You need an art education. (First in a series.)
I frequent a lot of drawing/painting forums on the internet in a questionable effort to better my art skills. One of the most frequently asked frequently asked questions seems to be:
"Do I need to go to art school?"
This question is nearly always answered in a long and rambling fashion by a pro artist who is likely less than a decade older than the teenager who's asking, and said answer invariably ending with a fence post firmly up the latter's butt.
If you are in high school, and think that you want to be artist, but aren't sure if you need to continue your education or not, let me help you as quickly as I can.
You need to go to an in-state University and get an art degree. Art school after that, for the purpose of continuing study, is optional.
Yes, I know. I know that your favorite comic book artist worked at Kroger's and/or Best Buy right out of high school and struggled with college until his big, super-popular creation and mastery-level skills landed him on top of the world, so he dropped out his sophomore year and now he's buying a yacht and fending off movie and television deals while choosing which color BMW he wants this year.
You aren't that guy. You need a well-rounded education.
Art schools are good at teaching art fundamentals and techniques. However, a state university with a reputable art department will expose you to a wide range of people, disciplines, ideas and experiences that will make you a true artist. And much of the time, it will be cheaper than an art school.
Some universities here in Kentucky that are known for their art departments: Western Kentucky University, Morehead, Murray. Ask your guidance counselor or your high school art teachers for their opinion.
If you want to create comics or art for film and video games, do not look upon your art history and contemporary art courses with contempt. These industries are hideously inbred as it is, and they all need those worldly, outside influences like you need air and water. If you want to write comics as well as draw them, consider minoring in History.
Despite what you see on the internet, art is not about celebrating yourself. Don't think that your professors, who are trying to impart the importance of Chagall, Seurat, Diebenkorn and Rothko are full of shit and out of touch. They know better than you. They want nothing more than to help you. Outside of your parents, no one will take more interest in you and your chosen path than your art professors.
So go to college and learn to be an artist.
7 Comments:
Good advise!
Alternatively, you can get some other education and practice art by yourself/with tutor at the same time, as I did... Not the best option, but a decent one if you are not sure that you want to do art. I am glad I didn't as I am getting PhD from Cornell now...
Agreed (both of you). I read recently that Charles Schultz's only art education was a correspondence course he took as a teenager. (He got a C+ in 'Drawing of Children'!) Obviously he exceeded expectations on that one...
One thing John didn't mention was that people ask him how he got to do art full-time. Answer: Draw every day -- and he has, since he could hold a pencil. So true passion begins long before high school. Plus -- many programs require at least a preliminary portfolio for admission.
p.s. Indiana University's a fine school all around, too. :-)
If you're on a budget for schooling, and like a small-town sort of place, I can't recommend Blackburn University (blackburn.edu) enough. It's in southern Illinois, is very small, and is still very inexpensive when compared to other liberal-arts colleges of similar size. The art department is well thought of, the sciences department is second to none, and you'll get plenty of challenges in history and the other subjects.
I went there because it was half the cost of my next choice, because everyone who lives on campus works at the school 15 hours a week, doing whatever needs doing. It isn't all that bad, and really cuts the cost. It's a beautiful campus, and the faculty was magnificent when I was there. I can't imagine they have stinted since then.
Definitely go to college. And really look into the University versus the Art School. I graduated from the Art Center College of Design with a BA in Advertising, and as much as I loved the school and the top notch education I got, after a few years of paying back the student loans I often wonder if it was worth THAT much.
Thanks for your excellent response; you're right on target about getting the well-rounded education and four-year degree that an in-state university or private college offers.
I'm a product of an in-state univ. (BFA + graphic design) and pursued a long career in feature film storyboarding, TV broadcast design, advertising illustration and magazine art direction. I'm now a full-time, professional artist. In every instance, my liberal arts education in art and world history, science, humanities, politics and economics informed my work.
I also taught design, Photoshop & illustration as an adjunct for several years at the local state university and at a trade art school (one of the IAD's) and I can well see the difference in the calibre of graduating students.
You can be the slickest 3D or Photoshop jockey or finest budding illustrator in the world, but without informed context your work will remain shallow & limited - and believe me, it shows. You need to be exposed to the entire world of art and not just focused on a sub-genre or style.
If you have nothing in your sketchbook or portfolio but anime, you're in trouble. If you aren't constantly keeping a sketchbook and doing life-drawing from models, you're just not serious about learning to draw. Can't emphasize it enough: learn to draw everything by direct observation, especially the human form. It's the ultimate foundation for any style you really want to pursue, including anime or comic books. (Or web comics!)
Forgo the $50,000 in student loans (really...) from an art school you'll NEVER be able to pay back and investigate the best art dept. in the best in-state university you can find. In-state tuition is a (relative) bargain these days. It's not about the prestige of the school you went to; it's all about the quality of your portfolio. I've hired and fired for art departments; in a few years of reading your resume, nobody will care where you went. The trades are mostly ripping off their students. You'll always have that genuine bachelors degree with real, transferable credits to make you employable and you'll be on your way to produce the best work of your life.
(Gah! Sorry, John, for taking up space on your blog with the long soapbox here, but after teaching literally hundreds of students, it's a subject near and dear to my heart.)
The most important thing about college isn't the classes; it's the college. by that I mean that if you do nothing but work your butt off at class and at a job, you can probably afford to go to almost any college that will accept you. But you'll only be able to see the classes, and there's more to it than that.
I purposely chose a state school over a better-known private school for my art schooling for that very reason. Growing up and learning to deal with things like drama, drunk people that won't leave, juggling extracurriculars, and paying rent off-campus have less to do with your aquiring of knowledge, but more to do with your growth into an adult. It's sort of like the 'real world', but with a safety net. Assuming the teachers care and you're well-motivated, much of your learning should come from within anyway.
Besides. If you get a masters, almost nobody gives a crap where your undergrad comes from.
Honestly, it seems to me that many if not most reasonably paying careers require a grad. degree or significant work experience. So, picking a college that will allow you to have enough time to figure out what you really want to do is definitely more important than the prestige of said college for undergrad. Then Master's or whatnot in the appropriate field sounds good.
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