Getting In!

The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Outstanding Portfolio, Earning Scholarships & Securing Your Spot at Art School

Nancy Crawford

• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781630473341
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Enseñanza del arte

Getting In! demystifies the process of how to get accepted to the world's leading art schools, thrive while you are there, and earn scholarships to fund your education. Getting In! outlines an in-depth process of how to ignite your creativity, create an outstanding portfolio of powerful and authentic works of art and design, and enhance your vitality and energy for creating. Getting In! will also enable you to identify and break through your creative blocks and procrastination. Getting In! is thorough in scope and depth, resulting in a creative experience that provides meaning, challenge, excitement, connection, joy, and success!

Part 1

The Power of Planning for Art School

Chapter 1

Purpose and Passion: Finding Your Reasons to Make Art

“What is passion? It is surely the becoming of a person.”

—JOHN BOORMAN

When students sign-up for one of my programs or classes the most common question I hear is, “Can you help me create a portfolio?” I usually respond to their question, with a question of my own, “Why do you want to make a portfolio?” Invariably, the answer is, “I want to go to art school.” While this answer tells me about their intention to continue their art education and artistic development at post-secondary, I realize that a much bigger, more passionate answer will be necessary to excite and sustain them over the months and years that lie ahead as they strive to realize their goals.

That’s what this first section of the book is dedicated to – helping you identify and articulate answers to some of the most important questions for you to consider:

1. Why do you want to go to art school? What are your BIG reasons?
2. What are your gifts, talents and natural inclinations?
3. What are you passionate about?
4. What do you think are some of the greatest challenges and opportunities that exist in the world right now? How can you contribute and serve with your art? Where do your passions and world needs align?

When you create works solely for the purpose of gaining access to postsecondary, your creating can become a means to an end, something to do, a chore. What I want you to do is expand your vision and consider your bigger reasons for continuing your artistic education.

It’s one thing to draw a picture of a city-scape for your portfolio, it’s quite another to think of that drawing as developing your skills in proportion and perspective because you desire to be an architect; an architect who designs sustainable and portable housing available to the masses in an attempt to eliminate homelessness. You can learn to sew, render the figure and work with designing garments because you want to study fashion design at a particular school, or you can do all those things because you have a dream of becoming a world leader in elegant and exclusive eco-friendly design. Why do you want to paint? Do you want your paintings to educate, confront, beautify or perhaps all three? Or perhaps you are a storyteller who plans on delighting and inspiring the masses through your animations. What vision do you think would get you more fired up, excited and motivated to create? I’d like you to think beyond the portfolio, and beyond post-secondary. I want you to be passionate and think and dream of the big reasons for developing your creativity.

I think we are living in a time of incredible opportunity. Our world is in crisis and we need innovative artists, creators and designers in every field of human endeavour who can help to lead the way to a better future. We need creative people who can address issues such as global warming, deforestation, species extinction, sustainability, pollution of our air and water ecosystems, and the plethora of damage created by our current consumerist lifestyle through their problem solving, innovating and creating. We need artists who can inspire us with the beauty they create, and transform our lives through their designs. We need artists who challenge us to think deeply. These creative leaders may compel us to laugh, cry, delight and contemplate. We need to change and artists and designers working together with scientists and business leaders can show us the way. What role do you want to have in this dynamic and exciting future?

At this time ou may have no idea what you want to do with your life and your art, but it’s never too early to start thinking about it.

Respond to the following questions in your sketchbook.

1. What are you good at naturally and love to do? (Try to think of everything and anything even if it feels insignificant.) Your list might include things like:

• Talking with people
• Cleaning and organizing
• Working with animals
• Painting
• Coming up with ideas to solve problems
• Helping others to achieve their best
• Working with 3D materials
• Spending time with people who are hospitalized
• Being around babies or young children
• Caring for the environment
• Helping others who are less fortunate
• Public speaking

You get the idea. Write down as many responses as you can think of.

2. Ask your family and friends for their feedback as well. Sometimes they recognize your talents before you do.

3. In your ideal world, if money was no object, what would you like to do? How would you like to spend your days? How would you contribute or serve?

4. What are 3 of the most important global issues for you?

5. Are there any ways that you feel you could address, help, or improve the situation using some of your gifts or natural abilities? What opportunities exist in the current problems?

6. Write out a new, big, passionate reason why you want to create a portfolio and go to art school. What are you going to do for the world?

Remember, don’t get hung up on answering these questions, simply consider the questions and the answers will eventually materialize. In Cameroon there is a proverb that states, “He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.” These questions are important to ask yourself throughout your life because your answers will always be changing. Your gifts and passions, along with your concerns and abilities to serve will change and evolve with you. Thinking about these questions can be incredibly inspiring and motivating. All of a sudden you become aware of both your potential and incredible opportunities to make a difference. That’s empowering! As Sarah Ban Breathnach said, “The key to loving how you live is knowing what it is you truly love.” When you get clarity around purpose and passion it’s much easier to do what needs doing and to be excited about doing it. Having a clear purpose makes your life happier and more fulfilling.

GETTING IN! – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

How about creating a fun self portrait using some non-traditional art materials? Draw with something that makes you smile - try wool, spaghetti or paper streamers. What other interesting materials could you use to portray an aspect of yourself? Congratulations! You have just completed the Purpose and Passion section of Getting In! Celebrate!

Chapter 2

Personality: What Art Careers Are You Well Suited For?

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN

One of the comments that I frequently hear from admission representatives from a variety of art schools is that many students think they want to be animators based on the fact that they like to play video games or watch animated movies. Enjoying an art form is one thing, creating it is quite another. Just because you like to go shopping for clothes does not mean you are well suited to be a fashion designer.

In Part I of this book you’ve already started to get to know yourself a little better. Now you’re going to answer a number of questions to help you identify some of your preferred ways of working, along with identifying some of your distinct characteristics and traits that would make you well suited for particular artistic fields over others. You will also start to explore and research a variety of different art fields and careers to see what areas sound exciting to you and match up with the type of person that you are. Based on those findings you will start to develop your plan including creating an exciting vision for the future along with outlining some specific goals to help you achieve your dreams.

Let’s consider an example of an aspiring animator. Animation is a field that requires several skill sets some of which may surprise you. First, there are the more obvious capabilities such as strong rendering skills and the ability to observe and break down movement frame by frame. But did you know that the best animators are the best actors? In my discussions with several animators, they have pointed out that an animator’s ability to connect with the viewer, creating resonance with the performance and acting of the figures and objects he or she is animating is of paramount importance. As an animator you also have to have effective verbal communication skills, patience, the discipline to meet rigorous deadlines, the people skills to function well as part of a team, the temperament to take direction and critique, and an affinity for the computer. These skills are in addition to being creative, imaginative, and passionate about the field. If you are a loner, who likes complete control of a project from start to finish, it is unlikely that you would be happy working in a traditional animation studio. If you still have your heart set on animation perhaps you could learn about and create animated films through a fine arts degree with studies in painting, animation and film as an alternative, or perhaps animation will remain something that you enjoy watching and interacting with but you will work in another creative field all together. Your possibilities for creativity and adventure are endless, so have fun exploring them.

I don’t want you to be worried if you have no idea whatsoever as to what you want to do with your art and creativity in the future. Perhaps learning more about yourself and doing some art careers research will point you in a couple of directions to consider, and at the very least it will be fun to learn and imagine. It has also been my experience that students with very adamant decisions about artistic and career fields frequently changed their minds based on their experiences in college or university. I have known several students who were positive they would be fashion designers, only to discover that they were much better suited to and enjoyed other fields such as product and jewelry design. Conversely, I have had students who were going to pursue communication design and ended up as fashion designers. My point is this, don’t get too hung up on a field or area of study, just enjoy exploring some of the different options and fields of study available to you, and consider them in light of your personality and preferred ways of working.

Personality: a person’s distinctive character or qualities
Characteristics Traits: typical or distinctive features or qualities

1. Go to the www.gettinginbook.com website and refer to the list of characteristics and traits featured in the template section. Circle any traits that apply to you.
2. Using the list in question 1 as a reference define your character. Who are you? (Be honest and include traits or qualities that you feel are both positive and negative.) Write all your responses in your sketchboo...