Dropping out of business to go into Arts. Really need advice for this tough decision!

[Pavel Sokov]

I am currently enrolled in marketing in a good business school in Montreal, Canada.
I have done 2 years of it, and have 2 left.
My marks are just fine, mostly B's. Nothing excpetional.

I have been constantly told to go into fine arts school instead of pursuing something I don't like for a feeble hope of money.

At this point, my mistake has become apparent and I can no longer convince myself that I should continue business school.

Having said that, I want to be extremelly serious about my art education.

Cutting business out of my plans, my new life goals are:
Do contract work for movies, games, books, BUT also take part in traditional exhibitions and thus be an artist in a traditional sense of the word as well. Not just commercial work.

Basically, my life models would be such as Jason Manley, El Coro, Android Jones and everyone in Massive Black basically.
I feel as though they are fantastic commercial artists, but also knock anyone out of the water with their gallery exhibitions as well. That is a fantastic mix of commitments.

With that said, I am most comfortable in digital art and sculpture. However I really want to learn basic traditional painting techniques to be able to be a traditional artist as well, and add depth to my works.

I don't know anything about art schools. I have heard that there must be some solid schools in New York, London, and Paris. However, I also think that Massive black has a school in San Francisco? Is that true?
Also, is the Art Department school an online school?

I do NOT want to have an online education, I want to be face to face. My optimal desire is to be tought by the artists of conceptart.org.

Please, please send your suggestions my way.
Am I too late to apply for september semester?

[soulexposed]

Have you though about checking out Concordia University in Montreal (http://finearts.concordia.ca/programsanddepartments/fineartsdepartments/designandcomputationarts/)? They look like they have a decent sized art department. If not, there are many other viable options in Canada (unless you're dead-set on going to the States) such as OCAD or Sheridan in Ontario. Google something like "art schools in Canada".

I think that if you know now that you'll be miserable, getting out of business is probably the way to go, but in the end you definitely have to be the one to make that decision for yourself. I'm in a similiar situation and currently trying to save money for art school. Good luck on finding something that makes you happy. :)

[Pavel Sokov]

I am currently in Concordia's business school so switching to fine arts in Concordia would be the easiest thing.
But as far as I know, it is not a well known art school?

I was hoping to do something intense, serious, and unique.

Doesn't conceptart.org have a school in San Francisco?
I really like The TAD's pitch, however I am confused about the school being physical or online.

I don't want online schooling, but I love the proffs and the focus of this new school.

So I am a bit confused about it

[Quigleyer]

Sterling was trying to explain this to me, but I'm not the smartest man and could easily be wrong. I believe, though, that The Art Department is a completely online entity. At an open house for the Richmond Illustration Academy he took a few of his VCU students over and showed us the system they're using as a "classroom" environment. It looked like a really advanced chat room- honestly what saw would be ideal for online art lessons.

But online art lessons themselves aren't always ideal, as you've shown a lack of interest in that. Understandable and commendable- I agree an online education isn't going to be the same as a more "hands on" education. You make friends and connections in a classroom that could carry over into your professional career and help you keep a more steady business going a lot more easily than you would online.

It sounds as though you want to go to a school for concept art, whereas I went to school for Illustration with a focus in concept art- so some of my advice and comments might not be appropriate:

I believe that most schools have an "art foundation" year. This is the year you'll be introduced and schooled on the basics of mediums, get involved in life drawings and figure drawings, and develop further as an artist more generally than specifically. You'll most likely be taught a lot about traditional mediums here. I think this is also the year most people are introduced to the idea that people don't NEED to sleep every night...

In order to be accepted into an art school you will almost certainly need to submit a portfolio. When I was applying to schools it was recommended we fortify our portfolios with life drawings- this shows a foundation that can then be built on and expanded by the classroom. I don't know if you'll be able to apply to many schools and start in the Fall right now- I remember submitting portfolios for review in December and January. If you find this to be true it's probably not that bad of a thing- spend time saving money and developing the strongest portfolio you can.

This might be where you want to actually see about participating in The Art Department- those folks will most surely be able to give you advice on how to create a portfolio to get into whatever school you want. The price of joining is also chump change in comparison to a semester in school and you can join monthly should you choose to discontinue using it after you've been accepted to a school you want. This is just brainstorming and I've always been a big fan of "education where you can get it." Again- just a thought.

I'd be interested to see what other people have to say about experiences with schools that have more specialization, such as a concept art school. Good to see you following your dream Pavel and I wish the best of luck to you.

Also- I didn't see your other message about my "finished" pieces, but those are found on my blog if you're still interested. They were fun, but I've got a long way to go to get where I want.

Keep in touch.

[Pavel Sokov]

Hey so here is an update.
I called Concordia's fine arts dean and got yelled at. March 1st was the deadline to submit a portfolio.

Also my dad just told me he is not paying for any school outside of Montreal haha. That pretty much limits me to Concordia it seems. I will try to apply to schools all over Canada though and see what he says if I get accepted. Maybe it won't be incredibly expensive in Vancouver for example.

I would rather go to school in NYC or Paris, but there is no way I am brave enough to take out a 200,000$ loan haha. That scares us, Canadian students.

So here is Concordia fine arts website:
http://finearts.concordia.ca/

The fine arts department has a lot of programs, but none of them sound like concept art or digital art. So I have to go with Painting and Drawing I guess.
http://finearts.concordia.ca/programsanddepartments/undergraduateprograms/

The painting and drawing major only takes 45 students so I am hoping that is due to some semblance of prestige or something haha.

I actualy have no idea what a portfolio looks like physically. At walmart they can make you this hard cover book with your vacation photos or something, with the front cover included. So I was thinking of making 3 of those books or so, and sending that as a portfolio. The book that I saw was a very timid size, but maybe they have bigger?