Portfolio help

[rosette74]

Hi, I'm looking to do an Animation degree at a couple of schools in the US, Canada or UK. I'm a little worried about building a portfolio for entry, as I do not come from an art background (i.e. I didn't study Art much).

I did attend a couple of short fine art courses in my free time over the last few months. I did mainly observational drawings, portraits, still-life, couple of figure drawings, some painting in acrylics. I'm pretty much done with these courses and I'm looking to build a entry portfolio full-time for the next 2 months.

Could someone point me in the right direction, and how to start building my portfolio? It seems like Animation schools emphasise greatly on creativity and self-expression, something which I feel I greatly lack. I mean, all I've done over the past few months is draw or paint from observation, leaving little room for creativity or exploration.

Please help, any information would be greatly appreciated!

PS. Some of the schools I'm interested in are:
Digipen Institute (US)
Sheridan Institute (CAN)
Uni of the Arts London (UK)
Uni of Dundee (UK)
Uni of Wales, Newport (UK)

[Storyboard Dave]

First off I'd ask the Admissions folks at all of the colleges you plan on applying to as to exactly what it is they're looking for. Different programs have different criteria for selecting entrants and scholarships. Make sure you're clear on their criteria.

Secondly most colleges would love for you to go in there and be a superstar on day one but realistically they want to know if you can handle the basics (seems as though you've got that under your belt). The school will teach you some of those more advanced concepts. The schools know where you're coming from- theyknow that more than likely your portfolio is going to be made up of assignments without much of your own individual voice. That's perfectly fine. They'd much rather have you coming in with a basic skill set and work with you to develop a tighter professional portfolio.

I wouldn't fret too much if you can draw from observation well and have some figurative work in your portfolio. Obviously if your portfolio displays superior skills then you'd stand a better chance to get scholarships but for admittance I think you should be okay (based upon what you've said and not off of actually looking at your portfolio).

Good luck.

[ConCrete]

Your artwork will always be defficient in your eyes...until you send in a portfolio and get a repsonse dont trust yourself appraisal of your work...and then ask for feedback...fix it and try again...


If you want to expand creativity try the Dailt Sketch group here on Deviant Art.

[Icelandic Norm]

Your artwork will always be defficient in your eyes...until you send in a portfolio and get a repsonse dont trust yourself appraisal of your work...and then ask for feedback...fix it and try again...


If you want to expand creativity try the Dailt Sketch group here on Deviant Art.

Sooner or later you've got to have the confidence in putting together your OWN portfolio though. You can't rely on someone to always tell you if your portfolio is good enough. Find out what they need and then exceed that. It's one thing to get the minimal requirements but it's another thing to go beyond their expectations.

[rosette74]

Thanks for the replies guys. Alright I'll get right down to it.

[thesinfulsaint]

Almost any animation school will tell you that you need to draw from life, which it sounds like you're already doing. However, when you draw from life, you don't necessarilly have to draw a bowl of apples in front of you. You can do things that are a lot more interesting than that. For instance, go sit in your backyard and paint a scene there. Force your younger sibling to pose for you and draw him or her. A representative at Ringling School of Art and Design even told me that it was a good idea to change things around to make them more interesting. For instance, one student drew a model of a skeleton climbing down a washcloth into the sink. Every thing was drawn from life; he just changed around the scale. There are plenty of ways to make your artwork stand out.

Also, you should make sure that in each portfolio piece, you have an entire value scale. That means have the blackest of blacks and the whitest of whites. Make objects come off of the page. Look at things from a different angle. Be sure to avoid just drawing portraits from a straight on, deer in headlights pose.

Another important thing to remember is presentation. If that means getting your artwork matted professionally, I'd do it! It's not hard to learn, but if you can't do it neatly on your own, it's a worthy expense. There's a place in my town that'll foam matt artwork for around $10. If you're planning on using slides to present your artwork, make sure the photos are clear and in a quick, easy to use order.

Another thing that students, from what I understand, tend to ignore is the order of their portfolio. It was reccommended to me that you start of with one or two "WOW!" pieces, move on to a couple that are very good technically, include a mini-series, and then finish with another "WOW!" piece. That might be a portfolio that's preferred by the college I heard it from, CCAD, but it's still a relatively decent general template. Finally, you should have a MULTITUDE of people give you their opinions on what to include in your portfolio. The more opinions you hear, the more likely you are to put together the right pieces. Ultimately, though, you have to remember that the final decision is up to you on what to include.

I hope some of this helps!

[WhizBang]

Matting? Who mattes anymore for portfolios anymore?

Take the time to do the piece right, scan it or photograph it, clean it up, and send them a digital portfolio (if that's what they allow). I hate the idea of sending off my original art off to anyone unless it's a gallery show where you have to see originals. Why take a chance and let FedEx, the Admissions people or someone in between have one accident and your pieces be ruined? Send digital!!!

This way you can also send your stuff off to as many schools as you'd like at one time without having to wait for your pieces to come back from the previous place.