looking for a Dutch drawing studio

[Haymaker]

hello,

I'm new to this site, and I must say that the art here is a great source of inspiration for me. I draw even before I could walk (at least, that's what been told to me:), and I'm always looking for a way to improve my work.

I'm a 2nd grade student at the "Grafisch Lyceum" in Utrecht. In the following months, I have to work at a real company that is somehow related to graphical work like 3d animation, webdesign or movies. I really suck in 3d and programming, so my best bet would be a drawing thing...

but, (oh horror!) my school hasnt any contact with any business that does that kind of thing. All they could give me was some 3d animation studio, which (of course) refused me :(

so, PLEASE, does anyone know a drawing business in The Netherlands which creates 2d animation, concept art, comics, etcetera? Would help me a lot:confident

[Coen]

Hey Haymaker, I have exactly the same problem. I've actually been @ the grafisch lyceum as well, for one year (went there after quitting vwo, so I'm really not the best on finishing shit schools so far).

Anyway, I started a topic about this (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74132) too but got no replies. I really think there's nothing like an atelier or any other good drawing school around here so I'm considering to move to America for some years. This would be a big step for me tho. The only drawing academy I found is the Wackers Academie (http://www.wackersacademie.nl/), but it doesn't make a very professional impression to me, I also mailed them several times for more info without getting any replies.

Anyway, any tips are more than appreciated. I'd love to go to an atelier (like Watts or any other good place to learn). Is there really nothing like it in the Netherlands, and if not, what would be best to move to for education?

.

[Art_Addict]

Well Haymaker, there're some nice gaming studio's in the Netherlands that you
could look into. for instance : http://www.streamline-studios.com/
Or do a google search on dutch gaming studio's or production houses.

coen : I have the feeling you're looking for something completely
different. I don't know of any studio's/ateliers like watt's in the Netherlands
or Belgium. But.... there are in Europe. You've got some in Florence, Italy.
Mainly , The FAA, the Angel Academy and the Charles H Cecil studio's.
In France you have Ted Seth Jacobs's studio and studio Escalier that I will be
attending this summer. They offer short term intensive courses.

geluk ermee jongens ! :)

[Coen]

Wow Art_Addict, Studio Escalier looks great! If it wasn't for my French being this bad I'd go too.. That's also why I was thinking about the USA, or maybe Great Britain or whatever. Same goes for Italy, I don't speak Italian so that would be pretty difficult living there (or I'd try to learn a language but I wonder how that would work out).

Right now I'm just trying to teach myself but it's really hard, I figured I really need something to hold on to :)

[Art_Addict]

They teach in English at studio Escalier, not french. The founders are Michelle
Tully and Timothy Stotz. both studied under Ted Seth Jacobs and Jacob collins in NY. I guess that's good news :)

edit : I guess they teach in english in Florence too, since the teachers there are native americans too.

[Coen]

Ah that's nice indeed! But I'd still have to live there, maybe it's not that weird to speak english there all the time though, I have no idea.

Edit: This is the one in London Lavender Hill Studios (http://www.lavenderhillstudios.com/), in case anyone's interested.

[Haymaker]

thx for the replies.

I'm sending some mails to gamestudios in the Netherlands, maybe I can work there as a student-conceptartist.Hopefully it will work out somehow.
It's really hard to find work like this in Holland, coz' the most of the Dutchies are appreciating stupid, little, drawn-in-5-minutes cartoons more then digitally painted masterpieces...

and about the school thing: Going to another country is a big leap for me, and without any contacts in a whole new environment it's gonna be real hard for me.
After I finish this school, I'm going to the HKU (best school for art in NL). They have contacts with other artschools and do exchange projects. In that way, I can get a better grip on the whole art thing, worldwide.

[Seedling]

If you aspire to be a concept artist you had better get used to the idea of churning out ideas fast. And don’t undervalue what can be done by someone with a traditional animation background. Being able to accurately sketch a character in five minutes is essential in storyboards and in other situations that require images in a hurry.

Here, you can look for game studios in your area with this:

http://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php?tool=global&query=Publisher

Also, there’s a link to info on the games industry in my sig.

[Haymaker]

drawing fast can be valuable indeed, and I always draw something in spare time, even when it's just 5 minutes. The cartoons which I mentioned before, are those of poor quality where the text bubbles are the only clue what's happening in a mess of lines. Those have nothing to do with having no time for it or being slow, but just with being lazy. So is wasnt any offence at all, I appreciate all sorts of art. At least when the artist put some effort in it:rendered:

[Coen]

Haymaker, I'd really do a lot of research before entering the HKU. Not to bash the school or your plan, but I think the HKU focuses more on idea development and self expression to become a fine artist. Doesn't sound bad, but I think they don't really teach you the real fundamentals of drawing, painting or animation but concentrate more on looking at things in a 'weird' way, no idea how to explain this but I think you get it (not sure about their animation course tho). Just be sure to go there and ask loads of questions to be sure they will teach you what you need.

[D.Labruyere]

Haymaker, I'd really do a lot of research before entering the HKU. Not to bash the school or your plan, but I think the HKU focuses more on idea development and self expression to become a fine artist. Doesn't sound bad, but I think they don't really teach you the real fundamentals of drawing, painting or animation but concentrate more on looking at things in a 'weird' way, no idea how to explain this but I think you get it (not sure about their animation course tho). Just be sure to go there and ask loads of questions to be sure they will teach you what you need.

I'd say this goes for almost all schools in the Netherlands... :\ you learn a lot of bladiebla but no fundamentals. Most of them are so busy trying to be unique that they forget you have to know some basics before you can put your unigue's into a piece of art. Right now I'm looking at the schools in Belgium in the hope that they are any better. (you still get financed by the government if you're going to Belgium if I'm correct, so I'd say that is something you should look at also)

[Coen]

Hmm I didn't know about that, I'll take a look at some belgium schools, know any good ones already? I'm sure moving to the USA or England would be good for me in many ways tho.. It's just a big step, I have no idea where I should start considering (so many things about it)! :\

[Tully]

I'd say it's the case with almost all the schools everywhere! Good ones are few and far between. I did a fine arts program because all the very good schools were beyond my reach financially... I had a lot of complaints about it, but in spite of those, it did offer me two things. Time and figure drawing. Both of which were invaluable.

Four years was enough for me to get my skills to a professional level. Figure drawing was the thing in school that helped me the most. I found at times that my school work got in the way of what I knew was really useful for me to be doing, but I had to do it anyway. And now that I have my degree, it's what's helping me immigrate out of canada (since there aren't very many studios here).

So a fine art degree isn't useless, but something more applied would be a lot more useful. I haven't seen your drawing, but if I'm going to be honest, I find it unlikely that a company would hire anyone based solely on drawing ability. You'd have to work some serious magic with a pencil to make that possible. You say you're not good at 3D, but that's as good as reason as any to try to get better at it! It's a far more marketable skill than drawing.

[0shade0]

haha good luck, I already plan to go to america
but yeah belgium school rocks, but we don't have a decent branch for that kind of work
wasn't blur studios in italy? maybe give that a try. (just a guess) with erasmus you can go everywere in europe, but not sure if this counts for 'stages' too. cause you're not going to have collage in the meantime right?

[Coen]

Hey 0shade0, got any concrete plans on what you gonna do in America yet? Made me curious :)

[Art_Addict]

0shade0: Are you being synical about Belgian schools or what? I hope you
are. btw blur studios is not in Italy. It's in Venice , California ! :)

I would never recommend people to come to Belgium for an art education. And that's an understatement !

[Haymaker]

thx for the replies all. Now I'm sure I need to get out of this country asap:wink:

okay, drawing is not the only thing I can. I follow multimedia, so I can also create layouts for magazines/websites, animate, make basic sculptures, and edit movies. I'm hammering on the drawing point because that's my biggest plus. I don't mean that I can't anything at all in 3dmax, it's just...basic. for example, last year we made a photo-realistic moving train. Twas basic, cause it was a mechanical form. Things like water and trees are more tricky, but I rarely study it because I like 2d far more.

Sure, I can finish this school and get a decent job as a layoutcreator or something like that (really, most of the students here are far better than the teachers), but that's not want I want..