Fine Artist vs Product Designer

[Steven1991]

Hey guys ,
I want to be a concept artist and i've been thinking about what i should study.
I live in belgium and i intent to first get a degree here, during that i work my ass off and then afterwards i want to go the conceptart atelier.
But i've been wondering, what is the best possible education ?

On one hand i've got a Fine artist education ( painting)
They teach painting ( duh! :p ) anatomy , drawing from models and allso art history, philosophy. But then i wonder how can i earn money with that ? cause obviously i need to make some money before i can go to america and live there for 2 years.

And on the other hand there's Product Design.
They teach science, methods and techniques, design , market, man and society, materials and technology.
I think the theory in this course is much more important than the actual designing. But on the other hand i think i can make some decent money with it and i learn something about design.

What do you guys think ?
Your help is much appreciated :hugsmile:

[Steven1991]

You guys have any thoughts ? :)

[eezacque@xs4all.nl]

You guys have any thoughts ? :)

Yes, but these are mine and I usually don't bother others with these.

If you want to go concept art, then focus on getting representational art skills instead of a degree. In my not-so-humble opinion, the skills you need are rarely taught at our side of the world, so I strongly urge you to find out what schools may teach you what you need.

It is really wise that you're already thinking about the financial side of the story! Personally, I wouldn't waste my time on getting a degree for the sole purpose of making the money you need to follow your dream. What I've seen about Product Design and Industrial Design, is that they are more about Product/Industrial than about Design. So, this road will cost you at least 6 years of education and work, to leave you some useful sum of money, without any useful skill set. That's a bit steep, at least for me...

Finally, it is great that you know exactly what you want! It may be easier to know this a bit less exactly, as it makes your chances of satisfaction higher, at the long run. What I do know about ConceptArt Atelier is that chances of getting accepted there are relatively low, statistically spoken, and that it may not be easy to get the required visa. So, in you shoes I would keep alternative aces in my sleeve. Keep in mind that most concept artists don't come from ConceptArt Atelier...

Take some more time researching the education you need. From there, work your way back to a list of candidate schools, work out the financial, artistic, policitical requirements, see what you need to do to meet these and how long it is going to take you. And then, start today or, preferably, yesterday...

[Jonas Heirwegh]

Another student from Belgium, great.

I'm from Belgium too, I asked myself the same question in my search for schools and choices.

I made this post with my experience from the last 6-7 months, maybe it can help you out.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1794189&postcount=72

imo you dont really need product design, you need the ability to do great research. A great artist can tackle any subject, doing his research and draw just about anything.

[Steven1991]

Cool, thx alot Epias!
Any more thoughts ?
I want to get a degree because i've read it's pretty hard to get a working visa without.

[Storyboard Dave]

Beyond the degree, which one of these directions can get you a relevant portfolio for the market you want to enter? Because ultimately isn't that why one goes to art school? I'd look hard at what you really want to do with your abilities. Ask yourself where do you see your artwork appearing after graduation. How do you plan on making rent with your skills?

Product design & fine arts are at pretty opposite ends of the art spectrum here- they can both teach skills that can apply themselves somewhat to a Concept Art portfolio, but do the research on what is wanted in a portfolio and gear your studies down that path.