Illustration programs- whose is best?

[rinjii]

'Evening folks.

So I'm graduating from my local college this month with an AA in Art, and I plan to find a new institution to study Illustration. I've looked at different schools and their programs, I've compared student galleries, and I've googled program ratings, and I'm afraid that I'm nowhere closer to narrowing down my schools, or knowing anything else than can help me decide which school has the best program.


These are the schools I've looked at:

SCAD
Ringling
RISD
CalARTS
Academy of Art
ACCD

If anyone here has been to any of their schools, or can point me in the right direction as far as their reputation is concerned, I would greatly appreciate it- I trust you guys more than the random persons sounding off on the web :)

[Meloncov]

The School of Visual Arts, Laguna College, MICA, and California College of the Arts are all at least worth a look.

[Noah Bradley]

What sort of illustration do you think you want to go into? As in, concept art, cover illustration, editorial, etc.

I'm in RISD's illustration program right now, so let me know if you have any questions.

[rinjii]

Noah I think that's part of the problem- a lot of what I want to do is stuff that can be done on the side.

I have a huge passion for comic books and creating my own stories, so I want to be able to do that type of illustrative work for myself.

Meanwhile concept art has caught my eye over the past year [especially for cartoons and movies], so I want to study that too. Concept art for video games.... awesome to look at, but not my strongest interest.

So in a way, I'm still trying to put my thumb down on something, but I'm seeing concept art for cartoons and sequential art as my greater loves at this moment.

I'd love to hear more about your experience at RISD, as well as how you find the program :)

Meloncov- thanks for the suggestions! Some of those I actually forgot to add and/or look at, so I'll be digging into those as well :D

[Noah Bradley]

All in all I've enjoyed RISD. But it's by no means a perfect school. When it comes to concept art... well, it's a little behind the times. :) But there's still a lot you can get out of the program--don't get me wrong.

One of the illustration department's biggest strengths is our huuuuuge number of electives. For your junior and senior year you really get to customize your own education, specializing in whatever you want to. We have classes that will pump up technical skills (color classes, anatomy, etc.), as well as concept classes (for making comics, editorial illustrations, etc.). The wide array of classes really covers just about everything (except for maybe concept art). You also have to take a certain number of classes out of your major, so you might try taking some animation classes, for instance.

So yeah, I'd recommend RISD. But I wouldn't say that YOU NEED TO GO TO RISD BECAUSE IT'S BETTER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE. ;) Keep looking around, and be sure to check out the instructors. Independent studies can bolster your education (as I hope to find out next year).

Good luck! :)

(and let me know if you have any other questions)

[Elwell]

All the programs mentioned so far are good (with the possible exception of CalArts, which is great for animation, but doesn't have much of an illustration dept), so a major consideration is going to be where you want to be, geographically.
Noah
I have a huge passion for comic books and creating my own stories, so I want to be able to do that type of illustrative work for myself.
SVA and SCAD both have comics departments (Cartooning at SVA, Sequential Art at SCAD).

[Maxine Schacker]

I'm the Director of Max the Mutt in Toronto and your stated interests lead me to suggest that you include us in your short list. By protocol, that's all I can say here, but if you are interested just leave me a reply on the Max the Mutt thread and I'd be happy to tell you more about us.

[rinjii]

thanks again folks!

Noah thanks a bunch!- i like the wide choices of electives, too. that way i could dabble in other interests and still cover my main focus. i certainly didn't have much freedom to do so while i was still in my local college.

Elwell- i totally forgot that SVA had a cartooning program, so i have to check back with that one. i knew about SCAD's already, but i'm not sure if i want to go there per say. it's like practically every bahamian who wants to study art goes there, and it is one of the schools that are more accepting of my school's credits... but i want to go somewhere other than SCAD >>

[rpace]

One thing you may want to consider when attending school outside your home country is the likelyhood of finding a group of fellow expats you can touch base with when moments of homesickness kick in.

Many people who accept jobs or attend school abroad who actually want to take a vacation from their home culture feel these pangs hardest. SCAD may be the target for a number of your fellow Bahamians and, as a result, be something you want to avoid so you can feel more free and unique, but having a little bit of home so easily available could be a great resource when school and other stressors kick in.

Culture shock can be a major stress factor, even for those people moving within their home country. Students studying abroad should look up expat resources or student counseling available at their target schools. Of course, it's not that every student's culture shock becomes an insurmountable problem, but it's good to know what resources are available in advance and often, having that information available reduces the stress. These services are often only available at larger institutions, though.

I only mention this as I've some experience with international students and my wife is a specialist in international employee assistance programs which often deal with such issues.

Best of luck choosing your school!

~Richard

[rinjii]

thanks for the advice rpace, it is something i will have to consider, especially if i'm not able to attend school or be close to my boyfriend as we would like.

that being said, i've never really been one to experience homesickness of any kind- i've always been very eager to get out of my comfort zone and away from familiarity. every time i travel i become more attached to the place i was in, and it shows on my face when we get back home. i was actually in a MAJOR funk after leaving reverie, and not just because i missed the workshop!

now that's not to say that i'll be totally immune to those feelings if and when i go off for school... but something about going abroad just to be immersed in everything i left back home [both good and bad] just doesn't add up to me right now. does that make any sense to anyone, or am i talking crazy here? :S

[rpace]

Yeah -- that makes perfect sense. Homesickness and culture shock are usually side effects longer-term absences; measured on months or years. Few people experience it at the same point, in the same way or to the same degree.

Schools are getting better at addressing this. Last winter I saw a report on the CBC where the University of Alberta ran a late fall fashion show where the models wore outdoor winter garb so the students from warmer climates would know how to dress for the coming winter.

In my own experience, while I couldn't wait to be done with the city I spent most of my life in when I went away for college, there's a part of me that misses what I recall of the place if not what the place really was and has become in the intervening years. The increasingly infrequent return visits kept that in perspective, though.

~Richard

[tatiana]

Since it seems you have a pretty wide range of choices, I'd also recommend checking out the recent graduates and alumni that have attended the schools you're interested in to get an idea of the caliber of students that will hopefully be your peers, as well as the quality level of instructors and whether or not they're also working illustrators (so know the current market and have recent professional contacts) or are more focused on teaching.

Plus, maybe you'll want to get an internship while you're in school or at least some kind of related professional experience; so if possible, get involved with professional organizations (like the Society of Illustrators) that are near your school (or that partner with your school) that focus on the kind of illustration work or publishing field that you want to work in so you can do some networking in person not just online and get some good industry contacts. Maybe you might even check out something like the Illustration Master Class (http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/) one summer while you're in the states. :)

Good luck!

t

[Maxine Schacker]

There is a positive side to experiencing a new place. That's why programs like junior year abroad have been so popular for so many years!