which education to choose?

[Noë]

Hello everybody,
I think I want to go to an art school afer I finish my secondary school (this will be in two years so I have some time to prepare and all)

But the problem is I don't know what I want to do and what to expect.
I live in the Netherlands and the school I want to go to is I think the HKU.

I'm thinking about;
- Game design and development which is a broad education which focuses on game design, bút it's hard to get in there and I really love to draw and design things, make my own concepts. I'm afraid that won't be taught there a lot, because I've seen the subjects, and it's a lot about programming and really making those games.
- Illustration; I think I would like this because I do want to work for people, not make my own art all the time. But it seems to really focus on the advertising business..?
- BFA; the thing that keeps me away from finearts is I guess that I want to work fór people, such as a conceptartist, or to make book covers, whatever I'm not sure about what I want, but I'm sure I don't want to be an artist looking for galleries to expose my work in and all.

So I dunno, I think I would like to hear experiences of people who did one of these educations about what they liked about it and what they didn't like about it, and maybe some more info on which subjects are in these educations; what you learn in it.

love
Marleen

[Storyboard Dave]

Seeing as how you've got some time to mull over any major decisions, my personal suggestion would be for you to pursue what your passion is. Regardless if it's Illustration, Fine Arts, basketweaving or whatever, you're the one that has to be happy with the choices you make.

I'm not familiar with the place you're thinking about attending so I can't really honestly comment on their program, but regardless of what they have to offer, you still have to be the main motivator behind your own education.

If you seriously just enjoy drawing and storytelling, then it sounds like Illustration is your path. It's probably one of the most practical routes you could look into right now. Illlustration can still branch off into concept work for games, movies, entertainment, etc. AND you can still do the gallery stuff with it. The foundation for a solid illustrator IS the ability to draw so if that's your passion, follow that. Also realize that not all illustrators use the same mediums- some still do traditional mediums whereas some have gone digital and some have ven gone as far as sculptural. Illustration does open up a lot of avenues to pursue but again- it's got to be your passion.

We always preach at our school to use your instructors in college as templates to follow. Don't become clones of us; follow what makes you tick. Learn from them in the business sense of how to get work, be influenced by them technically, hear their stories and THEN make your own path to what will ultimately make you happy in the long run.

Also a BFA is a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, so even if you graduate in something not Fine Arts, like Photography, Crafts or Illustration- you'd still get a BFA degree.

[Noë]

thanks a lot for your comment!
If I'm lucky I might get to join an illustration class next year for one week, so that should help me decide also I guess.
Illustration goes with the title bachelor of design, so it's not in the finearts section at the HKU. There's one education called finearts, with the first year alltogether and after that year you choose a specialisation (I think)

Love
Marleen

[Red_Rook]

Very often the first year in a given art school, will be the same or similar for all students no matter what the major, then in the last 3 years you specialise. Noteably thats just my experience from the schools ive looked at but it sounds pretty standard.

[Storyboard Dave]

thanks a lot for your comment!
If I'm lucky I might get to join an illustration class next year for one week, so that should help me decide also I guess.
Illustration goes with the title bachelor of design, so it's not in the finearts section at the HKU. There's one education called finearts, with the first year alltogether and after that year you choose a specialisation (I think)

Love
Marleen

I'd definitely say take a stab at that one week course.

And if it seems like something you want to go into, go into it full force. Worst case scenario is you end up not liking it and then choosing something else you might like even better. There's no shame in having the strength and courage to admit to yourself what you like. Remember you're going into this field/ career because of a passion for art first- not because you can make a ton of money.

I'm not saying you can/ can't make a lot of money but sometimes a quality of life speaks volumes too.