[CalicoRabbit]

I am planning on attending this school in the spring as a transfer student going into my 3rd year (graduating a community college with an AA in 3d animation). I was wonder what the people of this boards opinion was of the school. My aims for attending are mainly refining my drawing capabilities, learning how to paint and work on some animation.

Is this school a good place to learn a solid foundation in these things, especially painting/drawing? I've noticed on the school's website that there seems to be alot of abtract art and I am wondering if there are enough instructors teaching traditional skills to go or if I should be looking eleswhere.

Thanks,

-J

[CalicoRabbit]

Hate to bump but my own post but if anyone knows anything about this school I really need some info on it.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[matter]

hm they came to talk at my high school, yes.. i remember lots of abstract installation photos, and the person talking didn't mention once anything about drawing and painting. i do know for a fact those people don't always show the whole school tho, "just the parts i like," (lady from MICA) but i heard from a few other people they're all about modern stuff as well, so i never applied. i think there was another post recently about a school for traditional drawing skills.. pratt and parsons were mentioned if u wanna do a search.

-matt

[goldenavatar0]

Try posting your questions up on GFxartist, Deviantart, ConceptArt and Eatpoo to see if you get faster responses. If this is the only forum you're using you might be waiting a good long while until you get a good variety of answers.
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[CalicoRabbit]

Matter: Where are you attending now? Which do you prefer, Pratt or Parsons and why?

Goldenavatar0: Thanks for the advice, proceeding to do so now.

-CalicoRabbit

[matter]

i'm attending pratt, mainly to follow my mom and both her parents hehe... i may not be much help, though, since i'm actually attending the new pratt @ MWP for the first two years - it's small (less than 200 kids and half the price of pratt in brooklyn) but follows pratt curricula and the teachers are all amazing. they can help you draw a photographic drawing but also push abstract skills, and you find your own comfort zone in-between ... a downside is that the school's communications (illustration and computer stuff) is lacking.. fortunately for me, u really don't need a class to learn computer programs and the main campus is supposed to have strong illustration. it's also great for architecture.. can't say much about parson's though

-matt

[CalicoRabbit]

Thanks for the info matt. BTW, what did your mom and her parents major in and go on to practice? painting?

-CalicoRabbit

[watmough]

i went to parsons.......didnt finish though
this was a loooong time ago too('92)so....things might have changed,but i doubt it.
parsons is really a fashion design school.
not to say that there arent good illustration students or teachers,but its real focus is on fashion....there were some pretty good teachers there when i went,but it is VERY expensive.if you really want a more practical art education,i knew people that went to school of visual arts and thats what they seemed to be getting.if i had it to do over.....i would've gone there.

[matter]

ah my grandfather majored in illustration, a wonderful artist... after that he retired and did watercolor almost exclusively... my mom's a graphic design person, majored in visual comm.... her mom did fine arts, like me, though she never made a career out of it..

hope that helps, a little.. i just noticed you want to do animation? im fairly certain there's little to no animation courses at pratt, much to my dismay... but they will teach you to draw and paint. id also check out mica, that looks like a very promising school. here's a link to their painting majors' galleryhttp://www.mica.edu/gallery/categories_mica.cfm?framenumber=85&category_id=33

-matt

[Exoudeous]

Hello

I attend teh Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago, which is a totaly different schoolt then the one you are looking at. but i do know alittle about it.

If you are planing on learning more just in the fine arts I suggest that school, but if you want animation I'd sugget looking at my school. Its a more technical art school with game desgin, animation, and other digital related arts, but the early on classes such as life drawing and color theory classes encourage lots of traditional media usage. My first year has been mostly traditonal art, and after you start your second year you get more into digital, but for the most part usage in all medias is taught througout.

Thats why i choose this school over "The School" of the illinois institute of art. That and I dont know how much a degree in painting will get me in the business world, and it also costs alot more at that school.

I like to paint and all, but my first time around in collage i rather learn stuff that can get me a carrear, id do that school after i start geting a steady job, os i can paint on the side.

i dont k now if that helps you but at least i tiried

Good luck picking a school man
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[CalicoRabbit]

Just lost my reply! Stupid forum!

Anyway, try and remeber what I wrote,

watmough: Thanks for the info, never heard of SVA before.

matter: Yes, it does help, helps add to the picture. About animation, yeah, I love animation (alot) but I thought it might be good to get a little general in my education and make sure that I knew how to paint/sculpt/draw well too. My end goal is to be a game designer, so that seems like a good idea.?

Exoudeous: What do you think of the IIA-C? I've heard that some of the AIs are not so great, while other have are. What are the instructors like? How much is liberal arts emphasized?

-CalicoRabbit

[2kre8]

Stay away from this school if you are looking for more of a traditional background. They do not really teach the fundamentals, more of abstract and concept. I went to their graduate show and well there was a lot of projects that were just plain goofy. Canvases that were all painted black, sculptures made out of grass, over 1000 nails hammered into a wall, some one had there prom pictures up, ETC.... I was noticing the people�s reactions and there were a lot of blank stares of disbelief. Of course you really can't judge a school on one graduate show, best bet check it out for your self. Maybe the school has something for you I don't know, Also check out Illinois Institute of Art, American Academy of Art (good illustration program for Chicago, you draw 4 days out of the week for 3.5 hrs a day.) Columbia College, They have traditional animation, School of Representational Art, (S.O.R.A) very good drawing and painting, check out their website.
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[Exoudeous]

I think my school is pretty good. there are some really good teachers and some really bad ones, just make sure to ask around to other students each quater at class sign up to find out about each teacher so you can head straight to the good ones. lots of the teachers here love tradtitional art and are more then willing to help you with your side intrests (and some will help you get stuff into galleries), so you get lots of good experience at this school even thousgh some of it doesnt come straight from the classes itself
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[BadMange]

I have my BA in Media Arts and Animation from ILIC (Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago) and can tell you right now - DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.

If you're intersted in animation, go to California. There are a few gaming companies here in Chicago, but no animation houses. I'd suggest looking into Academy of Art in Frisco, where a bunch of Pixar and ILM animators went. Also check out Sheridan (think that's in FL) and if you like visual effects head to Vancouver Film School and bring a jacket!

Again, unless you want to totally waste $50K on a sub-par ejamacation, attend ILIC.

Exoudeous- hope you don't have KJ, she sucks at teaching. Listen to Welch and Surdo, and for God sakes I hope you don't have John Hentges!
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[Exoudeous]

I do have surdo, i also got john edwards, who says id be better off leaving school and starting a business now with my 3d modeling. I would like to do that but my parents would s*** a brick if i droped out
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[BadMange]

[CalicoRabbit]

Yeah. see that's why I'm nervous about going to any of the AIs, some people seem to like 'em but there is also a fair amount of people who are adamently against them. Why are the views so polarized?

2kre8: I was wondering about graduate work 'cause it seams like sometimes the granduate stuff is alot more abstract whereas the undergrad stuff tends to be more solidly linked to the fundamentals. Should I be caring if the Grad work is more abstracty if the undergrad stuff is not?

Also, do you know anything more than what's on S.O.R.A.s website? seems like they would be even more expensive than SAIC and probably don't have scholarships. It almost seems like a place for pros to beef of their work, am I right in that?

Do you have any other info about Colimbia college? I coudn't find any examples of student or instructor artwork, am i missing something?

If you don't mind, could you give me little more info on the reason you liked the schools you listed?

Thanks all, you have all been very helpfull!

-CalicoRabbit

[spinmaster]

similar to most of you I went to Texas A&M and had 66 credits and then I transferred to CCS in Detroit (College for Creative Studies) and only got 12 of those accepted. I don't regret it, this is a hell of a school and if you keep up with the work load you get your money's worth. I have a friend that went to Chicago and regreted it (he wished he would have gone here, he just wanted to get out of Detroit and away from family) he know is re-learning most of his animation stuff on the side as he works in a non art related job because he was not a competitive pick in the job market!

good luck, it's hard to make that desicion, I would suggest you go to a school that teaches you how to do the foundation basics, like drawing the figure, understanding color and light and so forth. in that aspect CCS is probably the best. They have just started a gaming department with in the Digital Media Dept.

[2kre8]

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 10:13 am Post subject:

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2kre8: I was wondering about graduate work 'cause it seams like sometimes the granduate stuff is alot more abstract whereas the undergrad stuff tends to be more solidly linked to the fundamentals. Should I be caring if the Grad work is more abstracty if the undergrad stuff is not?


No No the undergrad stuff is just as goofy, I think even worse, AI has the name and the facilities but they do not teach fudementals, to much into concept, go there if you want your artwork seen in a gallery. They have good conections for that.

Also, do you know anything more than what's on S.O.R.A.s website? seems like they would be even more expensive than SAIC and probably don't have scholarships. It almost seems like a place for pros to beef of their work, am I right in that?

SORA has a traditional way of teaching, more like the florence school, sight sizing, what I understand you work on one pose for months and you do not progress until you learn one thing at a time. Cast drawings in charcol, values, then oil painting in BW, finally if your in your last years color. They have no degree so it is less expensive than most schools.


Do you have any other info about Colimbia college? I coudn't find any examples of student or instructor artwork, am i missing something?

No you are not missing something, they don't really produce a lot of work. I attended Columbia for animation. You do not have a lot of time to produce Anything substantial. Classes are once a week for 4 hours and you have to share your lab time with classes that are going on in the same rooms. But they have all the equipment to teach you traditional and computer animation. The closes thing to cali you will find in Chicago, they have some sort of class that you can take out there also.

If you don't mind, could you give me little more info on the reason you liked the schools you listed?

The reason I listed these schools is because they are the only art schools out here in chi town. If you are going to do the animation route your best bet is to find a school that has the best contacts Cali, New York, Canada. Go where the work is. I am not saying that you will not make it out here but there are few opportunities for animation. If you�re into
graphic design, advertising, web, than maybe its the place to be.
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[Meaty Ogre]

These forums are great for getting opinions. But before you attend any school, visit it, talk with many instructors and students, tell them exactly what you are looking for, and be very honest with yourself. It's worth the trouble and expense!

[neonneo]

I attend the AICAOC, Art Institute of California-Orange County, I would also agree w/ attending AI of San Francisco. This school is really new about only 3 years ago they established it. Since its soo new its not fairly well established it yet, well not in game art or animation, a lot of good instructors left into the buissiness, leaving lesser qualified teachers. Our tution is about 60k plus, Game Design is a fairly new mjr i believe, something started recently. Its not coding, if you want that you should attend a school like Westwood. AI doesn't teach you code, but more in 3d modeling, level design, some animation etc and somehow they expect the students to walk out a playable game they will make .
I'm pretty sure AI of LA and SD have better Game Design prmgs.
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[spur3d]

Man it's been awhile since I've even looked at this forum, and ILIC is the reason. I was going there for computer animation, and realized three quarters into it that the administration doesn't give a crap about art.

For one, think of the time it takes you to create a good drawing and cut it in half. All the traditional media classes they make you take are shortened because of their scheduling, and you are forced to produce art instead of create it. If your anything like me and working full time at the same time, don't expect to get a lot of sleep.

Unfortunately a lot of the schools resources go to the fashion part of the school. The school used to be just a fashion school just to let you know, and they have only very recently switched to digital art. While I was there they let their licenses lapse for a week and a half.

Also, if you do end up transfering to real school or university, don't expect your courses to transfer, my community college wouldn't even except them. I spent a better part of 10,000.00 for credits that will never be used.

I can't that all of the school is bad though, the people that teach there are pretty knowledgable. My abilities jumped a lot, just by being around other artists and having teachers that made us stretch our minds. The lounge was always great too, cause everyone is interested in everyone else's work and is supportive. There are some big egos, but there are also a lot of talented people. The only draw back to having professional teachers is that your work is judged by professional standards. There were people in my drawing class that were amazing, and got marked down because their style didn't mesh with that of their teachers.

Speaking of talented people, if I learned anything from going to an "art" school, it's that the best way to learn anything is to figure it out yourself. I could have used those 10,000.00 to travel around the world and find my creative juice.

If your into template-like Japanimation this school is for you!!!