Scad

[Faxtar]

Hello. I am a high school senior how recently applied to Savannah College of Art and Design. I was wondering what some of your opinions are about this college. I am hoping to become a concept artist one day. So I was also wondering what I should major in. I was thinking about Illustration, but they also offer Sequential Art as a major. I could Major in one and Minor in the other. So basically I am looking for opinions and advice. Thanks in advance for any replies!

P.S. I also got accepted to SVA so any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated.

[TacticallyWacked]

HEy. I'm currently a Senior at Savannah Collage of Art and Design so I thought I could help you out a bit. My major is 3D Animation and I too would like to find a conceptual art job one day. However, I don't know all that much about our Illustration department. I do know that in the past 3 years that I have been attending the school I have learned more than I hoped for. My art has improved as well as my confidence and I can only credit the school and the hours I put into it.

Living in Savannah has it's ups and downs for sure. There is alot of violent crime that school tries to cover up or play down. Last week four students got robbed at gun point outside on of the SCAD buildings. Since I have been attedning at least 3 students have been shot one of whom I know died. Another who i personally know was shot 5-6 times but survived. I know another friend who has had his car stolen twice in a "nice" area. A student from Taiwan was on a pay phone a couple years ago and was shot in the head for no reason...usually gang initiation...or so the SCAD rumors go.

I have learned alot here in Savannah...not only about art but many other life experiences. I recommend coming here if A. you can live in an enviornment that may be different and sometimes negative and B. You have the Cash and motivation to put into the work.

Hope this helps....

[Faxtar]

Thanks alot. I think I have A and B. But I do have a firm stance against getting "shot in the head for no reason." I did not see that in the catalog they sent me.

Other than that its a pretty good school? How are the class sizes and teachers? I heard in another post there are alot of kids who dont care about art. I know thats true of all schools, but what do you think? Thanks again.

Any body else?

[Ron]

Hey there. I went to SCAD a few years back, graduated with a Computer Art degree. I liked the school for the most part, but I don't think it's the best school for all majors it offers. I was particularly interested in architecture, and still think it's great for that because of the emphasis on design, but I switched majors because I didn't like the math involved in getting a degree in Architecture.

I didn't see or hear about the crime that "TacticallyWacked" mentions, not to say it doesn't happen, but I lived out of the downtown area most of the time. I did get burglarized the first year however (I lived downtown then), so there's definitely something going on. Although living downtown is very cool because of the history, perhaps that wouldn't be the best idea.

As far as the degree to pursue there, they do have an Industrial Design degree there, which may actually be better for concept art. Illustration would be OK, but most concept artists seem to lean more toward "design" degrees, such as Product or Transportation design at Art Center. It depends on what kind of concept art you want to do. If you're not sold on SCAD you may want to check out Art Center in Pasadena as well. But it really comes down to the effort you put into the school. I loved SCAD when I went there. Hope that helps some.

[TacticallyWacked]

Ok. I didn't mean to make SCAD out to be a bad school or terrible place to live. I think alot of people come here not knowing what the city of Savannah is like. I was just giving a heads up to an issue which has been relevant in my past 3 years here.

I absolutly love going to school here and recommend looking into it. Like I said in my earlier post I don't know much about the illustration dept. so I can't say if that is the route to go. The main program here and the one who gets the most funding is computer art and animation. I have had really good professors and some not so good...same with most school I suppose. As far as people not being interested in art I haven't found that to be the case. There are many serious and commited students here.

[Faxtar]

Ron:
Thanks. I could not find the "Industrial Design" major in the Scad Catalog. I think it has been replaced with "Product Design" and it shows pictures of sinks and boats being made. It doesnt mention anything about concept art. I am looking to get into the concept art for video games and movies. I wonder what major would be best for that?
I have not looked into any of the Art Centers so i dont know much about them. Tell me more.

TacticallyWacked:
I am happy to hear "There are many serious and commited students here." Thanks for your honesty and letting me know the stuff I wont hear on the tour.

[Sammy]

Hey there Faxtar

I'm about to be a senior down here at SCAD.. My Major is Product Design (I swiched origionally from Comp Art) and my minor is Computer art.. but they're about to open up a Gaming / interaction minor that I'll be switchin' too

I enjoy it a lot down here.. the city and the school.. I chose Product Design because I felt that it applied to every single one of the majors.. and you never stop learning and researching in Product Design..

I want to do concept work for Games and eventually work as a director in games.. when I researched Miyamoto (responsible for Mario, Zelda, Etc.), the most famouse game developer I found out that he graduated as an Industrial Designer .. so I knew my rought (oh yea.. Industrial Design and Product Design are the same thing, just different universities have different names)

the college and city both have their seethy underbellies.. I dont much like the presedent of the school she's just a B*tch and spends money on stupid stupid stuff.. and the city does have the highest crime per population of any city in america... but you'll be fine if you're not stupid... just dont run arround with headphones on at 3 in the mornin'...

(and if you're doin' anything with computer art.. the new computer art building is sweet!.. it's bigger than my old high school and has it's own cafe...)

I hope I was some help... if ya ever come down and want a tour of Product Design I'll give it to ya.. and my girlfriend is an orientation leader so she can show you around..

[Sammy]

oh yea.. just as you'd expect different proffessors are different...

I'm good friends with all the product design professors and they are indeed good and know there stuff........ we just had a design competition and people from other universities told me how much they liked our PD professors.. they're out there and really help you to do hard work... and it doesn't hurt that in PD there's only like 16 people to a class at max..

all the classes are usually pretty small.. (no 150 people to a class here) the most I had was like 25 I think... and with 2 1/2 hours to every class you'll defianately get to talk with your professor

[Faxtar]

Hello. Thank you very much Sammy. Your comments are very helpful. I will definetly consider Product Design if I end up going to SCAD. I also heard that the President was really crazy. I dont have too much interest in computer art but its nice to know they are well supplied. I just hope other majors are not forgotten. I am glad the class sizes are small. Oh yea, I guess I wont be doing an 3am jogging in my suit made out of money, oh well.

P.S. I just got accepted to Scad!

[silicore designs]

Congradulations! I am planning to attend their in September.

[Faxtar]

Thanks. I still dont know if I want to go there. I'm going to go visit it next weekend.

[silicore designs]

Please let me know how it is there. I have yet to visit the school. Some of the people from my school really enjoyed the atmosphere and school.

[ChaosEidolon]

Yo...Im currently a sophomore at SCAD doing Game and interactive design. Dont let the crime stuff get you down, every city has some form of crime. All in all its not that bad, just keep in mind that you have to be a little more careful.

As far as the school goes they really have some amazing programs here and a lot to take advantage of. Their connections are also pretty nice, lotta high profile stuff going on and people coming in. Having the school act at the middle man between you and the company really is a great benifit.

As far as what major. All the ones that were mentioned were viable but i think all in all the best choice would be Illustration. It specifically focusses on creative drawing/painting which is essentially what concept art is. The sequential department is good also, and you can learn alot about storytelling, but i would suggest you take those classes as electives or consider taking it as a minor.

The one thing about SCAD though...theyre pricey, as you might have noticed already so get ready for a beating, but if you can afford it i would say that its definately worth it.

Hope that helped, lemme know if you have any more specific Q's

[Ron]

Hey Faxtar. You said you wanted to know more about Art Center, so let me tell you what I think about it. I live in California now (Art Center is in Pasadena, CA). Art Center, in my opinion, would be the best school to go to for Concept Design. Many of the concept artists working in the field now went there (about half of all the concept artists on the Star Wars films went there, and, of course, one of the most famous—Syd Mead). Art Center also opens lots of doors for your career afterwards, especially in the entertainment industry and industrial design fields. Of course, your portfolio has to look good once you get the interview, but if you finish your degree at Art Center, you will have the skills.

As I said before, I went to SCAD, so I'm not knocking it. But SCAD doesn't seem to push you as much as Art Center does. Art Center kicks your butt with homework, but it's worth it. I found that at SCAD, you could kind of coast along if you wanted to. SCAD's admission standards don't seem to be that high either. Art Center requires a portfolio for admission, whereas SCAD doesn't (at least when I went there).

There are great concept artists that went to other schools too. Ultimately, you get out of the school what you put into it. You have to be really dedicated to it. I think it has to be a passion that really drives you, because it's a lot of work to get to the stage of being as good as the best concept artists out there. If you have that passion, you'll probably succeed at any of the art schools. But from my experience, Art Center gives you the push that fuels that passion more, pulling more out of you than you thought you could do.

If you are still undecided as to which school to go to, you should definitely check out Art Center. I know it's on the other side of the country, but this is a decision that affects the rest of your life, so be sure before you jump! Also check out there website: artcenter.edu.

Hope this helps!

[Faxtar]

silicore designs:
I just got back from visitation day. The Computer Art building was HUGE and it was nice to see a row of wacoms. I visited Weston dorm and the rooms looked very nice and my dad said my brother's dorm room was half the size. I got a tour of the illustration building. The professor said it was a relatively small dept. and that the classes were usually booked, but he said the teachers were dedicated. The weather was much better than the snowstorm I came home to in Conn. I also got a free T-shirt! Overall it looked great. I'm going to have to visit SVA before I make a final decision though.

[silicore designs]

Thanks so much for telling me. It makes me look even more forward to attending there. I did not even know they had wacom tablets. I was near Savannah about six months ago but missed the vist to the school by 30 miles, I had to attend my Uncle's funeral, but from what I have heard it seems nice there.

[Faxtar]

I decided that i am going to go to SCAD. Thank you to all who posted here for helping me make an educated decision. Wish me luck.

[jhagen22]

I'm a graduate candidate from SCAD. I'm working on my thesis on conceptual design. My major was in sequential art. Sequential art? Comics? Wha?? Yep! There are classes in the Sequential Art major specifically on conceptual art. Look into it. There are a lot of great classes that students from many majors attend. One professor is hoping to begin a new major someday in the (I would assume far?) future on conceptual art. There are classes on storyboarding, character designing, and conceptual design. There are actual classes specifically in that area. That particular professor also does illustrative and sculpture classes on heads, hands and feet and total anatomy. But the conceptual art class is awesome! You come up with your own world and he runs it like you were pitching it to a client or company. And man do you work! He's known for making you work, but being a real inspiration. you really learn a lot from that guy. I won't mention his name or where he worked in the past (will make your head spin where he's worked!), but believe me, that's the place to be if you want to pursue character design.

[jhagen22]

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents about security for SCAD students. The dorns themselves are full of security. Some are nice, some are jerks that take their jobs to seriously. But for the most part they do their jobs. I was a Resident Assistant at Dyson (right next to Weston) last year. And I can say that the problems have gotten better...less of them and not as severe I mean. Just make sure you don't walk around downtown at night alone. There's a lot of "flim-flam" men out there who would like to scam or mug a stupid student. There is also a little mini mart next to Dyson and the gas station - STAY AWAY! Especially at night. So many foolish students have gone right up to it in the middle of the night only to have gotten either harrassed or mugged by people just looking for trouble. Personally, I think downtown Savannah is really beautiful. And it's full of students and cool places to check out. BUT downtown is pretty much surrounded by ghettos. So make sure you know where downtown ends! At the beginning of the school year the Resident Directors and Assistants will go through some tips to keep you safe and what the rules are at the dorms. And sometime after a cop will come by and tell you how to stay safe downtown. And of course the R.A.s and R.D.s are always around to help. Nice people. I was one of them.

[rambhat]

Hello there,
I'm currently a Sophmore at SCAD and an Illustration major and Drawing minor. There's quite a lot of stories dealing with SCAD in both arenas, good and bad. First, it's a wonderful location (very picturesque). The beach is only 20 min away and it's very friendly. I dont know what else to say regarding location. The bad part about the location is the crime, unfortunately, 3 of the dormatories reside near the ghetto and has created dangerous situations for SCAD students who tempt fate. I've lived here nearly 2 years and never come close to any kind of harm because I know to avoid it, which is something one should do if they come to a school sporting rich students.

Next, the cirriculum. I've met some of the best teachers of my whole life here. If you need names, I'll gladly offer them. I can easily say I have not had a bad teacher here, both in my studio classes as well as my lectures, etc. I really take the time to learn everything I can from them which helps me out in my work tremendously. They also love to give assistance to students who really want it. So, above all the #1 thing about SCAD is its professors.

The worst thing about SCAD is the general population. By that I mean the other students. I sometimes feel its very hard to find students as driven about their education as others. There is a large percentage of people like this here at SCAD who, it seems like, ride on their parents money and have nothing better to do with their lives. This group can easily be identified and dominate the dorm halls with their loud screaming, constant fire alarm pulling, etc. Please note, that this school does not have any requirements to get in, aside from writing a paper or (if you want) submitting a portfolio. Take this into account, along with the fact that SCAD offers A LOT of majors which basically is to create a larger count, more international students, and more money. SCAD is very often refferred to as $CAD and with good reason. Sorry to say this, but chances are you'll get dicked over many times.

Aside all that crap, the school does have a lot to offer, the variety of majors lets you decide with ease. There's lots of people with same interests as you (concept art), including me. I'm president of the newly started Figure Drawing club here and am finding the more determined students more easily which is enhancing all of our experiences here. I'm glad that you are coming here and sorry for putting the school down a bit, but I do have a hard time shelling out $100,000 for an education. There are a lot of galleries here and one main museum. If you want me to take pictures of any of the halls, please let me know, I will gladly do so.

Finally, Illustration. AMAZING professors within the department! All of them have much information to offer about the industry, though it tends to push you towards the freelance market. Though the department provides SO many opportunities for scholarships, contests, publications, etc. Like I said, I've been at this school 2 years and I think with the departments help along with other classes I got to participate in, I've been published 4-5 times. All the professors are really helpful, and if you'd like to contact them, any in specific, I can pass on their e-mail addresses to you and let them know you want to talk. The illustration department is really great, A LOT of good artists and a lot of stuff to learn.

Whoops, forgot about Sequential! I've taken 2 classes in this department and planning on taking 1, possibly 2, more. Another department with great professors, tons of experienced professionals slammed into this hall with so much to offer. The sequential art department really has a blast doing what they do and cranking out their work. They have a very tight-knit department which welcomes you with loving arms.

If you need to know anything else in specific, let me know as I'd like to help you get a realistic look of the school and the area, though I'm not taking pictures of the ghetto! All in all, SCAD, and college in general, is what you put into it. If you work hard, it shows.

[Faxtar]

Thanks jhagen22 and rambhat! I'm very interested in this conceptual art class that you mentioned. Sounds like just what i want. I was thinking of being a major in Illustration and minor in sequential art, or mabe visa versa. I cant wait to meet the professors.
I remember seeing a poster for the Figure Drawing club when I visited SCAD and I thought "well I'm definitely going to join."
Thanks for everything!

[AmishCommy]

hey man, I gradumakated from scad in 2002 with a bfa in both illustration and sequential art. the profs in the two majors arre really cool people but the sequential department is lacking the drive. they dont push you hard enough. and they cover way too much ground without really delving as deep as they could. Illustration had a simillar problem but the plus is that they were more professional.

all the profs in sequential were cool but the best ones are no longer there (durwin talon, james sturm) but there's hope with paul hudson. he makes you werk harder than little asian kids at levi's.

in the illustration depatment traci haymans is the best and teaches the collest classes. dick krepel (the superstar) had a lot of good techniques to teach as did katherine sandoz. Mohamed was good at no BS critique. i heard good things about Alexi being tough but i never got a chance to take a class with him.

but i also have a lot of hate for scad. all the things they say to get you to come there are just lies to sucker you in. if i were you i'd go to pratt or art center if you can afford them

[Faxtar]

AmishCommy- Its alittle to late for that, I'm already at SCAD. But thanks for telling me about the teachers, it very helpful. I'm about to pick classes for next quarter.

[Sgantman]

i did their rising star program and it was ALOT of fun. I also learned alot. There were two instances of crime , both involving careless people, so its their own fault. I highly reccomend it as i am going there this coming fall.

[treeboy]

Hey, Im about to graduate highschool here in Alexandria, VA and ive submitted my app. to SCAD.

Is anyone in the Computer Game Design major and/or the animation major? Those two primarily interest me, and id love to get a student's POV.

thanks

(heres hopin i see some of you next year )

[Fallen11]

Hi, I'm sending my application to scad this week. I'm very excitied and hope I get in for this fall. I have some questions. what is your typical day or week like? what are the dorms like, can you bring your own computer? is it feasable to work part-time while there? and anyother info that you think is helpful.

thankyou

[rambhat]

A typical day at SCAD kind of depends on your classes. There are 4 blocks: 9:00-11:30AM, 12:00-2:30PM, 3:00-5:30PM, and 6:00-8:30PM. Normally, except for your first quarter, you will have 3 classes so on M/W or T/R you will have 2 classes and 1 on the other day, so your days are pretty open. There is no school on Friday but there is a Life Drawing session from 1-4 which I highly reccomend as I am the president of Life Force, the life drawing club.

The dorms are kind of crazy. I lived in Turner for 2 years and somewhat disliked it because it is the rowdiest of all of the dorms. Turner is the biggest, and newest, and Dyson is the smallest. Weston and Oglethorpe are kind of in the middle. Forsyth, Pulaski, and Gaston are for sophmores and up and have 4 to a room.

You can bring your own computer and I highly reccomend it. We have a T1 running in all of the dorms with a firewall, but you can still use programs to download music and stuff (usually).

I just started working part-time being my 3rd year here and it is pretty rough and I have a laid back quarter too. I probably wouldn't reccomend having a job outside of SCAD in your first year. Working FOR SCAD however, might be a good idea because the work with your schedule, BUT you lose financial aid.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions. The school is very....... well, let me say you're probably going to get dicked over once or twice by registration problems or whatever, but there are amazing professors here which I wouldn't trade for anything. The city itself is cool but gets boring quick but there is a lot around you so bringing a car is a VERY smart idea. Hope this helps.

[AmishCommy]

rambhat pretty much summed it up.

whatever SCAD tells you, do bring your car. it may cause headaches finding a parking sopt but it suked not having one my freshmen year.

also i recomend dorms for the first year and apartment the reast of the time. you make a lot of friends in the dorms that helps out later on. I lived at O-House (Oglethorpe) It is one of the oldest dorms but its also pretty central compared to the others. I really REALY wanted to live at Pulaski and so should you, but seeing as it it a girls only dorm, that dream never came to be, poooo!

Classes-wize, the best suggestion i can make is try to take all three classe in one day. that way you have school for 2 days and 5 days off. everyone always bitches about taking 3 studios at a time but i once had 4 studios and that sucked. i took 4 classes for the first 3 years and 3 studios never phased me. but then again i didnt really have a life.

as for werking part time, i had a friend that took a full courseload, had a 40hour a week job and was also in the marines and he managed strait a's and a superior quality of werk. if you're crazy enough anything is poscible.

and although i left SCAD with a bad taste in my mouth and an empty wallet and no job, i do have to say that the profs rock!
most of them anyways.

[Nineveh]

I'm thinking about going to scad, most likely majoring in design, but I'm also interested in film, and was wondering if anyone knew if it was any good?

[Rocky]

It's true that here at SCAD there are many rich kids aimlessly wandering on their parents' money because they thought it'd be "cool" to go to art school rather than a regular school. The fact that the school doesn't require a portfolio has a lot to do with that. But the fact that there is no portfolio requirement is also the reason I was able to go here since I didn't come from an art background before this. It's paid off though, I've learned so much about art that it blows my mind.

The thing about SCAD is that you have to be self-motivated and find the other kids who are as well. If you do what is necessary to get by, then you'll just get by...that's all. You got to make it a point to find the good teachers who teach because they want to and not because they just want a steady paycheck. Get out there and ask around. Take advantages of all the free facilities and services the school offers. It's up to you what you get out of your time here. The diploma doesn't get you a job as much as your portfolio will.

And please, by all means...don't skimp on your Foundations classes. There's a reason it's called Foundations.