are these good enough to get me accepted in a foundation year course?

[slug]

First of all im an absolute beginner. This summer i went to a workshop for 20 days and those two images are the product of the final few days. Prior to that workshop i read fun with a pencil by loomis and drawing on the right side of the brain, but never really drew from nature for more than 30 mins. My question: do i have a chance of getting accepted in a foundation year course in a uk university with this quality of work? My school grades are good enough to get me accepted in an average uk university like the university of kent for example, but if i want to study art i need a portfolio ofcourse...Also I would really apreciate it if you give me a few names of universities in the uk which offer a foundation year course. I dont really care about the location because i live in austria and as i understand after i complete the foundation year i can switch universities. Thank you for reading this :)

http://members.lycos.co.uk/sluginfinite/image4.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/sluginfinite/image1.jpg

PS Sorry about the bad quality of the pictures, i took those with my digital camera because i dont have a scanner.

Size of paper is 35x50cm, the year drawing was croped

[Kortez]

i don't know what the standards are, but I for one like'em :)

[cartoonfox]

hi slug.

i too am (hopefully) going to foundation course next september. in the uk (wales actually).

from what i've seen of your work, as long as you have a wide range of work and media used, you'll have no problem. remember, your going to learn, not to show off amazing skills. so you dont need to be at proffesional stage! :D

my art teacher (in highschool) knows one of the interviewers & teachers at an art college that does a foundation course (UWIC in cardiff) and she knows what should be in a portfolio for foundation. to get a good chance, you should have:

-a LOT of obsivational drawings (humans, animals, objects in your house, anything) but especially humans.

-a wide range of media used. so not just pencil sketches. try using pens, paints, inks etc.

-3d work. i'm not sure whether your doing 3d work at your school now, but try to do some things. models, big and small. clay sculptures. absract things made from natural resorces (twigs, leaves, rocks, sand, grass etc) it may sound weird or "lame", but the creativity and experimation will impress them.

-work done out of school. like for personal projects, doodles, maybe work you've done for clients. basicaly anything without the aid of your teachers. even if they are just doodles. they show your creative thinking.

-dont just do a load of B/W pictures. experiment with colours. go crazy. do things not usually thought of. anything that will prove you have imagination. obsivation drawings are fine, but you also got to show your imagination. its a balance thing!

-if you have a career in mind, make sure you have alot of drawings, sketches etc that show your interst in that area. if you turn up saying "i LOVE animation, and not one animation to your name, they will start to wonder! :D

-big work. dont just do tiny A4 sketches. get a 24inch canvas! try A3, A2, even A1. they like to see huge drawing and paintings.

-sketch books. very important. bring any sketch books that you've done. with studies, experiments etc. try to fill them all up. gaps wont look too good

-presintation. if you just dump your work in a plastic bag and chuck it on the table infront of them, they wont be impressed (unless your work is amzing! :D) buy a A2 folder with those see-thru plastic pockets and put all loose work (not in sketch books) in there. mount your work up and make it neat and presentable. and nig drawings or 3d stuff, take photographs of them, from all angles.


well...thats all i can think of for now. it may seem like alot, but as soon as your start putting all your work in piles, you'll have more than yoy thought before you know it!

basicaly, dont bring too much, dont bring too little, bring enough! sounds confusing, but you'll know when you've got enough to show. also, sho your friends and family your work. ask to tell you truthly what to put and what to "chuck!

as for college recomendations, check out cardiff, its a nice city, and has a great foundaion course
http://www.uwic.ac.uk/

plus, check out http//:www.ucas.com and do a search for foundation courses. it'll show all the courses available in the uk.

good luck, and keep sketching!

[Kortez]

About portfolios. I don't know how it is in England. But at the Iceland academy of the arts there are two seperate art divisions. And two different views on portfolios.

Fine arts/"artsy fartsy" - A maximum of twenty pieces. Half of which should show that you have the foundation. Good draftmanship, composition and color theory. The other half should be personal art and should reflect upon what you want to do with your art.

Design/"Illustrative design, graphic design, computer design (3d&2d art and animation), architechture and fashion design" - They don't have a maximum amount of pieces. You should not only have finished pieces but also sketches and drawings. Your portfolio should reflect upon what you want to do with your art/design. You should describe what media (if computer, pc or mac, what program) was used.

Todd Murrison (professional artist and authorr of the book "Marker Rendering) basically says that your portfolio should have 10-15 pieces. Best work first, second best work last. He also talks about having your portfolio in a nice casing to make a good impression.

hope this helps :)

oh and I don't know too much about it but falmouth college of art sounds very nice, I might just check it out http://www.falmouth.ac.uk . If anybody knows how it is (or how their reputation is), you can post it here :)

[slug]

Thanks for the replies guys! Cartoonfox you have been a great help, though i was thinking ill try and get in with pencil drawings from life showing understanding of form, seems its not the case :( I don't really have a lot of work, only about 15 pieces that are presentable..I am really confused now, should i start drawing in mediums i have never really used since my childhood :rolleyes: I don't have time for that i think. Or should i just keep on producing pencil work and hope that it impresses them. All my drawings are the same format 35x50cm and i just started a sketchbook...well i only started to draw this summer so how can i be expected to have a lot of material...i am really confused now :confused:

[cartoonfox]

ok, dont worry! you dont need like 100 pieces :D
15 pencil sketches is fine. they certainly do want to see sketches proving you understand form etc. and its great you have thease, but they also like to see other forms of sketches or art. not just pencil. you dont have to use mediums not used since your child hood, but try to use gouage, acrilics etc (i'm not a fan of painting, so those are the only ones i know) or try using charcoal if you like sketching. maybe some digital media. just experiment. even if you dont like the outcome, they will, as it shows creative thinking.

basically, you just have to prove, through your work, that you are passionate about art, your creative, your willing to study hard, and that your willing to take on new challenges. because remember, the course's first term is spent learning all ranges of art. from textiles to graphic illustartion. its only in the second and third term that you can choose to concentrate on one subject. (like fine art, illustration, 3d, textiles etc).
so you need to prove that you can do more than just pencils skethces (no matter how good they are (i really like them)) even if you dont want to, or dont like to.

hope that helps.

if you need any more help, just post here, or you can e-mail me.

good luck.