I REALLY need some advice....

[Mr.Dabit]

I live in Oxford, Alabama. I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of it. I'm a senior in high school, and I'm really interested in the ART part of video games (Concept art, music, writing).

There are a few colleges I am considering, which aren't very great because I don't want to leave the state.

There is Jacksonville State University, which is a big business college. They just started a game design class, and they also have Drawing & Painting. Cheap, and close.... But these classes aren't acclaimed to shizah. Nothing great about them :nohope:.

There is also the choice of Art Institute Online. I've looked around, and I haven't heard one positive thing about it :painting::uzi2:. And I want to learn this kind of stuff in a classroom. So the online classes won't be a great choice either.

There are other out of state colleges I would love to go to, but being a middle class, upper 30% grade percentile student in 2 small clubs and no curricular activities, I'm not really qualified for a great scholarship. I can't afford to move.

I just need some suggestions. I was thinking I could go to college for the art, and learn game design on my own, or vice versa. Is this a good idea too?

I really REALLY need help. I'm graduating soon, scholarship applications are due, and I have no idea what I'm doing after school. Please... have pity on my sweet lil soul :( ...

[Elwell]

Check out the University of South Alabama (http://www.usouthal.edu/) in Mobile. Fine art, not game design specifically, but there's a guy named Ben Shamback (http://www.benjaminshamback.com/) there who knows his stuff when it comes to basic drawing and painting.

[Mr.Dabit]

Is this the only place I can go? I would like to have choices.

But about the learning from home question. Would it better to learn art at home or game developement?

[Storyboard Dave]

There are a few colleges I am considering, which aren't very great because I don't want to leave the state.

There are other out of state colleges I would love to go to, but being a middle class, upper 30% grade percentile student in 2 small clubs and no curricular activities, I'm not really qualified for a great scholarship. I can't afford to move.

No offense but you could just be stuck in a state that doesn't exactly nurture the arts/ video gaming industry. You just might have to suck it up and move to another state in order to get the education you need for the biz. I know it's far from ideal but sometimes one has to crack a few eggs to make an omelette too. What you're asking for might be an impossibility.

That's not to say there aren't good schools in Alabama but to find one with the kind of curriculum that you want might as well be asking for coastal surfing conditions in Iowa (no offense to Iowans meant).

I would still apply at the schools you want to go to and see exactly what kind of scholarships are available to you. You're really not going to know until you apply. Once you have the hard figures in front of you to compare, you can make a much better opinion as to what path to take then as opposed to panicking about them now.

Given some options at that point, think about busting butt this summer doing any sort of job to make ends meet. Get a student loan if that's what it takes. Get several if need be. Is it ideal? No, but then it's also an investment in yourself. If you seriously think you're going off to college and getting out scott free of debt, you're either filthy rich or kidding yourself (but it is possible if you really work hard to earn and save). See how many people here on these forums went off to school and had to incur debt- I'm willing to bet that a fair amount of us have.

[Seedling]

I was thinking I could go to college for the art, and learn game design on my own. . .

Yes, do this. Also, follow the Games Industry link in my sig.

I can't give you much advice on schools except to say that most of the new two-year "games" schools have not impressed me (they teach tools instead of art), and even the most expensive art programs can fail to teach you the most basic academic art skills. You will need to take charge of your education in order to learn what you need to get into the games industry. A degree is not important, but skills certainly are.

Game art and game design are two different disciplines, by the way. Unless you want to get into level-building, game design isn't something you should focus on. Learn the academic art basics, and 3D modeling.

Also, be aware that this is an industry that will almost certainly require you to move in pursuit of a job.

[moroi]

Hello fellow Alabamian :) Nope, haven't heard of Oxford (I'm from Auburn).

Anyhoo, speaking from personal experience, I would suggest going out of state for art. I attended Auburn University, good for architects, industrial design and decent for graphic design. Crap for fine arts. I spent my freshmen year at Auburn University before transferring to SCAD where I'm quite happy.

I've found that with art schools, much of the scholarship is based on portfolio, not so much extracurriculars/income/etc. So send off a good portfolio, and maybe you'll get some scholarships for that. :)

[Elwell]

Is this the only place I can go? I would like to have choices.

Honestly, I'm pretty damned impressed I could come up with one decent possibility in Alabama.

[Mr.Dabit]

Oh snap....

Well it looks like there are gonna be some upset people... especially my girlfriend, who I've been with for a long long time. Sorry I failed to include that in the first post.

I heard some good things about SCAD. It's a REALLY good oppurtunity for me, since I have family living there. Rich family I might add. So I'll have a job too. What classes should I be taking there?

PS. Guddam, that college is pricy! Maybe some scholarship help. I can't find straightfoward scholarship info. on the website. My composite ACT score is a 24 (so far), and about a 3.7 GPA.

[Saturns Gate]

Just remember at the end of the day, its not what university you go to, but what you come out with that matters. You could learn all you need from research on the internet, and if your deadly serious about being in the games industry it will show much more than someone who goes to some rich ass university but does not have the drive to be in the industry, if you know what I am saying... that being said, there are some great teachers out there that could push you further than if you did it on your own, but the main person teaching you will be you at then end of the day. :) Good luck!

PS : make sure you fully read what each course looks into...for instance, games DESIGN and games ART are 2 different things in most cases. Design focus's on level flow and a lot of written work and things like that, while art would be more in tune with 3d modelling and drawing.

[Mr.Dabit]

Yea. I want a career in both if thats possible. I sounds possible. Why couldn't I draw a character, and give him a story? I just love video games, but hate programming. I've never really written before, but I think I have the potential. I write great narrative essays in my CP English classes. And I've been drawing for years. Still not great though. I always say that "my mind is bigger and better than my hands." The outcomes of my drawings are never really get what I'm thinking in my head.

I was hoping college would fix that little problem.

[Storyboard Dave]

Well it looks like there are gonna be some upset people... especially my girlfriend, who I've been with for a long long time.

And if she's the one, she'll stil be there for you AFTER you get done with furthering yourself. If she squawks and complains about you going off to school to further yourself, it's out of selfishness. Sure you guys will both miss one another but would you barricade her path to success for your own personal needs?

You guys will deal with it or move on from one another.

[Ninjawho]

I don't know how much I'll help but I currently attend The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philly. I know thats pretty far for you..., (although I have a good friend here from Mobile so she's been doing fine). We're straight Fine Arts....so if you came you'd have to pick from Painting, Sculpture, Drawing or Printmaking, (I'm doing Painting). Besides being taught how to make a website, (LOL), we don't deal much with digital art, (although obviously since I'm on this site I do and other at PAFA do as well), but if you want the foundation to be a GOOD concept artist I highly suggest coming here or looking into SVA in NYC.

I was told coming in, that SVA, PAFA and MICA were the best schools in the country to learn real foundations in painting and drawing. Since then I've heard some bad things about MICA, (we have a bunch of MICA transfers at PAFA), and we're 10k cheaper than SVA, plus philly is way cheaper than nyc to live in. I love it here. The education is awesome and so are the teachers. And at this point you might be really turned off to being a traditional fine artist or that you can manage just learning the game design aspect without having to deal with paints and stuff. I was like that. Sooo soo wrong. You need this man if you want to make it. We have a lot of illustrators here so no worries that you'll be along in your pursuits....plus we give a good amount of scholarships I believe...


I've never heard of someone transferring out of PAFA...only coming in...its kinda like a big family...

http://www.pafa.org/schoolFineArts.jsp

check us out...

[JessiBean]

I might put in a good word for VCU's Communications Arts program, one of the top ranked ones in the country and they're putting a LOT of emphasis on visual story telling, animation and concept. Standards are VERY high, quality of work is also very high. (and not just cause I graduated there)
:D

[Seedling]

Yea. I want a career in both if thats possible. I sounds possible. Why couldn't I draw a character, and give him a story?

I advise taking it one thing at a time, starting with art. The danger is this: if you split your time between art and design, you may possibly end up as an employable designer/level-builder, but you will not end up employable as an artist. I know of a few folks (myself included) who started in the industry as artists, and moved from there to design, but I don't know of a single person who has moved from design to art. This is because to some extent design skills can be learned passively from playing games. Art skills cannot be learned passively.

[jennibell]

Well it looks like there are gonna be some upset people... especially my girlfriend, who I've been with for a long long time.

I hate to say so, but she should not be the main issue you're worrying about. If she really cares for you, she'll wait (or even come with you). You need to be thinking about the best education you can get for your budget. After all, what if things fell through with you guys next year (heaven forbid), and you had decided to go to the crap school next door? You need to be thinking about yourself here - plus, a good education will set a good foundation for your career which is gong to be supporting you (and possibly her) for the rest of your life.

Trust me - it's killing my boyfriend to wait for me to finish at Ringling (I'm a senior illustrator, and he's on the other side of the country), but he wants what's best for me, so he's sucking it up and giving me the time and support I need to follow my dreams.

Best of luck!

[Ninjawho]

I hate to say so, but she should not be the main issue you're worrying about. If she really cares for you, she'll wait (or even come with you). You need to be thinking about the best education you can get for your budget. After all, what if things fell through with you guys next year (heaven forbid), and you had decided to go to the crap school next door? You need to be thinking about yourself here - plus, a good education will set a good foundation for your career which is gong to be supporting you (and possibly her) for the rest of your life.

Trust me - it's killing my boyfriend to wait for me to finish at Ringling (I'm a senior illustrator, and he's on the other side of the country), but he wants what's best for me, so he's sucking it up and giving me the time and support I need to follow my dreams.

Best of luck!

I concur...

plus, (and yes I know I don't know your situation personally but still just saying), most hs relationships don't last into college....so I wouldn't be too worried about that now. Education comes first. if its meant to be it will be....if not you'll be getting an education in something that will always love you: art.