Academy of art university advice

[mbaki]

]I am considering applying to the Academy of Art University for the major of Animation and visual effects. I would like to graduate to work as an illustrator and concept artist in addition to having a substantial amount of 3d skills.

My priority is on developing my drawing skills dramatically and taking classes in all 3 subjects: Storyboards, Concept Art and Matt Painting.

My question is do I apply for Animation and visual effects or do I apply for the Illustration major.

I should note I already have a previous degree in a major of art and so I am wandering whether I should do a second bachelors degree or a Masters.


If any one has any advice especially anyone who attended either of these programs any advice would be helpful.

Here is a link to my work.

http://mbaki.deviantart.com/gallery/

Thanks

[Taxguy]

I am not a student there but did check out the school for my daughter.

The pros are that I did see some posted student work that looked great. In addition, at least on paper, they have some great course offerings and the price isn't too bad

Cons: There are no scholarships. Secondly, they take anyone with a pulse. In fact, you don't even need a pulse if you have the cash.Thus, the quality of the other students can be very hit or miss. You need to be very self motivated if you want to succeed especially in schools that have no admission standards to speak of.

Don't get me wrong. There are some schools such as Gnomon that also don't have high admission standards. However, kids at some of these schools , such as Gnomon in particular, do seem to be very motivated. I didn't get that feeling from many kids that I met at Academy of Art.


That said, I do believe that you can develop a strong portfolio if you work very hard and ignore many of the less driven kids.