Hi all,
I am an avid reader of this section of the forum, but not much of a poster.
Well, as I am putting together my portfolio, I have a concern, see, practically all of my portfolio can be categorized as 'traditional art,' which I tought myself, had I known earlier that animation is not the same I would have developed my art likewise in that direction, too late to do that however.
Now without a doubt I know I want to do animation for the rest of my life so I am not worried about entering a program to soon (also I have spent most my life developing my art on my own and now I want the class room, teacher and group experience/guidance).
Here are the requirements for the program I am applying for [2D Animation Prog. at Vanarts]
[QUOTE]Portfolio: 8 to 12 examples of your best artwork. There are no specific requirements...anything can be submitted!
For 2D/3D Animation and Game Art & Design, we'd like to see any of the following:
[LIST]
[*]figure drawings
[*]pencil sketches
[*]perspective drawings
[*]character designs
[*]still life
[*]3D models
[*]graphic design
[*]digital or traditional artwork
[/LIST][/QUOTE]
http://www.vanarts.com/admissions/index.php?story=../admissions/center/requirements.htm
These are two of the traditional works I am submitting:
1) http://parableofkhalil.deviantart.com/art/And-Still-I-Rise-38630500
2) http://parableofkhalil.deviantart.com/art/Forever-and-a-Day-38629672
Other works will be life drawing, characters and figures, however these areas are not as developed as my 'traditional art' is.
Now I have spoken to the school and they were fine with me submitting a portfolio largely of traditional art work, but they did mention to me to include buildings, a hand drawing and a still life. However I do feel that a portfolio that is largely trad. art work is not to my benefit even if it shows I do have talent and the desire and abilities to be a 'non-robot artist.'
To sum it up these are my questions (and thank you for your time, sorry for the lengthy post):
1) What did your portfolio contain when you applied (examples would be great!)? What did you think of your portfolio then and now?
2) Any words of advice for me and my portfolio?
Sincerly,
Khalil
Hi Khalil,
I'm not sure I understand the distinction you're drawing between "traditional" art and what will go in your portfolio. "Traditional" drawings are what they want to see. The pieces you highlighted will go fine in a portfolio. You'll probably want to submit some work that isn't as detailed - figure studies done in line, for example, without all the crosshatching. It's good to show you have those skills, but they'll want to see you can capture the essence of a pose with just a few lines.
Good luck with your VanArts submission!
Hey DSB,
By "traditional" art I meant the pen drawings I posted, as I was told by a Cap. College portfolio reviewer that my work is "traditional" and would be great for a fine arts program but not their animation program.
Thanks, thats good to know.
Most certainly, thanks for the advice.
Thanks!
Khalil
Your work shows real potential. Did you say that you're self taught?
I'm the Director of Max the Mutt Animation School in Toronto. The first year of all our diploma programs is called Visual Art Literacy. It's a very well thought out curriculum that gives our students a sound basis on which to continue their studies. I don't think many programs do this. May I suggest that you take a look at our website, www.maxthemutt.com? We offer quality education in a professional environment. Our graduates are successfully working in the industry and the feedback from employers is gratifying. We have a mandate to be available to talent and we work hard to remain affordable. If you want more information, contact Van Olson (Admissions Director) at 1-877-486-MUTT (toll free), or admissions@maxthemutt.com.
Good luck!
If I were you, I'd get the book Force by Michael Mettisi, and Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair. These will give you a foundation for what is expected in animation. A couple of basic rules are to start with a line of action, then get your volumes, then build in the structure. Details are nice, but good, solid action must come first. Avoid a lot of cross-hatching and tricky shading. People will just assume that you're attempting to hide weak construction. In my own case, this was at least partially true. Studios want to see strong acting and solid construction.
Here's a link to Brian Lemay's school. It offers short, relatively cheap courses, as well as books and DVDs. He isn't the world's best animator, but he's not bad, and word is that he does a good, solid job of teaching the basics.
http://www.brianlemay.com/index.html
All anyone can teach you is the basics. There is definitely a bag of tricks to learn, but you have to get good at them yourself. No one can give you that. If I were you, I would avoid high-dollar private schools. They're not accredited, the teachers aren't certified, and the quality of instruction will vary wildly from one instructor to another. I found this out the hard way.
Capillano has a solid reputation. They're government subsidized and won't lie to you just to get your money. They also won't rush you through the program, telling you what you want to hear. They understand that they're basically a trade school, and will prepare you to enter the industry with a fighting chance of landing a position somewhere. This isn't true of many 'animation schools' these days.
You can buy both the hardware and the software to do line testing and whatever else you need to have to study animation for less money than most schools charge. And when you're done, you'll have something. Concentrate on your demo reel and on finding freelance work to begin with. Animation isn't a field where diplomas or certificates particularly matter.