[Cyphatic]

Yesterday I went and did a tour of the Academy Of Art. I've been accepted (which means I have a pulse, diploma, and the ability to loan oogles of money), but was only allowed to take the test to pass there basic computer training class (i.e. "this is a mousepad").

On and off, I've heard from a wide range of the best digiartists that they did not go to school, and look at how successful they are. They also state that employers look at your portfolio before credentials, and I can believe that.

Now I know that no school can give you artistic talent, nor make you into anything that you can't achieve by yourself (especially in this day of internet age.) I know I already have the talent, and most of my skills are self taught.

I talked with a person who spent to years at the school, and he straight out told me to turn arround.

I know it looks like I'm answering my own question, but can any of you pros give me your opinion of what I should do? Or at least some facts, for you know that much. This is the first place I turned based on the community that i trust here.

Thanks for ANY info you can give me.

Blake Hoffmann
a.k.a. TheCyPHa

[Cyphatic]

Ack.. i forgot... my major there will be New Media. Sorry bout that...

[Pat]

Bah! Call me old school, but skip the schooling. No offense, but the current rapid state of graphics development means by the time you book learn a program it's already obsolete. Well, maybe not that bad --but you get my point. If you're decent with tools and have a good head on your shoulders, you can teach yourself faster and in a wider selection of programs that suit your needs and not their academic syllabus. My suggestion: get a traditional education in the arts --the skills and judgement you learn there will aid you all your life. I can't say that about learning to render a movie in Macromedia Flash.

I guess the main thrust of my point is that you should invest in making yourself better before you make yourself better at any one program.

-Pat

[quaternius]

I guess, first a question... why New Media? That is, instead of the other choices. Where do you "think" you want to end up and what do you imagine yourself doing? Cliche question... but what do you really like to do?

I've always liked the analogy that school is a vehicle to get you someplace, you still need a map and a destination. The coursework is a prepared map - but it might not be the right map to get you where you really want to go.
Hey, I went to a four year school, got my Bachelor of Arts degree... it was fun - but fairly irrelevent to the actual workplace. Not true with all schools - but only to say you can't just accept a school's idea of what's supposed to be relevent.
The one thing I'd have done differently is to try to get to know the professors better - make myself almost a nuisance - and make as many friends and contacts as possible and stay in touch with them. That's where school can be really valuable. From day 1 I would've started to work on my portfolio and not been shy about asking other more experienced artists what to include and what to do to make it better. It means you're really making your own "major" and not really depending on the school - but taking advantage of it...

nuts... that probably doesn't make any sense if you don't have a good idea where you want to end up. If you don't know... then school can be a good place for finding out. Excuse my running off at the keyboard here...

Q

[travis travis]

I was thinking about AAC too, but I've pretty much turned my back at this point. It looks like a huge price, and that they have no scholarships of their own to give out should tell you something. And I actually found an online underground newsletter by students, the majority of rants therein being negative. Another student tells me they can't get into graduate school with their AAC degree, the school is not accredited in all the proper ways. There must be SOME reason so many people out there hate them. On the other hand, if you don't mind racking up a huge fucking loan, and living in neo-yuppie San Francisco, attending college would open doors, friendships, connections, and I don't see why it would be unlikely that you get a high paying job after graduating. But it's a life decision, do you want to be ground into the world of bullshit professionalism, where everything is arbitrary and no one has any skill, but if you stick around you'll make lots of money? And I'm not positive about the lots of money thing, either.

I'd like to hear more about your tour though, since I haven't toured it myself and I'm on the east coast.

maybe we're just scaring ourselves off?

[Lunatique]

The truth is, to succeed, you just have to have any three of these 5 qualities(Toren Smith told me this over 10 years ago, I'm just remembering it now): 1)talented 2)hard working 3)persistent 4)resourceful 5)friendly

That's it. School is not on the list.

------------------
www.arcanum.net/~lunachild

[Jason Manley]

Sorry to be the spoilsport...If it wasnt for my teachers I would not be doing what I now do. PERIOD.

Ill say it again. My teachers are the reason I can now do what I do. I hear their words every day.

You can learn the programs by yourself..you can learn to sharpen your pencils by yourself too...but there are some things if you are wanting to learn traditional art ideas...there are are some things that you must learn from teachers. If you can find your teachers outside school then maybe that would work...I wasnt that fortunate.

The only way to succeed with all the above traits mentioned (persistance hard work etc..) and put yourself in a place where you can be guided..critiqued...and can learn from others while you work.

There are parts of art that have to be taught to you. Either you see someone do it and learn it that way or you have them show you. It has been that way from the beginning..a master/apprentice approach. Not one master artist from the past had no teachers...no traditional schooling. NOT ONE

Matisse studied under Bouguereau and his work doesnt show it...but its there....Leyendecker also went to Bouguereaus school...and Norman Rockwell went and studied from Leyendecker. Even Picasso did traditional schooling under his parents. Gerome learned from Charles Gleyre who learned from INGRES....Michealangelo had his teachers too.

so to those who say school is a waste of time...I can only say. Hardly!

what is a waste of time is going to school and not working hard.

school puts you near others who will help you to succeed. You will make great connections, have fun working and learning, and be exposed to many new ideas and processes that you would otherwise not have.

School will not do it for you....you have to...that is why the above traits mentioned are so important...learning does not come from handing the check over and then walking away with a diploma...that is why the diploma means very little...but the schooling and the hard work equals a damn good portfolio....and I believe that it prepares you more for the professional fields and for having an art career as well. It is a place where you can find answers....but only if you look. I guess you can find answers in a lot of places...but art school is a place where you can get answers from people who have the same questions you do...if you want mexican food..go to a mexican restaurant...if you want to learn to be a well rounded artist..go to art school.


jason

[quaternius]

Yep, Jason said it better than me. I guess I sounded like I didn't appreciate school or learn anything...but I did. I guess I wanted a more intense "classic" education - which wasn't provided. But I did have some truly great teachers that took the time to show me and truly "teach". I do think I could've been more aggressive about it - and that's really what I was trying to communicate.

Let me just add, if you want to learn to draw well, paint well, and develop related skills - in the classic atelier fashion, (which I can't tell from your post) I would probably recommend either the Watts Atelier in San Diego,(where Ron Lemen teaches), or the Associates in Art school in L.A.

I don't think either of them is accredited - so if you want a formal degree or to go on to grad school that would be a problem, but all the coursework is intense classic training with close teacher interaction and demonstration. Believe me, if there was an atelier school here in Northern California like either of those in Southern Califonia I'd be intensely involved myself. I'm an illustrator though - and that may not be what you want to do.

Q