There’s been A LOT of hubbub on this topic ever since large youtube peeps and semi-famous industry professionals have started making comments/journals/videos about why art school sucks. And holy shit dude, this is doing some VERY weird stuff for everyone.
Please please please, give a second to give these things more thought before just believing someone who seems to know what they’re doing. Nothing is this simple. And nothing has more value than something like “School.”
I want to create a list of scenarios that will tell us why art school might suck for you – and conversely, when art school is a really fucking good idea.
First I have to get a few things out there.
When you think of something like “Art” – it’s NOTHING like a learnable concept. It’s not something you learn the formula to, and you’re good. It’s not a test that you can pass, and then you know it. It’s not even something that once you “can do” – you’re good at. This entirely makes it nothing like a normal academic thing, thus shouldn’t be compared to as such. That DOES NOT MEAN schools shouldn’t be for art, that is not what I’m saying – just that you can’t measure an art school’s success via people getting jobs. Nor does a paper mean you do or don’t know art.
Next – you have to realize why you’re going to school in the first place. Most people would assume you go to school to get a job – and that SHOULD NOT be the case for everyone. SPECIFICALLY if you’re going into something like art. A degree, though will get you into some jobs, largely does not matter. It’s entirely the portfolio. SO, once again, art schools cannot be assessed in this method.
Next, there are A LOT of different art schools, a lot of different degrees, AND a lot of different teachers. Not all of them are great. Not all of them are bad.
Finally, and probably the most important. Learning is a two-way street. If you’re expecting to go to school and become a bad-ass - that’s not going to happen unless YOU’RE the one taking it absolutely seriously and getting your shit done.
So really quick – let’s strip some variables aside. Let’s take the quality of classes/teachers/you completely out of it and just look at the school scenario vs. learning on your own.
Going to Art School will give you this:
• A type of curriculum according to your major. (AKA a plan. This can be a BURDEN if you know what you’re doing. But obviously a god send if you don’t.) • 4 years of new content and new material, constantly pushing you out of your comfort zone. (The best way to learn is to fail with new material. Then you learn new things in that area, and can apply it on your own. However, if you know what you’re doing, you can tell when some of this required content/material is a waste of time and money.) • Constant demands and pressure to hit deadlines. (Forcing you to stick with the plan in a timely fashion.) • Peers (added competition, and ability to grow along side and assess your buds. AND SYNERGY. Though this can be stressful for some peeps. Though I think friendship/peers/buddies implies no stress.) • Perfect world: An excuse to do nothing but study your trade. (no job, live off of loans. This isn’t a possible path for everyone, but if you have the support (family, lots saved up, or the ability to live off loans) FUCKING DO IT.)
By studying at home, you have:
• The flexibility and ability to focus on what you want. (however this is often more a curse, because people don’t really know how to learn. However, if you do know how, then you can focus on things that are more pressing to you, or study outside of your normal curriculum.) • The flexibility in time. You don’t have due dates. (Meaning you can get things done quicker and move along faster. However, this is also easy to slack on and take your time. I’m sure we can all agree the latter is more likely.) • It’s free? At least, a lot cheaper.
Do you see this trend so far?
If you have no idea what you’re doing, school is an EXCELLENT CHOICE. Absolutely. However, if you actually know what you’re doing, that’s when you’re going to find it can be a waste of time.
So let’s go onto that list of scenarios I mentioned.
I want to mention that THESE QUALITIES ARE A NECESSITY. I’m not sure if I can suggest art school if you aren’t ready to:
• Work fucking hard to achieve your dreams. • Socialize with people, even on the smallest scale. (art schools are amazing because MOST people are shy and even more scared than you are. If you are remotely-personable, you’ll be a god. Plus, most of us are fucking hella nerds. I’d much rather socialize with art peeps rather than anyone else xD. (I mean peeps who’re remotely interested in art, not necessarily artists)). • Work outside your comfort zone in more ways than one. Style-wise (This is usually not a problem, but it can be.) Subject-wise. Content-wise. • Realize your faults, and grow. You aren’t perfect, and that’s ABSOLUTELY ok and why you’re going to school. • Pay money AND BE OK WITH IT. (Either straight, or depending on parents, or student loans.) Having that regret linger over you will get in your way. Realize that no amount of money compares to the limitless ability of creation. (or find some other way to be OK with it.)
These are a bare-minimum. Please please please understand that these are a necessity. I think these will really solidify any art school experience.
OK, onto scenarios.
Scenario A) – The Adventurer.
Bright eyed, bushy tailed. No idea what you want to do (maybe a good idea of what you want to do) – but you’re not super great yet. Maybe you’ve been drawing for a couple years, but concepts like “Horizon Line” and “Perspective” and “Gestures” sounds new and interesting. Hopefully you’re up for a challenge, because every single class, every DAY might introduce something new.
If this sounds like you – I absolutely recommend trying an art school out, at the very least a few classes. Perfect world is you’ve been drawing a few years so you’ve already ran into a bunch of problems – this way the answers will make way more sense.
Keep in mind, if you’re a bit scrubby, you probably can’t get into super high-end art schools. BUT THAT IS A-OK. Prestigious art schools might be wayyyyy too difficult and focused for what you need. I’d suggest smaller art schools, ones that still offer a bunch of different majors (and the major you’re most interested in) – but some of these schools are more focused on helping you become an artist/finding yourself, rather than getting that job. It SEEMS counter-intuitive? But 2 years of “fundamental art stuff” will be good for ANYONE, but especially the noob. Then the later 2 years of more focused illustration or animation or game design, those will launch you enough into the field so you can teach and polish on your own. Scenario B) – The Timid.
You’ve always been pretty decent at art, but you’re not entirely sure whether or not you should make a career out of it. You’ve heard all of these scary stories, and perhaps you’ve convinced yourself that one way or the other is the right way. Maybe you’re scared of loans, or you’re scared of failing.
If this sounds familiar, I do suggest taking a class somehow. Local colleges tend to have drawing classes, and DO KEEP IN MIND, this is not the same experience as an ART SCHOOL CLASS. If at all possible, tour an art school you’d want to go to, that will definitely let you know if that’s what you want.
In the end – if you’re pretty “ok” at art – but you still don’t know what you’re doing, art school will DEFINITELY still help you. You have to stay motivated and fully focused on success though. You really don’t have time to doubt yourself. As I mentioned above, you might not be able to get into a prestigious art school, but you can definitely find one that’s comfortable and home-y. Tour around~!
Lastly, realize that art is something you have to “Risk it for the biscuit.” – That means you’ll wanna be all-in. The more you can devote and focus and hone – the better off you’ll be. It’s a competitive field, but not impossible. Find that thing that makes you special. Find that thing that you want to say to the world. Fight for it.
Scenario C) – The Badass.
You’ve been drawing for several years, and your studies have become quite natural to you. You’ve got a clear command on general artistry, characters, narratives, design. You can definitely throw a pencil around, and it’s something you want to pursue.
If this sounds like you, then I do think art school will still benefit you. BUT NOT JUST ANY ART SCHOOL. If you’re fucking good already, then you will want to choose some of the best art schools out there.
The more prestigious schools are SERIOUSLY difficult with crazy expectations. CalArts, Gnomons, LCAD, Sheridan I think? – most of these require their animators to have a finished film EVERY YEAR. That’s CUHRAZY. Absolutely crazy. But that demand in work ethic, AND folio prep – will benefit you A TON.
If you are too scrubby, you might very well crack under all this pressure. Learning all of these new mechanics and tools is one thing – but being required to do your normal classes, AND put an entire film together? Fuck man, that’s crazy shit. But if you’re ABLE TO DO THIS, you will benefit from it greatly. So I’d say the prestigious schools are for anyone who now knows what they’re doing. The easy classes will be an opportunity for you to show-off and hone your skills, as well as gentle reminders of tools/mechanics you may have forgotten. You will have peers that are also badasses pushing you to even greater heights, and all those teachers are SUPER HARDASSES so you won’t be bored.
Scenario D) – The Badass take 2
Though I think 4 full years of art school ONCE you’re a badass is invaluable, this is where it might be a waste of time and money.
So the other option is master classes.
If you’ve got all your foundations down, and you know what you’re doing, or at the very least, you know how to study all the things you know are possible – then, a lot of the general classes might be a waste of time.
Perhaps you’re looking for something VERY specific – Like how to design creatures that don’t exist. Or how to retopologize a model for very cartoon-y animation. Or how to use digital brushes in weird techniques to create thumbnails, or implied texture. This is a lot of stuff you can learn via books, or master classes.
A lot of this material is SO SPECIFIC that it can be irrelevant to study if you’re too early in the art-game. It can even be harmful since some of this can suggest workflows that are VERY specific, and NOT a good idea in a broader spectrum. However, sometimes there’s also larger methods that will help a ton, but only once you’re far enough along your art career.
For example, “Designing a creature that doesn’t exist.” Teryl Whitlatch is an illustrator of serious renown. She started studying biology, drew since forever, did a lot of paleo-art (dinosaurs, bones, concepts of what they might look like) – and from there, she started to realize and learn how the necessities of an animal dictate its biology. She learned that every animal is how it is for a reason. What they eat, where they live – all of these things work perfectly with a creatures biology. And with this knowledge, she learned what certain components meant, and how to assemble imagined creatures in a very realistic and plausible fashion.
See, like, that’s just cool to know, right? But as a very junior artist, it would be very difficult to put any of that to use. You probably won’t have very much command of general anatomy, let alone specific traits of certain animals. However, if you’re a bit further in your art career, this is incredibly handy stuff to know.
Masterclasses are also something you pay for. But you can find recorded ones online. Or attend the actual ones. Or whatever. Books also have a lot of very specific knowledge.
Scenario E) – The Prolific.
Say you’ve been drawing for several years. You’re pretty decent. You can go days where you spend countless hours drawing all sorts of things. Comics you’ve had in mind, designs you’d like to see, stories, areas, anything. Say every day you choose a new topic, and challenge yourself with that. You go out and find good teaching material, you ask your friends that you idolize – you find mentors along the way. You do what you can and you’ve come a long way (with help) but generally on your own.
If this sounds like you, I’ll have to ask you to be a bit introspective when assessing yourself.
First, keep in mind that “Art” is a GIGANTO term. That there’s much more than your ability to draft and design – but that cinematography is an entire thing, color, prop design, environments, story, acting, immersion, pacing – It’s pretty much guaranteed that every subfield of visual-drawn-art has new mechanics that you may not even know about.
If you’re motivated enough, it’s very easy to find out how to learn about something. However, what about the things you don’t even know about?
This is where mentorships come in a lot of handy. If you have some mentor person that you trust, that you’ve seen can do well for you – and you know they have quite a lot of knowledge, then this can work. Realize that the amount of tools/mechanics you CAN have as an artist is A TON, and I don’t mean physical tools. I mean conceptual tools. Like “The rule of thirds,” that’s a tool. “Camera,” that’s a mechanic.
If you’ve spent most of your life learning on your own, you may not enjoy the class-experience at all. BUT YOU MIGHT ALSO TOTALLY DIG IT. I’m sure you’ll learn something in a class – like the stuff you’ve never even thought about. But all the other perks of a classroom (like synergy, classmates/competition, a teacher) – these might not matter to you.
Typically, peeps who’re entirely self-taught probably have a generally OK foundation, but there might be some concepts that they aren’t aware of entirely. So they might be crazy good at drawing, but not have the slightest clue how to tell a story. They might have crazy character design skills and acting, but not the foggiest clue how to compose a scene. So some classes might be an absolute snore-fest to you, while others might seriously help.
I would still recommend AT LEAST taking a tour of a school that you were interested in. If you’ve been studying on your own for a while and you’re pretty good, you can probably put together a pretty decent folio.
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I want to stress, that art school is never a “Waste of time and money.” It might be less ideal to some, and it might be invaluable to others. As always, it’s entirely case-by-case – and pledging to it being a waste of time/money is irresponsible.
I will say this. If you plan on going to art school – do it to LEARN something. Don’t do it for the job. Do it so you can improve yourself in this passion. Do it so you can do things you couldn’t before. (For example, if you know how to draw pretty damn well, maybe study 2D/3D Animation/game design. Illustration focuses a lot on the narrative of an image, and your general draftsmanship. So if you’re good at these two things, go for something entirely different, but still in your interest.)
If you use school in this way - the only “it’s a waste of time/money” is if you could learn more on your own.
Immediately, I think this proves my point. I’m sure we can all agree that “Motivation” is a rare thing. So to the few that have this die-hard motivation, the expert direction, the support from friends and mentors, AND the time? – Then art school can be “a waste of time and money.” But the rest of us?
It's also worth mentioning, a career in art DOES NOT USUALLY need a diploma. Sometimes this isn’t the case. Some of the upper jobs, like Art Director – will usually say something along the lines of “BFA, or 3 years of experience needed.” – and a lot of even higher jobs will say something like, “5 years of Triple-A experience needed.” The degree will help, but only so far. Typically the only way to get the good jobs is to, A) be a bad ass in whatever field, AND B) have the reputation and experience to be climbing up. It is VERY RARE for someone to get out of school, pitch an idea to Disney/CartoonNetwork/Frederatr, and have it accepted. It’s not unheard of, but it’s rare. Some say that’s because Calarts has connections. Not sure how true that is these days, but connections are VERY important.
That’s even if you’re going the industry route.
There are so many ways now-a-days to make a living. (THANKS INTERNET~!) The rise of the indi-creator has never been so high, with things like Patreon, Kickstarter, GofundMe, Steam Greenlight, Tumblr, Da, and of course – our little corners of furry paradise. And though schooling can seriously help arm you with tools to do whatever, you might not need any sort of extra education at all.
It’s hard to know what you want to do, and it’s even harder to know what will work for you. So I would say, STAY FLEXIBLE.
School isn’t always the answer. But if you want to up your game very quickly, it’s almost always THE answer. A very good one to say the least.
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This article and the future ones to come is apart of an on-going project called Bursting the Artistic Bubble! Where I go around trying to debunk/clarify pre-established notions, and give some different perspectives on em. Things aren't always black and white, and I find a lot of these concepts can't be summarized in a single sentence. Paraphrasing can cause more harm than good, so I'm doing what I can to illuminate these concepts.
either you have BAD TEACHERS, or YOU SIMPLY DONT WORK FOR IT. buy, art education is always a good thing. i am a self taught artist. AND I WISH I COULD AFFORD ART SCHOOL CLASSES. there is nothing bad about learning from professionals. but yeah, maybe some people love to stay inside their "comfort zone" and being faced with open criticism about their work, pisses them off badly.
the best is to learn both ways, YOUR WAY AND ART SCHOOL'S WAY.
NO SCHOOL NOR EDUCATION IS BAD. simple. either you have BAD TEACHERS, or YOU SIMPLY DONT WORK FOR I
This whole notion of art degree = art job is a problem students face partially because art schools have a tendency to advertise the best job placement stories. Every interview I've ever been in always focuses on my portfolio or experience working collaboratively. What school I went to or what degree I have is irrelevant (I haven't even finished my degree shhhhhhh).
But I can't really blame these schools since they're "for profit" and saying you have students working at Pixar is obviously a huge selling point. The school itself may have very little to do with that - I know someone who started working only after two years of school. These folks are just particularly gifted, likely already having an art background.
Still, I wouldn't trade that education for anything since nearly every class was relevant to building a solid portfolio. My biggest argument for art school is still the friends I made while working late nights at the computer labs, this sense of "here we are in the trenches", pushing each other to be the best we could possibly be. They become your "in" at other studios as your careers progress.
Very well written article. This whole notion of art degree = art job is a problem students face par
I don't know about art, but in tech it's not unknown to have one or more job offers well before college graduation (if they don't choose to strike out on their own). I mean, if you're a company, and you're looking for the freshest talent, and you like what you see, why wait?
That said, it probably pays to finish in that situation. If the company was serious (and stable enough to be worth joining), the offer is almost certainly still there. Plus, you never know when you'll need, say, proof of your educational credentials for a visa.
I don't know about art, but in tech it's not unknown to have one or more job offers well before coll
Art is controversy, is magic, is hope, is horror, is a product, is a reflection of the artist mind, based in their own context, is the pathos. We need a technique, we need a style, we need quality. When you can make other folks to feel the world the way you do, then you can say you're successful.
Art is controversy, is magic, is hope, is horror, is a product, is a reflection of the artist mind,
This blog is super helpful. You truly explain it better than anyone I have hear or read before. In my case, I'm interested in going to an art school, but my country, Honduras, has nothing like that, and going to another place could be crazy expensive. I have considered maybe online schools but I'm not sure how good they can be. I'm currently on my second to last architecture year, but I honestly wish to focus on art after I graduate.
This blog is super helpful. You truly explain it better than anyone I have hear or read before. In m
I've been wanting to go to art school for some time now. I often don't know what I should be working on. I desperately want to improve, but usually all I get from people is 'keep practicing'.
Thanks for these. I've been wanting to go to art school for some time now. I often don't know what
I wanted to consider trying out art schools, but after reading this journal, I might wait on that. I guess learning by myself might be the way to go to get good. But I got one problem. WHERE DO I START!?!?
In all seriousness, where do I start when studying art?
I wanted to consider trying out art schools, but after reading this journal, I might wait on that. I
There are several books often recommended, just Google around and check out the library. drawabox.com is a good start since they start from the very basics with easy to follow lesson plans and use a construction approach. You also get free community feedback. But yeah, it mostly just comes down to lots of practice.
There are several books often recommended, just Google around and check out the library. drawabox.co
Live drawing, shading techniques such as hatching and cross hatching, rendering, portrait drawing (under time pressure if you prefer) stuff like that. That's what I learned on my first year on my more technical class, the other was a more conceptual one.
after that, maybe get into the advanced stuff-- gesture drawing, perspective drawing, learning how to draw facial parts, maybe hands and feet, watercolor painting and acrylic/oil painting (Painting in itself has its own techniques to learn)
After learning what I assume to be all the stuff I'll need in my arsenal-- everything after that was all conceptual and subjective art courses. Hope that helps! :)
Live drawing, shading techniques such as hatching and cross hatching, rendering, portrait drawing (u
:O - see though, this is the exactly reason why school/books/classes ARE a good idea xD Because they have a curriculum that tells you exactly where to start.
:O - see though, this is the exactly reason why school/books/classes ARE a good idea xD Because they
I would just say be extremely picky about the art school you choose, There are a lot of very scammy schools out there, and some of them are very expensive.
I would just say be extremely picky about the art school you choose, There are a lot of very scammy
The greatest artistic mind ever born would be a blunt, wreckless effort if never taught the fundamentals of art.
Kids these days think they can learn all they need from looking at tutorials and reading art books, but there's a REASON art books never made the money art schools do. A book hasn't been trained to guide students along a path that will better them as an artist.
There will never be a substitute for real-time, in-person instruction, and no amount of effort or talent will cover the gap in experience you're missing out on by trying to tech yourself. You may be better than someone who went to art school, but you will ALWAYS be behind the version of you that could've been if you went to school.
A lot of art school graduates might talk shit about the whole process. Those people either didn't put in the work, or they're bitter about being forced to become well-rounded, instead of mastering one thing out of the gate. Mind you, a well-rounded artist will guarantee themselves work, while an artist with only one focus better get lucky and find an opening doing the ONE THING they know how to do.
The greatest artistic mind ever born would be a blunt, wreckless effort if never taught the fundamen
Hell to the yis. I'm excited to get out of high school where my classes are just draw this or do this project of your choice, this is the last year for me woot, just a few more months. Im super excited to get in the big building with the real classes. I want to learn the fundamentals of concepts and improve my art in all possible ways. The hype is real for me and I'm ready to put in the work. You've already convinced me a while ago this is what I want to do with my life. ^~^
Hell to the yis. I'm excited to get out of high school where my classes are just draw this or do thi
