point, but for me, going to school will be more about making connections with people who will be working in the same field, and also to have a creative and inspiring environment in which to be, and give yourself the time to work on your skills. It's true that no matter how good a teacher is, they can't make you a good artist, but they might have other things to teach you ... about the industry and how to get in it.

[dognamedblue]

:) I had the same notions!
unfortunately the reality was somewhat different
I genuinely hope that it goes a lot better for you

re industry experience: I was taken to one side and told that my job placement was going to be an extremely good one, by the course manager,
I assume for turning up to nearly every lesson, always doing the work, bringing in magazines from the sundays every week, lending my art kit to anyone that asked, lending money, giving lifts, taking over an anatomy lesson because the tutor couldn't draw an arm, encouraging other students in their attendance and work, being a full participant in lesson & helping other students with the non-teaching side of the college like councelling
and I think in no small way for them using my work and work-books to sell their course and that college department
I gave that up after two weeks, partly because I sat there for the whole time twiddling my thumbs in a place that had "nothing to do with illustration" or even had anything for its own staff to do

like I said, I genuinely hope it goes a lot better for you
.dnb.

[Disa]

Wow ... I'm sorry. :(
But thanks for the input, and I do hope my experience will be better.

[EddTQ]

hey there i just got back from my (route A) interview at UWE..
just as a heads up they set a project called "my three greatest influences" which we needed to complete for the interview,
they'll probably set the same sort of thing for you route B'ers too! - it was across three 21x21cm panels and pretty much completely open to interpretation
(you don't have to make a sketchbook either :er:)

- sadly they didnt give me any indication whether or not i got in.. :nohope:
i should hear in the next two-three weeks but i absolutely love it there, it beats every uni i've looked at by a long way!!
I even got to meet badger in bush house, it was a good day!

[markey2d]

which bournemouth uni are you guys talking about?
is it the art institue one?

[anteguardian]

Hello everyone ^^ lurker here :P

I had my UWE Bristol; BA Illustration interview last friday :D I *think* it went quite badly :P but thats only because i remember myself babbling to my interviewers :S

Two things that i thought were a little off-putting were the fact that there are building works going on in the bower ashton part for about 5 years, and also that the bus that takes you between the bower ashton campus and the one in the center of town costs £1 one-way (please correct me if im wrong), which could add up to quite a hefty sum :/

However, im trying to be positive and look at the course, because thats what counts :D So, Badger, where do you work within the building in town? There were so many lovely and fruitful desks :D hehe. One of the desks had that amazing acrylic painting of the woman with the ghost/demon/ghoul thing appearing behind her... its an instant winner in my opinion ;)

[EddTQ]

hey anteguardian, what time did your interview start? 9 or 1:30? we might have been in the same batch!
did they ask you to define illustration?
what was your answer like?

- as far as i've looked into the busses from september onwards everyone staying in halls will get a free bus pass to the UWE bus scheme?
im not looking to go into halls though, so i haven't researched it much and i'm probably wrong! :P
i think it is £1 for the UWE bus atm but i thought it was for a day pass not a single journey?

urgh.. i cant take much more of this sitting around waiting to hear from UCAS - i need to take my mind off it

[anteguardian]

My interview/open day started at 1:30 ^^ and yes, they asked me to define illustration.
I said that Illustration, to me, was to connect to an audience or user through the use of visual communication and stimulus; such as colour, composition, or boldness. I also said that illustration should portray an important message or emotion; like events going on in the world around us, fantasy imagery (i babbled on with this one for a few mins xD) to get away from the real world, and also political stuff :P I *then* went onto say that unlike Fine Art which is a personal journey through art, illustration is a more open and public journey, to connect to the public rather than tell them what your deep down feelings are like.

Now that i think about it, i probably came across as political and cold :S when im actually a pretty laid-back hippyish person xD

I havent researched that much into it either :P so we could both be wrong for all i know, haha! and the UCAS track is so addictive! i keep going on there every 3 hours or so looking for my bristol offer/rejection... its like a drug :( lol.

How did you find the task they set? What sort of things did you do? :)
Oh, and wasnt your interview on the saturday??

[Badger]

anteguardian I work in one of the glass ones, next room but one from the computer room, EddTQ came around and recognised me and had a good chat.
TBH i never use the buses, it's about 15-20min cycle ride town>bower. That saves you money, you get exercise and you can be inspired by the world going on around you, stop to take reference shots etc. But anyway!
yes there is building work, and you might want to find out where they are going to be based next year, but this wont change the course, if you have any questions ring up and ask. The biggest bits of the building work has been done, and it's all super modern and up to date, it hasn't interrupted my education, just the photographers, bwha ha haa.
And i think your interview sounded fine, i just chatted kantian ethics with some bloke in mine.
-B-

[EddTQ]

anteguardian - no my interview was friday - i posted on here just past midnight on the friday evening! - My interview started at 1:30 also so we were in the same batch! :D
- my answer wasnt as kool as yours.. :( i went for "illustration is the communication of ideas through marks" - i said it differs from graphic design becuase graphics uses more symbols and typography and it differs from fine art because illustration has a purpose - you have a brief and you illustrate a piece of text or something - (it made more sense when i was there.. i swear)

my three influences were wierder still.. i went for books, music and art - i'll probably scan them up in a bit and put them in my sketchbook!
i'm still waiting for a reply.. have you heard back yet?
it's really killing me not knowing!

Badger - if they move into bower ashton will there still be office-like-spaces available for the third years?
also i was talking to one of the guides and he said that they might be getting some space at bower ashton for the second years even if they dont move everyone over?
- also whats the date of your end of year exhibition? i really wanna go and see it! :D

[anteguardian]

Oh, same batch (Y) :) The reason why i asked whether you were saturday was because when you posted that youd just got back from your interview, it said it was posted on the 2nd Feb; which was subsequently the saturday xD But i failed to read the time on the 2nd of feb, so it was my fault :P


I havent heard back either :(
They did say a couple of weeks; and its only been 1, so it cant be that much longer now ^^ well, thats the way im looking at it xD

[Quit]

Hi guys, I am also on a foundation atm and i'm starting to shit it now as I dont really have an idea into what Uni to go to. Next UWE openday is saturday and i got work :( I went up there last year to look at interactive media (Flash for 3 years, yuk!) but cant really remember anything.

How is the course taught? What kind of working environment will you be working in for the Illustration course? Is it like one big room or what? The tutors cool? How many students (average) are on the course atm? Price's for halls?

Do we all agree that UWE is best for illustration?

Thanks ^^

[EddTQ]

Quit: i'm not sure its the best? it's probably one of the best but there are deffinately other top players, edinburgh, falmouth and bournemouth i hear are really good. I'm picking UWE because its convenient for me, it's not too far not too close to home and i really like bristol as a city.

The course is taught in bush house, which is in the center of town and is a REALLY nice facility, compared to the other places i've looked bush house craps on them all! - although they are talking of moving the course to bower ashton which is being built atm and also looks to be quite a nice place!
-Tutors seem kool, the head guy is interested in bookbinding which i love so thats good.. - i asked about students on the course and i think they said there's about 40-50ish?
- halls are pretty expensive to be honest, £86pw but from the website thats for every type of hall regardless of shared toilet etc - there are halls like four doors up from bush house?

god im such a geek.. ive been researching constantly and i dont even know if i've got in.. wanna hear the boy:girl ratio at UWE? or how about the anual prices in the gliding club..?
i should really find something else to do..

[anteguardian]

Well... one thing about UWE that i can tell you about is that they like to misguide you :P
Firstly.. on the letter about interviews, they said that only *some* people would get interviews, when infact everyone gets one.
and Secondly, they said that we'd get our reply from them in under 2 weeks, and it has now been 2 weeks and one day without any form of contact... :P

Im joking if you cant tell.. but i really need a reply xD haha...im so impatient :P

[Quit]

Thanks EddTQ for the info. I checked out middlesex uni on wednesday not expecting much but I must admit I was overly impressed. One of there comp rooms were crazy, they had everything including wide A5 wacoms, woooo ^^ The tutors and resources were great. They only have 30 students a year so tricky to get in, inless your awesome like us ; )

Have they got gfx tablets at UWE? Please dont say there running macs...

[Gundersen]

Hey, Im currently studying on Edinburgh college of art. Takeing an architecture degree. This college has alot of history, and a great enviroment for creative students. And there is alot of awesome work!
I saw someone saying "they cant even draw according to a newspaper", well maybe they are realy good in makeing models or painting. We all got diffrent skills in art, and ECA is realy good when it comes to this. BUT let me also say that the first A grade in over 20 years in anatomy drawing was handed out last year. So dont expect to come here and surf through college. You have to work your ass off no mather what your skills are.

Reputation on colleges are important. When i applied to UK i applied for some unis in London + glasgow and edinburgh. They where all schools with good reputation and history. And would look good on my cv ;)

Edinburgh is a lively and great student city. I am myself an international student here btw.

[EddTQ]

Quit: Yeah they do have wacom tablets at UWE (in bush house) - i couldn't tell what size but im currently running an A6 so they seemed HUGE to me.. im guessing either A5 wide or A4?
- they're also running macs.. D: - lol mac is industry standard though so wherever we go i'm afraid we're probably gonna have to take the plunge and use a mac.. !

anteguardian: i haven't heard either, it's driving me crazy, i rang up on friday but the admin for the illustration dep. was out! She's gonna get back to me.. (Most likely after the letter has come though)
where did you hear that UWE interviewed everyone?

Gundersen: i must admit that edinburgh is one of the uni's i was looking at but holy crap.. One A grade in twenty years?
Is that because you have a horrible teacher for anatomy drawing or are all the subjects like that?

Edit: Make that two weeks and three days without a reply from UWE.. :/

[anteguardian]

I didnt hear it anywhere officially... but when a friend went on the previous day, she said that everyone got interviewed, and when we went, everyone got interviewed, so i assume that everyone gets interviewed :P

It is also driving me crazy xD its gotten to the point where im just sitting on UCAS Track, and refreshing the page xD haha... its quite sad xD
Its my last uni to reply :(

[Gundersen]

Gundersen: i must admit that edinburgh is one of the uni's i was looking at but holy crap.. One A grade in twenty years?
Is that because you have a horrible teacher for anatomy drawing or are all the subjects like that?

Hehe the study is hard, but if you enjoy its nice. On an art college you will get told alot of times that the stuff you have made you can just take and throw out the window basicly :P But in the end its worth it

[EddTQ]

anteguardian - Oh i see! sorry i thought you meant everyone who applied got invited to the interview day regardless of personal statement etc!

i just rang up and nagged the admissions dep. again - the woman said that they've all been sent to the main site and should be on the UCAS track by latest tomorrow, hopefully sometime today! Huzzah! -
(i bet im not even gonna get in after all this)

[anteguardian]

oooh xD i thought i may have been confusing you a little :P hehe...

Dont worry, youll get in ^^ just keep a positive frame of mind, and all is bound to go well... :)
The *tough* part will be choosing which uni to pick as your firm and insurance :/

[Glassjaw]

holy crap im glad i came across this thread
Im also applying for illustration at UWE (other universities are availible ;) ) via Route B, and some of the interview questions and tasks mentioned by people here would totally stump me, time to go prepare methinks!

Im a bit older then most people talking about applying in here, im 23, tried a graphic design degree and it didnt work out how i envisioned it. Illustration has really captured my imagination, its hard to get coherent work together when im not on a course, so im setting myself briefs and projects instead.

I think the deadline for applying via route B is March 7th, anyone know when the interviews will start (Im putting UWE as first choice)

[EddTQ]

I think the route b interviews start late march/april - it's different for each uni though so who knows really?
- also i have a friend at college who's applid to uni this year and he's 25!
(he looks about 16 though, it's quite strange sometimes)

I heard from UWE, my application was unsucessful, they didn't give a reason...
i'm guessing it's probably because i got a U at art a level and i had to put it on my application...!!
(i left half way through the year and didn't get pulled from the course)


- it's all kool though i've got into plymouth already and i'm gonna move in with my friends down there, we just bought a £200 football table together and we have a viewing for a house we might be renting tomorrow!
i don't think plymouth has a very good name for illustration and the facillities certainly aren't as swish as bristol but they have a HUGE professional printing studio with the facilities to print professional books :D (i'm a book freak..)

..and i'm from torquay and would REALLY miss not living by the sea..

(i'm thinking of getting failure tatooed on me :P)

[anteguardian]

lol.. well.. your not the only one ;) just checked and mine was Unsuccessful too xD

Ah well... looks like im going to Aberystwyth for Fine Art :) which is also by the sea! :D

[Shantih]

Ack! I haven't even sent my UCAS off yet! I was meant to last Friday but I was violently ill the Thursday and remained so until yesterday. I know I've still got time and my personal statement and everything's done, but I'd prefer it was all sent and gone by now.

Thanks for the info about the interviews, I'm normally quite good at blathering my way through that sort of thing, but I should probably prep for once :^^;:

Right now I'd just be glad if I get in anywhere. UWE's still my No.1 though.

[Quit]

Does anyone know anything about Middlesex uni?

[Ophidicus]

I'm going to chip in my first post here to say I too was Unsuccessful at getting into UWE. Tricky place it would seem. I was there same time as you chaps, Friday 13:30, but at first I got carted off to Spike Island because I'd applied for Fine Art too, which I really needn't have bothered with.

In my case it might be to do with the fact that I had absolutely no idea about the 'influences' project until the morning before when I checked the letter to make sure I hadn't missed anything. As you can imagine a few neighbours may have had a rude awakening.

Clearing then?

[Glassjaw]

Ah sorry to hear you didnt get in to UWE Edd, but sounds like some good times will be had at plymouth! After all, theres only so much the university itself can do, at the end of the day its all down to you, and if you make the most of the oppurtunity, it wont matter where you are... At least, thats what I'll be telling myself, as these UWE interviewers seem like tough eggs to crack!

[EddTQ]

Well oddly enough that's ten people now who i know have applied to a UWE art course and not got in...
One of them is like an art prodigy at my college! - she's had a distinction in EVERY project in national diploma! (i thought that was impossible!)
if she couldn't get in i wouldn't have a chance, honestly!

- Glassjaw: - i really agree with that 100% - i was reading a post by jason manley a while back talking about how he ended up going to the lesser reknown and cheaper art college, but because of it ended up starting massive black!
Also i found out Dave Mckean has guest lectured at plymouth?
maybe he'll come back and i can be his bitch? :D

Ophidicus and anteguardian: what do you guys look like?
surely we must have seen eachother being in the same group?

[Atastrophea]

Hey guys, sorry you didn't get in to UWE, sounds like you have good alternatives lined up though!

Now that the talk has turned to renting please can I just say BE CAREFUL! if you are renting privately, even with people you think you know, it can be very difficult to get out of a contract you've signed yourself in to so READ READ READ it and if possible get someone legally minded/experienced to read it too BEFORE you sign it.

I trusted my "friend" when they said they'd read our contract and that it was all ok and just signed withought thinking because I felt on the spot and didn't want to let them down. Now that I've discovered they are all slobs and the house is ages away from uni with unreliable public transport and I'm unlikely to find a replacement for myself when I want to leave (May/June) its too late and I am at risk of having to pay rent until September and even if I find a replacement I'm expected to pay £300 to re-draw the tenancy agreement :'(

Don't run away screaming - uni life is great fun and you will make some friends for life :-) (just don't want any of you to end up feeling as utterly poo as I do right now caus its horrible and could have been avoided so easily.)

[anteguardian]

I think you sat next to me EddQT; going by the photo you posted in the generic 'what does everyone look like?' thread :P

Sorry if i didnt talk to you :P i was just really nervous... i hate it when they make you wait ¬_¬ xD

[Glassjaw]

Ive got to admit im jealous of anyone who's already gone through the interview process and got it over and done with, Im back and looking for more advice!

This time I'm wondering if anyone in the know could offer advice when it comes to the 3 choices you get as Route B and the order of preference. Its been said here that UWE pretty much just gives interviews if you put them as first choice, I want to make sure the other uni's ive looked at wont turn me down for putting them as 2nd or 3rd choice.

For instance, has anyone been to The University College For The Creative Arts? http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ It looks really good and Ive heard is quite prestigious. Does this mean I dont have a hope in hell of getting an interview if I put them as 2nd choice? The Maidstone campus does a 4 year BA Hons course, the first year is a Foundation year, but they let you specialise in Illustration throughout the year, which could benefit me as Ive only been illustrating since last summer and Im probably quite behind in drawing ability compared to the students applying to UWE etc.
The universities on their websites dont seem to put or recommend where you should put them on your choices. How can you tell?

[Quicksilver]

Glassjaw: I think you're better off just calling up the uni's and asking them. I know UWE and Bournemouth only take first choice - can't say I know about the others.

Good luck! And sorry to hear those who didn't get in their first preference. There are still more fish in the sea though :) Or maybe try again next year?

[Quit]

Glassjaw : I currently go to UCCA in Rochester, I was going to do the 3 year illustration w/o animation at Maidstone. Its a lovely city, 5 min walk from the main town, halls are also about 5 mins away. I was impressed with the campus and tutors etc however there were a couple of things that put me off. They dont have any gfx tablets :( And they currently dont have internet in halls... :asspat:

[Glassjaw]

Quicksilver: I really should have thought of that, I was trying to do too much using the internet, turns out sometimes using the dog n bone still works best! The admissions lady was happy to tell me 'Dont worry, we do see people as 2nd choice' Phew!

Quit: Thats good to know, as I cant find many photos of the campus. I think the no internet in the halls would be a good thing for me, one less distraction :zzz:

[Quit]

Ahhh now im starting to really worry, I don't know where to check out, if its worth seeing. Daym : (

[EddTQ]

Anteguardian!: - haha yeah i did sit next to you! - sorry i didn't talk to you either, i was late.. which made me even more nervous!
sorry to hear that UWE didn't accept you either, what are your back up choices?
also why aberystworth? - i haven't really heard much about it? is it any good?

- small update uni wise - i told my teachers that i didn't get into UWE and they went nuts! they were really angry with me! (and UWE?) so one of my teachers (the illustration teacher) rang UWE and had a bit of a go at them? (honestly it's SO odd) and the admin woman for illustration told me to apply again through route B?
soo now my teacher wants me to apply again through route B but im not sure i want too.. i've kind of got used to the idea that im going to plymouth?
and apparently now im really late in the game for housing!!
how stressful this admission thing is for me! -

[Smarty]

EddTQ, our college always told us top apply route B unless it specifically ask you to apply route A. A second chance wouldn't hurt?

To be honest, i cant wait for my interviews now. My Route B gets sent off this weekend :D

I've applied Bristol UWE, Westminster and Maidstone.

[Hybridstar]

I studied Illustration at UWE. Can thoroughly recommend it, visited loads of open days and the work on show impressed me so much more than any other. Entry was pretty tough when i applied. They took 50 or so of us into a room after a portfolio review and read out a shortlist of a dozen or so. The rest hadnt made it and were asked to leave. Real reality show moment. We then went to interview and I was pretty much told I got the place and that interviews were just a formality (prob to make sure you werent mentally unstable or summin!!.lol)

Good luck to all who've applied. If I had it over again though i'd cart myself off to the states and enrol in the CA atelier, Watts or the LAAFA. Kinda made up for that a wee bit by studying with some great painters in Florence and the UK.

[Bad_Ballistics]

Hi

i have been looking at CA for over a year...and this thread since its birth...only just got the balls to register!

i too, have applied to Bristol UWE to study illustration. However, unlike everyone else here, i havnt really got any alternatives...for me its UWE or nothing. Some of you may call me stupid..others daring (mostly stupid though lool)

I have been down to UWE alot and its a really nice uni, i also have a ton of friends already down there, and more going this year (with a bit of luck!)

...apart from all tht...i mainly posted to say...i got my route B interview letter a few days ago. im so excited..and scared..cause i still have ALOT to do for my portfolio! and from what i have seen on here..getting into UWE is going to be alot harder than i thought!

just wondered if any other route B'ers (or A'ers) could share their thoughts on the 3 influence pieces.

But other than all tht waffle...HELLO CA! =D

[Smarty]

Hey bad_ballistics, your not alone! i applied to the others as a safety but im really not that into them at the moment, UWE is definitely where i want to be!

So it the 3 influences brief that EddQ had? My college still hasn't sent my application off, So i feel a bit left out...

If I had the full brief in front of me i would probably give it a crack ASAP

Anyway welcome to CA, best tip i can give you is to start a sketchbook :D

[Bad_Ballistics]

hey smartkyle,

i have the brief right infront of me atm....

apart from all your portfolio stuff including sketchbooks and written work, UWE asks:

''My 3 most important influences

We are interested in how you approach the task. We are curious about your choice of influences and want to know why they are important to you. We are also keen to see how you use your design skills and creativity to tell us about your influences you choose. You are giving us important information about yourself but your solution can be fun as well as serious.

Your completed work should be produced on 3 panels each 210mm square.''

...it then goes onto a bit more detail about what you can do...( i have only included what i seem to see as important) - even tho its ALL important

''we would like you to share with us what you consider to be the three most significant influences on you so far''....''family, friends, designers or artists, places, things you have done, books, films etc.''

''find a way to visually show us your 3 most important influences...you may use words and/or images (drawn, painted potographs, collage etc)....digital work must be printed..discs etc are not acceptable''

''work should be 3 panels....each 210mm by 210mm..you may use one panel for each influence or incorporate all 3 influences across the 3 panels...panels can be any material you consider appropriate''

PHEW well theres alot more..but thts a brief summary of what they ask....just thought you may want a heads up as the 'Creative Arts Admissions and Recruitment Day' is on the 4th april..NOT LONG :D

is anyone else asked to go on the 4th?!?!? and hope my rambling and qouting has helped lol.

[Quicksilver]

...and apparently now im really late in the game for housing!!
how stressful this admission thing is for me! -
If you were looking a place for second or third year then yah, tis a bit late (but not toooo late) to look for housing, though since you'll be entering your first year I think you'll be fine since most of you guys don't even know if you're in or not yet. Though I advise you to look/find a place to live as soon as you get accepted and send off your letter of acceptance, 'cause most of the good places go around jan/feb. Unless the uni offers Halls :P Bournemouth give priority to the disabled/foreign exchange students in their Halls so the rest of us have to find our own accommodation. Something which shocked me at first, but house sharing really is so much better in comparison :)

If it's any consolation, I only just managed to find a place last week, lol. But it was a bit of a mission. Had no idea people started looking around January :/


GOOD LUCK!! :cheerleader:

[Bad_Ballistics]

Hey,

about accomodation..(im going to use UWE again..but i just cant help it)....

UWE says that 'prospective' student's accomodation deadline is 1st July...

but they also make an effort to emphasise that they start allocating in April, and that when you have been offered a place at UWE you can apply for accomodation straight away. They also say that in the past, campus accomodation is full by May and city centre flats shortly after....Now, as the course is based at Bower Ashton, city centre accomodation is all i need to look at!

what im trying to say is...although its Bristol.. i guess most other Uni's will do pretty much the same..the April/May guidline looks about right as by then all route A and probably most route B interviews have been done, and they have an idea of who is coming. So i say get accomodation sorted straight after you get accepted around the may/april time...tht is if your sure on what Uni you want to go too though...if your not..then im stumped

[anteguardian]

EddTQ - I chose Aberystwyth (Fine Art) as my firm, and Coventry (Illustration) as my insurance :)
Aberystwyth because it has an extremely good Fine Art course, loads of freedom to do with subjects etc... The tutors are held in high regard, and as well as this, its a beautiful place :)
Coventry because its in my home city, so its the ultimate in back-ups xD haha...

But yes.. Aber is gooooooood :)

Wow! your teachers are pushy! :P

[The Prestige]

Yeah I’ve got an interview on the 4th, as for the info on the 3 influential pieces, it could help those students who are applying next year, however it’s still going to be hard to try and finish those pieces, and complete 2/3 other projects by the end of March, and prepare for the exam. I think that the only way of having a chance of getting into UWE is by having a foundation as well as a really ace mark in art (A/B)

*edit*

and guys wait until bad ballistics loads up his sketch books they are pretty savage

[Bad_Ballistics]

and guys wait until bad ballistics loads up his sketch books they are pretty savage

Ahha ha ha ha ha...savage

hows it going dude...glad to see you decided to register aswell....
u better get you sketchbook up here aswell pronto!

i dont care if your applying for graphic design:upset: .. your work rox:wink:

as for me..i havnt done a foundation course..and my art teacher is making a massive point that basicaly i cant and wont get in without one.....goddamit gota prove him wrong...i just GOTTA:nohope:

[kovah]

I did A-levels in art, psychology and biology and got the following grades B D E you can perhaps tell where my strengths lay... Anyways i didn't know what i wanted to do so i hopped on over to Blackpool and did an art foundation course there. I enjoyed it and some aspects of it was useful - mainly for telling me what i didn't want to do. I didn't want to throw paint at stuff and call it art and i didn't want to give everything i did a 'meaning' so when it came to fill in UCAS forms i still didn't know exactly what i wanted to do, but i knew i wanted to do something that involved digital arts.

I looked at afew places - Manchester, Blackpool and i think Liverpool. Now i live 10 minutes from blackpool and they had (an i will explain the had later) a course called Information Illustration. Which teaches technical illustration and all the pictures were of engines and cars and nothing very imaginative. Technically it was brilliant, but creative not so much. There was also a wildlife illustration course there but it was all painting with real paint which i found i wasnt so good at during my foundation year.

So i went for the information illustration, its about as far from conceptart as you could probably get. But i knew several things about this course. One it would teach me to draw in a way i havent tried before, Two I would learn how to modle and animate in 3D and Three i would be able to look at my own art from a tighter and more restrictive perspective. There were 14 in my class to start off with, i am now in my second year and there are 11 which means we get a lot of one to one time with the tutor.

Unfortunatly it seems Blackpool aren't wanting to continue the course because it is too 'specialised' which i think is a great shame and replace it with a generic Illustration course.

My point is, it helps if you know 'what' you want to get out of the course even if you know that the subject matter isn't quite to your tastes. Prior to me joing Info Illus. everyone had done something mechanical or functional for their projects. Thusfar I have done a SEGA megadrive, and a project on birds. I plan to animate a demon in my final year project.

[The Prestige]

Ahha ha ha ha ha...savage

hows it going dude...glad to see you decided to register aswell....
u better get you sketchbook up here aswell pronto!

i dont care if your applying for graphic design:upset: .. your work rox:wink:

as for me..i havnt done a foundation course..and my art teacher is making a massive point that basicaly i cant and wont get in without one.....goddamit gota prove him wrong...i just GOTTA:nohope:


No worries yeah its going good :D i will dude but as i have told you months ago my laptop has been on the fritz so the rest will just have to wait till i get it fixed............lol i know he has hahaha..............hahaha but i'm sure he's just busting your chops :P

[TangeAl]

Hi, finally signed up here after months of lurking.

I too am currently doing Route A interviews for Illustration courses around the country, Bristol did not like me, but the facillitys there failed to impress me anyway, so no loss there.

My teachers first told me to go for Illustration, which I have done for Route A, but now say I would be better at Concept Art, which I wanted to do from the start. ¬ ¬

Anyway, is there a good middleground course someplace that anyone knows of for Route B? I would have gone straight for Game art somewhere, but I dont know any computery things, and I can't help but think I will need that for such a course...

Gah, I hope you all have better luck than me.

[Smarty]

I tihnk the closest thing to a degree in concept art this side of the pond is a Visual Communication degree or Illustration. I know someone who is in their last year of a game degree and it sounds mostly useless, unless you want to be an indie game developer who does everything from programming to 3D, like a jack of all trades.

[TangeAl]

See, that had also occured to me, when they said "Concept Art" I was surpried that there would be courses for it, and as it happens there does not look to be any. At least, none that are not mostly techy computery things with a little art thown in. So do we think Illustration was the right move afterall? *sigh* I wish I knew more about all this...

[Smarty]

I think illustration is the clearest degree route into becoming a concept artist yes.. Are you sure your tutors didn't mean 'conceptual art', as in Hirst or Emin? In which case a Fine Art is probably the way to go :D

Anyways good luck with your application

[Bad_Ballistics]

Hey TangAI,

Welcome to CA!

even though im not really in the position to welcome ppl..its like my 3rd day on here...but i love it on here!<3

illustration is the way forward!...usually its a harsh decision between illustration or animation, but theres a wide choice of related courses out there between all the uni's.

btw what didnt you like about bristol? did you mean UWE or proper bristol?

cause i was really impressed with UWE..but i guess its all down to personal preference
still be cool if you could share

toodle pip (im here practicaly every waking hour :yayca: )

[TangeAl]

Heh, thanks for the welcome. :^^:

This place does seem mighty fun, I'm still finding my way round. I might even try some of the daily drawing thing if I ever get some free time.

UWE Bristol, I was rather surprised at the spaces that the work was done in. I asked in the interview, and 5 people worked in the same little room, I thought it was for 2 people, 3 tops. I think it showed on my face when they said 5... D'oh. XD

But, that's probally just me, I like working somewhere I can escape from other people if need be, other people like more company while they work I guess.

[Bad_Ballistics]

ahh okay fair enough.

i really like UWE as a whole though..Bristol is an amazing city..and UWE has some pretty decent Business contacts in and around Bristol

Bower i thought looked pretty swish and some of the work bieng produced by some students...check out Badger if you ever see him around, he has some quality stuff and he's in his 3rd year there i think...there are probs loads more only badger is the most for-front in my mind atm


so where are you going to instead?

[TangeAl]

Bristol itself seems fun, looks to be loads to do there.

Got past a prelimery thing at Falmouth, so I have an interview there in a few weeks. And UCAS manged to mess up my application to Plymouth, it went to the wrong place and is a mess, I need to phone up and sort it all out.

Hmm, all these places are on the coast...weird....

Route B is what is concerning me now though. I am so indecisive...

So where are you going?

[Bad_Ballistics]

So where are you going?

well...i only want to go to bristol UWE..i basicaly have no other alternatives...

i got friends down or going down there.

its also awesome for illustration..

i have my interview with them on the 4th april....so im just guna hav to do work solid till then for my portfolio..cause i NEED to go there....

awesome looks like you have some good choices flowing about there

fancy posting a SB soon? i need to put mine up here..but i keep forgetting to bring my work home from school

also did you do a foundation? or coming straight from A levels..or something else?

[TangeAl]

It's good that you know what you want to do, and that you know people there as well. That's bound to make it even more fun.

Good luck in your interview!

I am shy... I might cheat and post only the good parts. :P If my scanner behaves that is.

Yeah, I'm doing Foundation, too many deadlines, all at once! Tomorrow in fact...

[Bad_Ballistics]

its kinda good that i know what to do....not so good if i dont get in...LOL

i aim to put my best stuff on...compared to the stuff posted on here though...well....its just embarrasing.....plus my work contains images and references from google on the page with my drawings.....and i am aware of the policy but i duno if its really allowed...ah well..i need to get crit from ppl so oh well...

how is your foundation course going?? apart from the deadlines

i heard its a really good choice, but i hav had an extra year at school..(yes, i am a dunce LOL) and i dont really wana be 20 wen i go into uni

[TangeAl]

Is that the only place you are interested in going to then? Not even a backup anywhere else?

Yeah, my work is dire compared to what is on here, I might just post an image at a time for the crit, then fix it until I feel slightly better about my overall standard...

I'm not sure, I get good grades I guess, but so many people are so much better than me on my course, I always want to die whenever I see anyone elses work...

I don't think it really matters how old you are, lot's of people do Foundation and take a gap year before Uni. I'm not sure why though. XD

[aph]

Just to answer a couple of questions :

Foundation is good to mature you and help you get used to how you might be expected to work, the workload is pretty crazy when I did foundation compared to A-levels.. its a shock, but it does make a difference to how you make the most of the time if you go on to uni.

As for a year out, I took mine to be sure that I actually wanted to do art. I hadn't ever drawn or painted outside of what I was required to do by schooling.

[EddTQ]

Got past a prelimery thing at Falmouth, so I have an interview there in a few weeks. And UCAS manged to mess up my application to Plymouth, it went to the wrong place and is a mess, I need to phone up and sort it all out.


firstly - welcome :)
secondly - getting past the prelimery at falmouth is a MASSIVE achievement! out of about 10 who applied no one on my course has managed to get interviews at falmouth or brighton! - so kudos to you!!
- also plymouth did the mess up with me too! - i ended up applying to north devon college for an FDA? - i emailed the lady from that college and she's passed my application onto plymouth now - i got a letter saying i should hear in the next few days!
- i went for an open studio day and plymouth uni looks amazing

although personally i still think UWE craps all over it :(
- i am currently trying to send off my route B application for just UWE
my teacher kind of told me off for being so melodramatic or something?
so i guess even though im most likely to get turned down again i dont really have much to loose!

i'll post my influences work probably tomorrow guys! (okay that's later today)
i think im gonna re-do them though - i ended up finishing them at 4am the day of my interview...

[Shantih]

My UCAS got sent off yesterday, so I've got to make the final decisions about what's going in my portfolio now.

I just hope it takes a while longer than the minimum two weeks to get an interview - I can't afford to get there at the moment :dead: Need monayz!

[Bad_Ballistics]

wow everyone's application seems to be moving along nicely now, GOOD LUCK TO YOU GUYS AND GALS!

looks like my first sketchbook pieces for here are infact going to be the begginings of my portfolio..which is daunting to say the least

So EddTQ..shall you be attending the interview day for UWE on the 4th April??
be awesome to see the amazing work in person...

a quick portfolio question..(which i probably shouldnt ask on this thread..but blame my n00bity)

apart from sketchbooks and photos how many large finished pieces overall...and how many developmental pages go into the portfolio pages..bear in mind its an A1 portfolio folder....?

[The Prestige]

dude try and cram in as much as you can the more final responses the better bear in mind they have to be A1 or lower in size, in my portfolio i had at least 10 - 15 A1 pieces, as well as 4 sketchbooks, for the developments they were A3 that weren't in sketchbooks, so if you have any loose papers, which are any good then mount them on black paper, make sure they are parallel, apart from that i dont know what else i could say to help you......

[EddTQ]

okay guys!
i took photos and posted up the whole portfolio that i took to UWE with me,
its in my sketchbook now! - it also has my influences work there.

i added my route B choice to my application but it says that i can only edit my personal statement + stuff once? - well when i first added my route b it said there was an error and didnt add it, then i checked this morning an dit had added it but i cant see anyway to change my personal statement or anything? - i emailed UCAS and they sent me this CRAPPY auto response email with a bunch of links to stuff i already know about!
is it just me who finds the UCAS track a badly designed site?
honestly when you get to the UWE portal login its so much better than ucas track!

also has anyone else applied through route A and B? and have they found this problem?

[Mabbo]

Much lesser known place for Illustration are the Fine Art degrees run by Aberystwyth university school of art. Like Daveneale said uni gives you a great amount of time and space to improve drawing. Illustration isn't offered until the second half of the degree as the first half concentrates on improving drawing and painting skills but once you do start, the project briefs fall away pretty quickly and now in the third year I have free reign over projects and am implementing concept Illustration into my work. The staff are really helpful and supportive as well!

[TangeAl]

EddTQ, may I call you Edd? I am kinda relived that the same thing happened to you with Plymouth, I mean, at least I know it wasnt me messing something up now. ^^

And Plymouth looks good you say? I am kinda worried that everyone likes UWE so much better than everywhere else when I was unimpressed with it....

Might try Bournmouth for Route B, I hear good things about it. Heh, all these places are miles and miles away, and end in 'mouth' :P

[Meg P]

okay guys!
i added my route B choice to my application but it says that i can only edit my personal statement + stuff once? - well when i first added my route b it said there was an error and didnt add it, then i checked this morning an dit had added it but i cant see anyway to change my personal statement or anything? - i emailed UCAS and they sent me this CRAPPY auto response email with a bunch of links to stuff i already know about!
is it just me who finds the UCAS track a badly designed site?
honestly when you get to the UWE portal login its so much better than ucas track!

the same thing happened to me when I added a route B choice. I got an error message, the course wasn't added to my application, I tried again and got the same error page, then it randomly appeared on my application 10 minutes later.

I wasn't given the option to amend my statement, either. I'm guessing that the option is somewhere after the page that wouldn't load.

UCAS is awful. Try giving them a call?

[Bad_Ballistics]

I am kinda worried that everyone likes UWE so much better than everywhere else when I was unimpressed with it...

No matter how much Uni's try..(and they will) nor how many students like a perticular uni...there is just no way that a university can accomodate every young artists needs...as yous said earlier..space was an issue with you.

so i dont think you should be worried as you obviously know exactly what you want within a university...maybe it should be me thats worried im going with what seems to be the masses..?:S

[TangeAl]

You have a good point there, people are looking for differnt things, shame I don't know what I'm looking for yet. :P Masses are usually masses for a good reason though no? I think I am probally just wrong...

So have you looked around many places yet? I have not gone to any open days yet, so I dont have anything to compare UWE with, as all the places are just too far to travel down to for anything other than for an interview.

[The Prestige]

i think that the more people applying for the same course, makes it so much more worth while, and on the plus side, if you do get in, competing against so many others will give you a huge confidence boost, as for doing foundations it may not be everyones cup of tea, when i had an interview with worcester, i asked if doing a foundation would benifit me more, and they said no, because we'll be teaching you the techniques, and that doing a foundation would be a waste of time, but don't shoot the messenger i'm only saying what others have said..............i agree upto an extent with what they said, but there might be some advantage but thats all ifs and buts

[Smarty]

Foundation year is possibly the best thing I've done in my education so far... Not so much the curriculum but the way it allows you too take a step back and see the bigger picture with art and design.

[TangeAl]

I heart Art Foundation. Got to try out loads of new things, and I now fully appreciate my strengths and many weaknesses. It's great for learning how to work in a group, as well as the crazy timekeeping deadlines they give. Also, I hear AF is far harder than lot's of Uni courses, at least, this is what the teachers tell me. Oh good, I can relax at Uni. :P

Me and Art Foundation, BFF :hugsmile:

This being said, it's clearly not for everyone; lot's of people drop out for varius reasons, it being too hard, or because they think they would have been better of going to Uni and just skipping it, jobs, ect.

W00t, just Route B'd Bournemouth! I hope they like me...

[Glassjaw]

woop just got my letter through, see you guys bright and early on Friday the 4th :yayca:

How are everyones projects coming along? Ive got 1, possibly 2 ideas for panels so far.

[EddTQ]

Score!
i just got an interview for plmouth! - their interview process is pretty kool, they sent me a little leaflett about the course with my interview date and stuff inside it, it was quite nicely designed too :)

- My only big problem with plymouth is that as far as i'm aware they have NO printing facilities? - so no intaglio/etching work and that's something i really want to do!
i've got into plymouth college of art and design for an illustration BA already (seperate uni in plymouth) so i think i'm gonna try and get into plymouth, check out both of their final year exhibitions and then choose which of the two i want to go to!

- Has anyone else ever experimented with intaglio printing? it's mad! :D

[Smarty]

I've still not recieved anything from UWE so I'm holding back on the 3 panel piece till I get the get go.

[Shantih]

I got the little intro pack thing but no interview date, so I haven't started mine either.

Not that I have any decent ideas for it

[kovah]

Just a little note on Portfolios from my own experience, its all nice to take in finnished works and show the best that you can do. BUT In the three interviews I have had, one for my foundation, the next for my Uni course, then for my placement. They were dead impressed at the amount of work I had done outside of my school/set work.

I'm fairly prolific with my own work and not all of it was refined as i would like, but I think WIP's help the interviews see how you work. I know some uni's only have a set amount of time to interview you, so if you take that 'extra' work along with you and once they have looked through your main portfolio you can just ask if they would like to see your other sketchbook. So far I think it as been this that has got me where I am today.

Good luck peoples.

[Shantih]

I don't have any particularly fantastic pieces done in my own time, I was planning on bringing my own sketchbook though.

Hmm...

[TangeAl]

Hmmmm, it seems I need a portfolio biased towards the drawing side of things for an Illustration interview. Aside from the standard portfolio stuff of life class drawings what do we think they are looking for? I have a few weeks, so I have time to add to it, but, I dunno what to add...

Lots of detailed first hand studies, rough but energetic ones or just spur of the moment, plucked out of thin-air stuff? Does ink and etching count, as the same marks are used? *Worried and indecisive*


Any ideas guys?

[Quicksilver]

TangeAl, do you have an interview for Bournemouth? If so, when? I study Illustration there :)

As for portfolio work, it's pretty much already been mentioned: compile 10-15 pieces of your best work and bring a couple (I say 3 maximum, but that's just me. Keep in mind that the interviewers only have a set amount of time to look at your work) of sketchbooks. I think a personal sketchbook would be a bonus, since it shows that you actually enjoy drawing 'outside school'.


Good luck, everyone :)

[TangeAl]

I'v applied to Bournemouth, not heard back yet though, maybe I will see you there?

I was just thinking that my portfolio might be lacking in drawings, I have about 5 good big life class ones, while the rest is paintings and 3D stuff from other projects. My 3 sketchbooks I'm bringing are very drawingy, as is the personal one I'm bringing along, but UWE barely looked at them, so I wonder if I should bulk out my actual portfolio with some more...

Also, this site is the best for advice! ^^

[KarmaTwisted]

I've got a place for illustration at Falmouth and bournemouth and trying to decide where to go as I live in Corwnwall atm and have done my whole life (the same county as Falmouth), so If anyone has any questions about the illustration course in falmouth ask me.

Anyone got a route B interview for Falmouth btw? or have had a route A one?

[aph]

TangeAl: Just try and keep your actual seperate 'portfolio' as consistent as possible, thats basically what Quicksilver is saying. Keep the quality high, show your best stuff.

If they are really interested they will probably look at everything, and personal sketchbooks are great to have just like.. hold it in your hand.. "What you got in your hand? Oh.. a personal sketchbook.. cool lets see.."

Well.. anyways, Quicksilver knows best haha, definately more qualified to help you with what they are looking for!

[Smarty]

Ha, I finally got my application through for UWE, looks like Ill be there on the 4th of April as well. Nothing like a last minute project to scrabble together!

[Shantih]

Same, luckily I finally had a bright idea about it the other day :)

[TangeAl]

Falmouth interview day aproaches, as does the start of the final year project. *sigh* Whatever happened to doing art just for fun? :P

[lefran]

Same- i have UWE on the 4th at 9am so i have this week to do the influence project.
See you guys there!

[Maxine Schacker]

Good luck to all of you!

[EddTQ]

I've been given an interview for the 4th but i'm deffinately not going..
I honestly can't believe they'd send me the interview pack on the monday for an interview on the friday? - that's really harsh, especially as they ask for a project to be done!
That's not the reason i'm not going though, i've just lost my motivation for it now and tbh i'm very happy with plymouth uni!
also i have my plymouth interview the week after and i want to spend my time getting my portfolio ready for that and not rushing!


Good luck to you guys for friday! - in my route A interview the guy asked about observational drawing and mentioned "drawing on the bus, or on the way too school? etc" - so i think you should deffinately include some of that! (i didn't have much)

[Quicksilver]

EddTQ: You sure? You have an extra opportunity, why not grab it anyway? :)


Good luck, everyone!! :cheerleader:

[TangeAl]

Gah, interview at Bournmouth 2 days after Falmouth, W00t for being far enough away to merit staying the day inbetween! Holiday!

Good luck, you all best win at interviews! ^^

[Shantih]

My interview's at 1:30 :)

Just to be the daft one who doesn't get the brief - are you going to just do three paintings/whatever and leave it at that, or write a little something about each influence?

[aph]

EddTQ: If you explained it to them they would understand, and if you did much at all on the project they would then be pretty damn impressed.
Stuff like that happens with uni's heh..
I would try look at it as an opportunity like Quicksilver says.

I got a letter telling me I had to be at the uni for an interview the same day once haha, although that turned out to be a mistake lol

Good luck to you others! That extra effort is worth it!

[Atastrophea]

I'm With the others EddTQ, At least if you go to that interview and get in you'll know that you CHOSE not to go there, not have regrets later or whatever? And turning around a quick project shows you and them that you can deal with high pressure/short notice commissions (just make sure you TELL them that you had such short notice...)

um yeah and all you interviewees can meet up after and have a little CA outing and surely you can ALL MAKE Badger buy you a drink whilst you're there too so its all good right.........? ;) lol

~^-^~

[Bad_Ballistics]

um yeah and all you interviewees can meet up after and have a little CA outing and surely you can ALL MAKE Badger buy you a drink whilst you're there too so its all good right.........? ;) lol


im all for THAT....badger...ready your wallet..cause theres quite alot of us!

oceana??:wink:

[Shantih]

Ha, I'm making my stepdad drive me so I'd have to send him away for a while :P

Actually, I was going to do that anyway, embarrassing man that he is.

[Bad_Ballistics]

same here...guna scoot my mum off....i hate panicing infront of her....cause lets be honest....im guna be crapping myself!

can i just ask..has anyone posted anything portfolio wise in the SB or something!? some final benchmarking may be in order lol

[Shantih]

Nah, I haven't photographed any of my college stuff. A lot of the drawings I've posted recently are in one of the sketchbooks I'm planning on handing in though.

[lefran]

Well i sort of have a vague portfolio put up on here, but theres a lot missing from it
http://lefranart.blogspot.com/

Also I'll be badger's bodyguard! not paying for everone's beers! :P

[Badger]

bloody! this place got busy, hello everyone! my computer died long ago, i've just built a new dual core 4gig ram to see me through till graduation.

Lefran sent me here.

I want to cover a few points.

EddTQ, the belief that recieving a project on the monday and not being able to do it for friday isn't wise. On the course you will be set over night projects because thats how the industry works, I know people who do work for clients like the guardian and you'll be having a coffee with them, they'll get a phone call and need to have an editorial in for 8am following. What i'm trying to say is 5 days is tonnes of time, i produce 2 colour illos in a good day, i'm sure you can get your project done.

Portfolio for UWE, take all the observational drawing you consider good, make it big, make it varied. You want to show passion, attention, draftsmanship and flair.
Make sure your finished work is all up to scratch and mounted, on white i'd say.
Bring all your sketchbooks, all of them.
Also, you can edit it down in the room if you think you want to make last minute adjustments.

further to consider:

I can't buy you drinks, i'm a broke badger.

I might be the one interviewing you with a course leader.

Don't expect university education to be like school education, that is where most people get frustrated, you need to find your own grove here. There is no BEST place to go, there is your place, the place you feel you would benefit the most from being, sounds a bit zen? it is.

Bristol is awesome.

And my CA sketchbook is so out of date i wouldn't use any of the work their anymore. I'll try and update my blog soonish :)
-B-

[Glassjaw]

Welcome back to the thread Badger! Thanks for those points and to anyone else whos contributed and given their words of wisdom in this thread so far.
Speaking for myself, I dont know what my chances are of getting in, but regardless i feel better prepared for it by having read peoples thoughts and input here.
And if your wondering why im posting at 2.10am, yes im up drawing and cramming ;)

[Bad_Ballistics]

aww badger.....your BACK!

dont worry about the drinks lolz

P.S. i have just decided to stay up all of tonight....instead of tommorow night....the night before the interview.....

my main concern is my lack of life drawings.....most of my observational drawings are in all of my sketchbooks.....well there isnt much more i can do...but its still not too late
some1 stay up with me!?!?

[Smarty]

Unfortunately I got my sleep ballistics :D Thanks for the words badger, Ill think about that.

Also, I really want to stay and meet you guys, but a 5 hour train journey each way stops me from doing so. The most time im have is like an hour before and after the interview maybe :(

Im just finishing up my 3rd panel for the UWE brief, I think everything else is sorted. See some of you 1.30, good luck to everyone

[DannySketch]

thanks badger.

EDIT*also fran, those two latest images in your blog are awesome.

[Quicksilver]

Good luck for tomorrow, Brizzle folks!! ^_^

[Shantih]

Phew, managed to finish the brief, but I had the seemingly bright idea of doing them in oils so I dunno if the last will be dry by tomorrow. Argh. No idea why this didn't cross my mind until now.

[Atastrophea]

eek you crazy muppet! oils??? I thought they took days/weeks/months to dry? Can you take really good photos and print them out/pay to get a good sized print from one of those digital print out places in the morning if they're not dry?

Good luck everyone, I'll be thinking of you and crossing my fingers :)

p.s Tsk Badger, shame on you.... lol twas only a joke ;) On the other hand if you're the one sitting in on the interviews......

Let me revise that master plan....

Quick guys - YOU- should all buy Badger a drink........ teehe ;)

~^-^~

[Shantih]

I use them pretty thinly so they normally dry in a day or two - the first one I did is dry but the other two are plodding along. If they aren't I'll have to photograph them like you said. Silly milly.

[Badger]

Ah, interviews tomorrow are at bower, and i'll be in my studio in town so i wont get to pester you kids (except magic fran), ah well, good luck all! :)
-B-

[markey2d]

good luck to you all.

[Bad_Ballistics]

Im just got back from the brizzle interview...and phew...it was the most scariest 3 hour wait EVER

it was really quick though....5 mins at the max...

PLUS i got to meet BADGER, LEFRAN and GLASSJAW

awesome in total

bristol uwe IS amazing..dont like my odds....over 200 aplicants..and 30 places.....but now its down to the even worse wait....2 weeks for their reply!

[Shantih]

Bleargh, that ****ing wait. After they told us our groups and we went back to the waiting room I needed the loo for the entire time...I tried to smile attractively until I was out of the interview room then legged it :bashful:

Yeah, the sheer amount of people there was really discouraging...the guys who interviewed me were really nice though, so at least I don't feel a complete crapbag.

[Smarty]

Just got in 11pm! what a treck... That waiting room was getting a bit intense but once i got into my interview i felt it was very reassuring although short. Altogether I think it went well.

I met LeFran and DannySketch. I didn't realize Badger was Badger until he'd left and someone else told me :S Shantih, you must of been in the same group as me? Was anyone else in the afternoon session who i didn't manage to say hi
too?

I'm going to upload my 3 influence pieces tonight before bed time, I'd like to see everyone else's :D

[Shantih]

Must've been, the 1:30 lot? I'm so bad at facial recognition I wouldn't have noticed my own mother enter the room. I was the confused muppet with shortish curly/wavy blonde hair and black/green clothes.

And I look like a crackhead in the passport photo I handed in, that's mighty unfortunate.

I might upload mine tomorrow, I have to photograph my stuff so I need to wait for natural light :)

[Smarty]

Yup 1.30... erm I can't remember sorry :( if it helps i had pinstripe pants on, luminous green trainers and a luminous orange polo. Apart from that i was fairly non descript:S

PS Influence piece is up

[Bad_Ballistics]

i was in at 9....and as i said i was able to meet lefran, glassjaw and BADGER which is awesome...urm if anyone on here was at 9am aswel..just go on my profile theres a picture of me, and i was wearing the same shirt in my interview as i am in the pic...

i shall uplaod my 3 influences shortly...the next day or so..as well as the rest of my portfolio

[Glassjaw]

i was so tired yesterday, sorry i wasnt more chatty. Ballistics i realised you mustve been from CA when you were telling the guy next to you your choices for your 3 panels, i remembered the choices from a thread.

I loved what i saw of the place. They loved my photography but said my illustration could use more time developing, which after seeing people like Fran's work i really understand :p They said theyd like to see me again in a year, i was interviewed by Rob who said it took him 3 years of attempts to get in, not sure how old he was when he did. Im almost 24 so :dead:
I presume my application will be sent to UCCA in maidstone now, but after yesterday my hearts set on bristol..along with the other few thousand who seem to apply there ;)

[lefran]

hey, was nice to meet you guys- thanks for keeping me company! :) Good luck to all those who applied! now just for the long wait!

[Bad_Ballistics]

Glassjaw..they told you striaght away!...

jesus...well tbh if i wasnt going to get in..i would like to know straight away...then i can get my head sorted and move onto finding a foundation place...but MAAAWW..i wana go to UWE

its as soon as he said....
"were going to evaluate everyone as a whole.."...
"meaning we will make choices based on everyones work"
but phah...i still..maybe have a small chance...heres hoping

and yeah it was nice to finally put faces to names! ive been looking at this site since last august! and i was astounded by ppls work....so to meet the actual ppl in person...i was honored lool.

its back to the ucas checking every 5 minute thing now....
i wish you talented artist good luck...despite bieng my direct competition! ha ha

[Glassjaw]

yeh it wasnt an official 'no' but since they knew i was new to illustration, they wanted to ask what id do if i didnt get onto any of my choices, what my next step would be.
Anyway ive updated my sketchbook with my 3 influence pieces, skip the first half of the page as its embarrasing!

[Hollowvaults]

I don't know if this is the best place to post this, but, I really need some advice.

Basically, I'm just nearing the end of my first year on a illustration degree in the UK. It was recommended to me, not my first choice, but I was encouraged to take it.

Things started off well, but towards the end, I've grown more concerned with the quality. We have two lessons a week, one is half a day. Our summer term finishes early May, very early. We had three weeks for easter, and two months for Christmas. It seems like very long holidays to me.

In addition, I feel there's no real links with industry.

So I'm terrified now that I'm stuck on this course, and that at the end of it, I'll be nowhere. I'm wondering whether to just get out now, it would mean taking a gap year and reapplying, which also worries me.

I'm just so desperate for any advice, what someone would do in my situation. I'm sorry if this is the wrong place.

[Bad_Ballistics]

I don't know if this is the best place to post this, but, I really need some advice.

Basically, I'm just nearing the end of my first year on a illustration degree in the UK. It was recommended to me, not my first choice, but I was encouraged to take it.

Things started off well, but towards the end, I've grown more concerned with the quality. We have two lessons a week, one is half a day. Our summer term finishes early May, very early. We had three weeks for easter, and two months for Christmas. It seems like very long holidays to me.

In addition, I feel there's no real links with industry.

So I'm terrified now that I'm stuck on this course, and that at the end of it, I'll be nowhere. I'm wondering whether to just get out now, it would mean taking a gap year and reapplying, which also worries me.

I'm just so desperate for any advice, what someone would do in my situation. I'm sorry if this is the wrong place.

umm this place is as good as any.....

what uni you at....every university is different...and each has a different quality and each has very different industry links......

they also seem like very long holidays..but im not sure of the holidays..but remember....this is university...your expected to be constantly studying by yourself...100% commitment....from what i can tell actual lectures are there just to teach stuff...not really to get work done...most work will probably be done in your 'free' time constantly getting stuff down....aslong as you feel your developing your going to get a hell of alot out of an illustration course in 3 years even wiht the long holidays cause your 'always' working....

also...are you sure you WANT to do illustration....because a 3 year course in illustration is a big dive if it wasnt really what you wanted to do....it will be a big waste of time and money if you feel you dont want to actually do it

so..what im trying to say is...most of the answers you want are going to come from you....but what i think i cna answer is tht..its fine if you change course at a stage aslong as you get it all set before they start recruiting for the next year..im not exactly sure what the deal would be..but surely if you jsut explained that this isnt what you thought it was..and wanted to do something else...i.e. Graphic Design...then im sure it would be a possibility...

and..what is your worry about taking a gap year....with me i was worried about age..but 1/3 of the ppl in uni's are over the age of 23....and aslong as you state on ucas that your deffering a year and tht you get accepted your place will remain there.....

Pheeew... So...Basicaly...be sure of what you want to do...ask your lecturers or seek guidance within your uni.....see what your possibilities are...then go with them...

i hope my long winded explanation helps....just to clarify..im not it uni..yet...but those are my opinions on the matter and it is what i would do...(which is what you asked :hugsmile: )

[Quicksilver]

Hollowvaults: Ouch, doesn't sound like you're getting your money's worth atm. :/ If you're defo sure you wanna continue studying Illustration and truly feel you're not reaching your full potential at the place you're in now, then I suggest you call up the unis you ARE interested in, arrange a visit/attend their Open Days and ask whether it's possible to join in the second year of their course (or repeat first year if you really want to).

Best get things done now 'cause everything you do in the last two years of Illustration counts to your overall degree. First year is for getting through learning curves and makin' most of the wiggle room before getting serious :P It's all good fun though~

Good luck!!

[TangeAl]

Um, what do we do, if we fail at Uni interviews? I have failed 3 so far, not looking forwards to the reply from the other 2...

I dunno, everyone elses art at the interviews was proper illustration and really stylised already. Maybe I should have gone for fine art instead, I have no distinct style...



Is clearing fun?

[Hollowvaults]

Wowee, thank you two so much for your response! I'm studying at the Cambridge school of Art. The sad thing is that the course started off well, we had three lessons a week... a book/binding print workshop, a lecture and then a to to 5 all day illustration lesson with lots of tutor support and field trips and just general exciting things.

But now it's only two, on Thursday and Friday... and it feels like I have this whole huge gap of just no learning. And now we're breaking up on the 9th of May, and... yeah, it's just really worrying. I feel I'm spending all this money for halls and tuition on something I could have just done closer to home.

But yes, I do want to do illustration very very much, I just wonder if I'm on the right course.

Well, I'm in the process of discussing things with my tutors and such, so I'll just have to make up my mind. It's all abit of a mess! Thanks again.

[Shantih]

Woke up this morning and discovered I've got a conditional to UWE! :D!

[lefran]

As do I!

[Bad_Ballistics]

As do i....oh wait..no i dont....

well what can you expect from someone who hasnt done a foundation eh?

now its the process of finding an art foundation...woopie....

[Smarty]

I got a conditional offer from UWE! can't wait.. :D

sorry to hear that Bad_B.

Start a UWE hopefuls sketchgroup? see you guys again in September anyway.

[lefran]

What are the conditions btw?

edit:this is on the website

Typical offers
* GCSE: Five GCSEs, or one A-level and three GCSEs, or two A-levels and two GCSEs, or three A-levels and evidence of other subjects studied
* A-level subjects: Art/ Design Technology may be useful
* EDEXCEL (BTEC) Diploma (Final Year): BTEC diploma in Art and Design acceptable
* Baccalaureate EB %: 60
* Baccalaureate IB pts: 24

but surely they would have checked you have this unless theyre expecting something else?

[Shantih]

Sketchgroup sounds good :)

I imagine the conditions are to pass foundation, some places ask for a distinction but if you look at the course requirements on the UWE site it doesn't say anything about that.

Edit - Yeah, but since most people applying are in the midst of their foundation year there's still a chance we could fail spectacularly and not meet the condition...I think.

B_B - Don't worry, you'll come to love foundation in a only-a-mother-could kind of way.

[markey2d]

congratulations everyone!!!!

[Bad_Ballistics]

this isnt going to hold me back..

after a few hours thought..(not to mention a few units of alcohol) i have decided that this isnt all that bad..i was waaaay out of leauge in the first place

just gotta find a foundation course in my area....not to mention the money tht will fund it....

i seriously wish you ppl good luck at uwe and wherever....

lets hope that i get into uwe next year with a foundation!

[aph]

Yeah don't worry man. Foundation can be really really useful! Just keep doing your thing and drawing.. Foundation is great for working out who you are and focusing you. =)!

[Quicksilver]

Defo to what aph said. You'll have a great time in Foundation ^_^ The style of work (not art-wise, but how the course is organised and how students are expected to work) is more like uni anyway, so think of it as a 'warm-up' :) Best of luck finding a good one near you.

Congrats to those who got into their chosen unis, and for those who didn't - don't worry! There's always next year, or clearing. Either way the time will fly by (seriously, I can't believe I finish my first year soon already!) Draw draw draw draw.....

[DannySketch]

It has been one hell of a long year but i also discovered an offer into bristol this morning:) there are going to be alot of ca'ers there, should be a good year.

congratulations to everyone.

EDIT*also to Fran and others wondering what the conditional part stands for i am quite definite that its based on you passing your art foundations.

[Quicksilver]

Dan: Yeah, Conditional means you have to pass your current course to get through. Once you've got your results and sent a photocopy of your certificate to the uni, they'll send you a letter for an Unconditional offer, meaning you're defo in. Then it's time to sort out financey stuff like applying for a loan, opening a Student Account (I'm with Natwest) blah blah. DON'T FORGET TO LOOK FOR ACCOMMODATION!!

[EddTQ]

:cheerleader:CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! :D
and for those that didn't get in, don't worry there are plenty more good uni's around!

i just got back from my plymouth interview - i went down there completely expecting the uni to be horrible and i was trying to punch holes in the course the whole time. I've already got an unconditional into a different university in plymouth which i didn't like that much, but was going to go to anyway becuase i didn't get into UWE. i was expecting plymouth uni to be just as bad but when i got there i went to a course talk and was literally blown away - all the things i decided were crap about the course i got proved wrong on!

including the Amazing workshops and studio space.. !!

anyway without me going on and on about how awesome it is, i'm pretty sure now that plymouth is the right uni for me over bristol after all.. !
also they have an erasmus exchange location that's exclusive to plymouth which is hokkaido, japan!! :D

B_B have you thought about doing foundation in bristol? - UWE stopped running theres last year i think but im pretty sure some of the colleges around bristol do an art foundation - you can get a student loan for that too! - i know bristol filton college do foundations?
i think you dont have to apply through ucas either you can apply directly to the college?

[TangeAl]

Edd my man! Did you get an offer from Plymouth? I just had an interview and got an unconditional, it's amazing there!

[EddTQ]

i also had an interview and got a conditional! :D

woah.. you got an unconditional?! how did you manage that?
what did you think of the lecturer ashley potter? - he seemed to REALLY know what he was going on about, ripped my work apart and completely put me in perspective!
he gave me an assignment to do for august 21st! did you get it too?

i love that the library is 24 hours!

[TangeAl]

Gah lolz, I lied, it is conditional, I was just so happy! ^^

Yeah, he was realllly nice, and he really does seem to know his stuff. He gave me some pointers and an assignment, but said they would send a letter with all the details. I want that letter now damnit!

Yay for 4am research!!

You think you are going there then? I know I am!

[EddTQ]

yeah i deffinately am! - i just put it as my "Firm" choice on UCAS - did you look at plymouth college of art and design? i got an unconditional offer there but tbh compared to plymouth university the resources at pcad are pretty lame!
also from the work i've seen the plymouth uni illustration work is a LOT stronger! - are you going to their end of year exhibition?

what assignment did you get?
soo we'll be on the same course next year then? - are you having as much fun as i am going through all the finincial forms and such? (it's a nightmare.. they're so damn long...)

- did you hear about the erasmus exchange to japan in the second year?

[TangeAl]

The exchange to Japan sounds ace! I wonder how much it costs?

These finance forms are a pain, I might do them online instead, and I wish UCAS would update so I can confirm it as my choice...

I get to draw wierdy transfomers by combining two or three things! Best assignment evor!! :D What about you?

I really want to go to the exhibition, but I probally won't be able to make it, I'm up north(ish) so...

[Quit]

I got a unconditional to Middlesex, (no one cares...) :*(
Its got smelly halls and wobbly desks ^^

[Twiggy]

Yes I got conditional for Norwich!
But I accidenly applied for Illustration instead of Game Art Design! I'm such an imbicle.

Bourmouth was unsuccesfull even though I had no interview, it can only be my terrible art and English grades.

well thats one:) Good jolly.

[Bad_Ballistics]

got an interview at portsmouth this thursday..and im applying for art foundations now aswell....

fingers crossed

[lefran]

Just wondering if anyone has had any information through from UWE about accomodation? On the website it has a number which i rang, and it was an automated message and just said that theyll be sending emails at the beginning of may. I was also told that i would have an accomodation pack. But its half way through may, and nothing yet, just wondered if anyone else has had anything back about accomodation for UWE yet or have found somewhere else to sort it?

[Bad_Ballistics]

i got a couple of friends going to UWE....

they also have this problem and they to have rang up....

theyre doing a different course though..one of them based in frenchay..the other glenside...

not tht it matters its all sent out together...

but yea, they rang up and they just said it would be sent out the beggining of may...even tho they rang up a week ago....

so....it must be the norm atm...

just my 2 cents

[lefran]

cheers!

[Glassjaw]

I had my interview at UCCA in Maidstone yesterday for the 3 year Illustration course, i was told there and then that i got in, but my interviewer told me i need to get out and do shed loads of observational drawing, because it showed in my work that i lacked that. Least i have a good few months to play catch up. Really impressed with the facilities there, there seemed to be 5 computers for every 1 student!

Bad ballistics where's the art foundation your applying to? My foundation year was one of the most fun years Ive had, socially and work wise, so although an extra year might seem like a step backwards from what you had in mind, i think itll pay off in the long run

[Shantih]

I haven't heard a peep about accomodation either, argh.

[TangeAl]

Heh, I have a big huge list of things I need to buy. And, I'v yet to sort out accomodation/loans either.

[EddTQ]

ha TangeAl i take it you got the same list as i did today then.. holy crap that's a lot of art supplies..!
The new york/milan trip sounds good though!

- Did you see the book list? apparently some of my friends already in plymouth uni told me not to buy those books atm and to wait untill we actually get to uni? one of them bought two of his course books early it came to £120, if he'd waited and bought them from plymouth he could have got them for £60?

Also what did you think of the crazy sounding first project? - have you picked an object? i think i'm gonna go for the underwear or the umbrella.. hahah

[TangeAl]

I may just have to try the New York trip :3

Hm, I supose they would have secondhand books at the uni, and that's a load of saved money, but, what if they dont? Oh no, now I need to think about it...

I thought underwear first too, but I need to have a think. XD Hehe, should be a fun project.

[pix-uk]

Thought I would jump in the thread!

Just finishing off my ND in art & design at the minute, Should finish up with most D's and a few M's. Applied for a graphic design course ages ago and got in. But since then and now I have completely changed what I want to do....

*sigh*

The g/f is going to cleveland doing a surface pattern course in hartlepool so I think i'll be looking around at Teeside but they do plenty of courses each one having little difference. Obviously need to sort out what I'm doing and quick and just ring up and hope for the best but it's not a top uni so they will most likely be bothered about my money more than me ;).

Anybody been to teeside and looked at the courses or similar courses in the area.

...Just relised I haven't said what I want to do! Basically digital illustration with bits of design thrown in for good messure.....

oh dear....*hangs head* Me in a nutshell.

[Smarty]

Hey UWE guys, I applied for my accomodation...

Got the email today, took five minutes. 1st choice ise Drake house, 2nd Nelson.... 3rd transom (?).

I should find out where i got June time, it's first come first serve.

[lefran]

got mine too im gonna apply now, probably those same halls
edit: yep applied for same places- they seem most central

[Shantih]

<<< spent ten minutes yelling "WHY WON'T MY ****ING PASSWORD WORK??! before realising you had to register again.

There's always one.

[Quit]

GLASSJAW READ THIS!!
Apparently I herd yesterday from a few of my friends that the Illustration course at Maidstone is shutting in 16 months, if you do the math, thats less than 3 years. Not 100% but ring them the fuck up!!

[lefran]

Hey guys, i found out today i have a distinction for my foundation course :)

so my place is now unconditional :)

anyone else know their grades yet?

[EddTQ]

wow a distinction? that's really good! congratulations :)

i don't know my grades for sure but they've told me that i've got what i need to get into my first choice - which is Merit Merit Pass
(i do NationalDiploma and we get three grades, i think M-M-P is the equivelent of about B-B-C at Alevels)

i've only had two distiction level projects so far this year and they were for sculpture and life drawing.. hahah i don't do enough work!

[Shantih]

I don't know yet :( Won't find out until my exit tutorial, which is on the 25th or 26th. I'm reasonably hopeful, because most of my class have an idea of what they got becausce the tutor told them they needed to do this or that to get it to a pass/merit/etc, but with mine she just said I had no outstanding work and seemed happy with it all.

I hope anyway, I probably completely misread the situation and she in fact decided I was a lost cause :nohope:

[EddTQ]

hahah! that is EXACTLY how i feel!
i went in today and loads of my friends were sat around adding work, they said they'd been told to do this or that to add to their grade?

Whereas i was only told to bring in my art history book!
I think my teachers have given up on me... !

[lefran]

Hey guys, for those of you who dont drop by the UK thread- theres a CA meet in Oxford on the 2nd and 3rd of August. Theres info in the UK thread in the lounge, and possibility of a load of people staying in the same hostel if your interested in staying over for both days, would be good to see you guys there

[markey2d]

when you guys start your experience at UWE, be sure to post you experiences and thoughts on the Univercity. cause im thinking of going there but i'm not sure

[EddTQ]

Score! i got my grades through and i've got enough to get into plymouth :D
they asked for grades MMP and i got MMM -
Which is quite low but i've spent a lot of time slacking off this past year...!

anyone else heard about their grades yet?

[Smarty]

hey guys! i got my grades a couple of weeks ago and have been a bit non stop since then to give you all the low down because ive been so buzzed going out every night to celebrate since, whoop!

distinction, sold all my paintings at exhibition, a local paper writeup, won a trophy at some awards do at our town and some book vouchers

now its back to my sketchbook after my 2 weeks of madness, worth it in the end. Ill try find some pictures of my work trhat was in the exhibition and stuff.

also has anyone at UWE been allocated there acoomodation?

[lefran]

nope not yet- still waiting! and congrats!

[Jaxsbudgie]

Hey everyone,

I remember coming on here ages ago as to what universities people were thinking of going to
I got into Kingston, for the Illustration degree
Is anyone else going?
I remember reading how people were thinking of applying ... but people thought it looked pretty shit ... hah

Also, speaking of grades, i got a distinction
What colleges was everyone at?
I was at Wimbledon, it was great, i highly recommend it

[newDorling]

Hey all. I read up that UWE is based at Bush House near Bower Ashton. What accomodation choices do I have. I've read the site but I have no idea about the area and I want to apply next year. Thanks in advance for any help.

[lefran]

accomodation has been dished out today for those who applied in june- nelson house, transom house, drake house are central and close to bush house, if you look on the website- theres a little map that shows you the location-
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/accommodation/prospectiveStudents/accommguide08-09.pdf
Try the city centre flats as they are central and close to bush house

I got into Drake house room A flat 22- other UWErs got your offers yet?

[Atastrophea]

JaxsBudgie - I just graduated from wimbledon :) although I'm guessing you were at Palmerston Road not Merton Hall ;) Congratulations on getting into Kingston, and your distinction!

~^-^~

[Shantih]

Fran - I got Drake House too :) Glad to see the rent's a bit less than what the site said, even if it's only £100 or so. Anyone else going to be living off of rice and tapwater next year?

[lefran]

oh awesome- a sort of roomie :D what flat are you? i edited my post- im room A flat 22

[Shantih]

Room B, Flat 24.

Not sure what the layout is like, but that might mean we're two flats apart. That's some pretty cool business.

[lefran]

oo cool- someone i'l sort of kind of know then :P

[Bad_Ballistics]

just a quick note.

Got into Stroud College for Art Foundation. Just got my Summer Project through end of last week!

just reading through the comments ^ and this has turned into pretty much a UWE thread! HA ha!

Anyway Congrats to you foundation results etc!

P.S anyone whos interested in Bristol UWE for next year..(includes me)..start tht UWE hopefuls thread maybe?

Il also check that CA meet aswell, worth a visit me thinks!

anyway...Hi all...B_B is back!

[lefran]

Congrats harry!

[louislabron]

Hello, stumbled on this thread when looking for info on UWE illustration course, which im starting in Sept, wish i'd found it a lot earlier, could have picked up alot of useful tips on applying/interviews etc. oh well, can anyone tell me, is the course still based in bush house, or has it been moved to bower ashton yet? hope its still bush cos my flat in favells just across the road...

[Eihs]

Hi, I've been following this thread for a while and it's been really helpful seeing as I couldn't find many informative threads on courses in the UK.

I'm pretty sure I intend to study Illustration in uni, and I was just wondering if anyone could help me with the whole foundation degree issue. I'm about to go into my 2nd year of sixth form and I'm really confused about what to do next.

I was wondering, does the foundation have to be the exact same course as the BA you want to do, or could you go from a foundation course in something like Fine Art to a degree in Illustration?

If anyone has any advice at all I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance for any help!

[Shantih]

I think you might have got the wrong end of the stick about foundation - during foundation you do everything, so print, fine art, photography, etc, and don't have to decide what you want to do for your degree until the end of the year. What you can pick to study for the last term depends on the size of your class, I've noticed. Mine got spilt into fine art, fashion and graphics. I picked fine art and more or less did what I thought would help me to get on an illustration course. Foundation is far more self directed than A-level, so that's perfectly possible.

[Eihs]

Thanks for the info! I'm glad it's like that, I've already changed my mind dozens of times this year about what I want to do so another year to think about it will be helpful XD

[EddTQ]

okay so technically it's results day :D
sadly the ucas track is being updated so i cant see it tell me whether or not i've been accepted untill the morning!

anyone else manage to find out their grades yet?
Good luck everyone :)

[Smarty]

we are all asettled and met at UWE, how is everyone else doing?

[EddTQ]

Me and Alex (tangeal) are in plymouth
i'm really enjoying it so far - we've just got past the induction-ish work and have moved on to it being more free... The facilities are excellent and our tutor guy is really kool!

what kind of projects have you been set?

[lefran]

started out with 2 15 week projects. one to pastiche another artist, another to illustrate four words, balance, enclose, support and disperse.
Weve also had workshops throughout this, one of which was a 24 hour project to produce 12 or 14 illustrations storyboarding a narrative.

[markey2d]

hey there UWE illustration people, i just came back from an open day at UWE. i was impressed but could you guys give me some more information for example like and dislikes about anything really, doesn't have to be about illustration could be just general stuff.

would realy appreciate your help thanks.

[lefran]

the halls are in an excellend location (drake, transom, nelson, market gate)
theres a lot of free reign on the course which is good
good facilities available- really great print centre- bower ashton has some great facilities
the studio is in central bristol

[Smarty]

My only gripe would be their underestimation of the demand for buses. It seems sorted now though with more buses running.

Apart from that I'm still feeling pretty impressed, everything is there you just need to make the most of it.

[newDorling]

I went to the open day at UWE yesterday. I'm really impressed with bower ashton and bush, the environments are so relaxed, I really see myself being really motivated there. Only problem is the accomodation. Ideally want something cheap and barable. Drake house looks nice, I mean, it was the only one we got a tour in. I should probably be shopping around a bit more for others (1 in every 10 applicants get in. woop) Also I noticd some of frans work layed out on the table, sweet stuff, you attracted a lot of attention hehe.

[lefran]

:) (btw that was shantih (chloe)'s flat you visited)

[Shantih]

And isn't it beautiful! Not my room though, I was in a huff and couldn't be bothered to tidy up this time.

I'm obviously biased, but I think Drake House is the best, with Nelson a close second (really my only issue with it is the questionable decor). It's the closest to Bush House (where Illustration is based most of the time), and the shopping centre, that sort of thing. The others aren't much further away though.

[Blissme]

Does anyone know anything about London University of the arts, specifically Camberwell? They have an illustration programme I'm thinking about (but first their foundation year), or any other good art school in London.

[[North]]

I've been watching this topic for an age, but only just signed up to CA. >_> So yeah, hello! :'D

I'm thinking of applying to Bournemouth, and I read the stuff about it earlier on in the thread, but is there anything else anyone can add, please? Just because it's good to hear about things from people who aren't severely under pressure to say only nice stuff lol.

[meltedplastik]

Jumping in to say I've been stalking the hell out of this thread myself since early October - didn't really have any direction as far as Illustration courses went and never would've considered UWE had I not got my google on at the last minute. Went to the 11/10 open day and was dead impressed! Basically my Route A application is good to go, just waiting on a reference. Going for UWE, UCLAN (a pleasant surprise when I visited), AIB and Brighton, but Bristol is really where I wanna be, for various reasons.

Since it's more than a bit competitive I was just looking for some portfolio direction? Mostly regarding life drawing/observational in general. I scored DDD on the National Diploma and am currently doing the Foundation to buy a bit of time. As a result I'm in my third year of life drawing which helps, but being Captain Self-Critical I'm only really proud of 4-5 pieces, mostly from this year, yet my tutor says to put in at least 15 :S the guy at UCLAN thought this was a bit ott so eh. Other than that I have tons of stuff from other media areas and personal sketchbooks etc.

Didn't want this to become as much of a tl;dr as it is, I also feel like a knob signing up just to ask a question... never really been motivated to join CA before now so perhaps I'll eventually contribute a bit more. Thanks in advance/thanks for this thread in general, anyway

[Shantih]

I think 15 life drawings is definately excessive, I can't remember exactly but I had about 5 big pieces in mine, and also put my life drawing sketchbook in :)

[meltedplastik]

Thanks, that's round about what I wanted to include! Hoping to actually be able to lift the portfolio once everything's in there and all that.

[etoeto]

hi all!!

i've been reading up on this forum for quite a while and since now it's crunch time for me to apply, i need help! :0 lol

My ambition is to do concept art and iv been told the best way to do this is to do an illustration degree, but I've found it very hard to decide on what uni's to choose and since I'm in Derbyshire, I can't go down south for a day to see the uni's im interested in. Which sucks but i don't have a money tree.

I've seen you talk alot about UWE which is ace because i like the look of their illustration with animation course, but im still finding it VERY difficut to find other courses that have animation options. (I really want the animation option because pure illustration isnt fer me i dont think) I've found Derby, which has a great atmosphere but they hardly touch 3D software.

So I have two things to ask, do you know of any good illustration courses that have the animation option? (I've already seen Kingston and im not interested) and have any of you got into a course without a foundation?

I really want to get straight to uni without adding another year on (although the fd course at my local college is one of my options as a backup)

it's nearly december and im pooping myself with panic at what to do ><
any suggestions? (pretty pelase with cherries on top!)

[Bad_Ballistics]

heey, um well personally i tried the straight to uni without foundation thing to UWE and portsmouth....well...

EPIC fail....(Portsmouth did give me a conditional though...but it was ridiculous what they told me to get)

seriously...i thought doing a foundation would be well...a waste of time..god was i wrong....are you coming from Alevels? i assume you are? well i highly recommend doing an art foundation because i have learnt so much in the short time and if i had gone straight into Degree i would have been in a lot of trouble!

also UWE (which is where i want to go SO BAD) accepts like 1 in 10 ppl...last year there was something ridiculous like 600 ppl applying....and i was like THE ONLY ONE without an art foundation....i saw some ppls work and well WOW...

so basically my advice is to go do an art foundation! although i would recommend going and applying to uwe etc...the experience was golden and has helped me out massively with applying this year...

oh and a quick question from me??...did anyone apply route a to UWE because thts what im doing atm....scary stuff....

anyway wish ive been of some help

[[North]]

Haha, so far I've found Foundation more of a pain in the ass than anything. I'm not saying that there's nothing I need to learn or anything, but so far most of it has been horribly unorganized and a lot of the stuff we're doing is like...well it would have been fine if I was 13 and coming up with those results, but it's a little silly at almost 20 freaking years old. >_>;; It's like they want us to abstract everything and we can't just draw and paint normally first. It's driving me up the wall. I need a portfolio in like 3-4 months, and so far I have...very little I want to actually put in. The only cool thing was being able to try printmaking.

And like in the graphics 'taster' thing...they're making a big deal out of how we get to go to the new local university to use their so-fucking-awesome Macs... but there is not a single tablet in the building. I'm not quite sure how they can hold so many graphic design courses there and not have a single tablet.

But I'm just exceptionally bitter because I spent the last three years of highschool in the US, so I got a taste of how the art schools over there do illustration and such. D: I was starting to go to open days over there, but then we moved back here.

Also: I like to rant. Sorry. XD;

[etoeto]

Well, I've had a straight A in GCSE and A-level Art and Design and with an (almighty) push, I could get C/B's in my French and Spanish A-levels. So I'm not freaking out about my grade's that much and my teacher seems to think I could get in but I guess I was just worried about competition :s Since I bet I'll be 1 of a handfull that's gonna apply without a foundation.

I have just started looking at art schools in America/Canada but my parents are iffy about it because of the cost.. we can't exactly go to an open day and the fees are rediculous, but I love the look of the courses, they just seem more tailored to what I want to do (I'd love to live in Canada one day).

DARN YE ATLANTIC!! :D

[Mon Chat]

is it too late to stumble into this thread? really? oh good.

torn now between fally falmouth (where I am now) and UWE... guhh

[lefran]

clearly jim. the choice is UWE :P

[etoeto]

:D I've almost finished my app! must get it done this week!

I'm gonna go for bournemouth arts institute, UWE and Derby. Plus another I need to research more before I pick. I'm also gonna go for my local college foundation as back up. I've stressed so much over this damn application and I still worry about choices >< Well, can't back down now! :D

I've only been to an open day at Derby though >< I'll have to go to the others after Christmas.

[lefran]

etoeto i dont think UWE even gives interviews to 2nd choice applicants as it fills up on 1st

[Shantih]

UWE's first choice only, but if you go Route A the uni doesn't know what choice they are, it's only with Route B that they do, so it depends.

[TZA]

I got offered an interview last year from UWE as my second choice, but i didnt go, was hoping to get into edinburgh.

I still cant decide where I want to go, in all honesty there really doesnt seem like a uni in the UK that teaches any kind of traditional theory, pretty sad really.
does UWE provide much life drawing?

[lefran]

every tuesday theres life drawing at bower ashton campus at uwe, with long and short poses, you can drop in and out as you please, and theres quite a few life drawing places outside of the uni in the centre area so im aware