Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm pretty good when it comes to art criticism (or so I'm told), so if you'd like a critique, I'd be willing to give one. Before I can give one though, I'd ask you oblige me on the following three suggestions. You don't have to do any of them, but it'd make it easier for me, both functionally and analytically.

1) I need to know how old you are and your history under formal training (how many non-required art classes have you taken, in or out of school). This will give me an indication of where you should be, where your peers may be, etc. For example- if you're a six year old drawing these, I'd be extremely impressed. If you're a college senior, I'd probably say "Move on".

2) I need to know what some of your major influences are. Not just whose art you want to emulate through yours. Who are your favorite artists? Whose art do you most want yours to be like? Who are your least favorite artists? All three questions should have different answers.

3) I suggest you make a Deviant Art account. Deviant Art is a free artist's community online, through which you can display your art. Getting one of these sites will probably get you more critiques in general. Also, for me, it'll make it easier for me to view your art. It'll act, essentially, as an art gallery that I can browse at my own pace.

Given that information, I would say that you need a bit of practice, and a bit more patience. Your art looks a bit sketchy and rushed. They're certainly good for being sketches, but they aren't really good for 'final peices'. Even for a lot of my friends who do anime-styled art, final peices usually take upwards of six hours to complete. Being an artist who is more into realism, I'm not sure if this is how long the average anime-style artist takes to complete a peice. Because I'm into realism, I usually spend much longer on my work.

However just spending a long time on your art isn't the key to improving it. Taking more art classes will help. If your area has any art institutions that offer classes to the general public, you may want to think about enrolling in a class on anatomy and figure drawing if you can afford it. If you can't take a class like that, then I would at least suggust you look more into human anatomy. Get a better feel for proportion, bone sturcture, and how everything moves. Even though your art is more stylized than realistic, understanding realisim and being able to function as a more realistic artist will really help your fantasy art. Your artwork is also a bit inconsistent with relative anatomical correctness. Some peices, such as "Rock Your Pants Off" show pretty good anatomy overall, but others, like "Badass" seem a bit disproportinate, even for stylized art. Your figure drawings are better than what most of the seniors at my school can do, but I can see in you the potential to achieve somthing much greater if you just push yourself a little bit!

A better understanding of perspective would help your work by a lot. For example, in "Massacre 1" the figure looks like he is too tall to be able to fit into the room. Also, due to the placement of the bodies, they look tiny and as if they are very close to the figure. If placed at a different point on the plane, they would look less out of place. In "cafe" perspective would really help as well, because it looks as if the table is nearly jutting into the seats! Perspective would generally help any peice that you add a background to.

Some work with your shading would be good. It looks as if it were hastily done. Work on either blending it a bit or making tight and neat lines for hatching and cross hatching. When using a hatching method, you should try to get the lones to 'wrap around' the form of whatever they are shading, following the general three-dimensional form that the figure supposedly possesses.

Judging by the inked peice you posted, you need a bit of practice with inking. You should draw out the original image in pencil, and ink over it. Your inking on the girl seems to dark. Even if she is dark-skinned, there should be some highlights so that her anatomy and features don't become 'lost'. You need to ink lightly in some places, and darkly in others. with practice, this should come.

Overall, I really think that you would benifit from doing some observational drawings. Not only of people, but of objects as well. This will help you get a better grasp on shading, form, perspective, et cetera.


Sorry if that sounded harsh! I don't intend to be mean, but I want to help you become a better artist! redface

I'm looking forward to seeing your realistic peices.

If you need any help with your portfolio and whatnot, feel free to ask me about it. Though I still havn't applied to art school yet, I've gotten a ton of portfolio reviews, and have recieved portfolio waivers (waivers saying my portfolio is good enough to get me into a specific school, so I don't need to submit it with my application) from some of the schools I've been reviewed by. Over the past three years I've learned what makes a good and not-so-good portfolio.

Do you know what schools you're interested in? I may be able to give you some pointers if you're interested in applying to schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 3nodding

Still can't get into Deviantart... T.T but I DID get my real life drawings up.

These took between 2 and 5 hours to finish



Self Portrait (4 hours)
(zoom on face)

Self Portrait (4 hours)

Costumed Self Portrait (about 2.5 hours)
(zoom on face)

Costumed Self-Portrait (about 2.5 hours)

Abstract Pencil Drawing (2 hours)
(I don't really like it)

Last Years Art Final (5 hours)

Multiple angles of a single object (skull)(4 hours)

Comment please.

I just posted this on another guild, and felt that I should share it with you...

How to Apply to an Art College

Though I haven’t been accepted to any schools yet *crosses fingers*, I’ve learned my way through the system of applying, and feel that I’m in a position to give advice on how to assemble a portfolio and where to have that portfolio reviewed. I’ve had my portfolio reviewed numerous times, and have received portfolio waivers from several schools that have given me reviews.

The first and foremost thing you’ll need in order to be accepted into an art college is a portfolio. You should begin work on your portfolio at the beginning of your junior year. If you don’t start then, it will make senior year a stressful time where you’re rushing to assemble a portfolio. Don’t just use your in school art classes to work on pieces for your portfolio, but try to take classes outside of school if you can. It would be best to take classes in areas that you’re not very strong in so that you can improve your skill. Along with that it would be good to try working in new mediums that you haven’t tried before. You may even find a media that you enjoy more than what you had previously been focusing on! I found that I have a love for 3D art through some out of school classes that I took. Try your hand at numerous mediums; computer graphics, watercolor, oil paints, oil pastel, chalk pastel, charcoal, photography, woodworking, clay, metal, wood, glass, colored pencil, ink, acrylic, et cetera.

When working on your portfolio, there are some things that are good to note. You will need to include lots of observational pieces (pieces done from direct observation of real life) in your portfolio. For this DO NOT confine yourself to traditional table top still life. Try your hand at portraiture, figure drawing, landscapes, and interiors, as well as drawing random things (ex. faucets, a half-opened refrigerator, a towel tossed into the corner of your bathroom, light fixtures, and pretty much whatever…) Admissions staff really appreciate it when you think creatively about seemingly normal everyday things, and don’t confine yourself to traditional still life pieces. Composition is very important as well. It is not good to have the focal point of the piece directly in the center of the paper. Move things around a bit, and make things ‘flow’, bringing the eye to focus on several parts of the piece.

Another thing that I feel I need to note is that, even if you’re the next Kaori Yuki, most art schools will not care about your anime-styled art. Quite frankly, they do not want to see it in your portfolio at all, so keep anime-styled works out of your portfolio. Also, you should never ever copy another artist’s work for your portfolio. You can use other art as reference, but you need to alter it drastically to the point that it seems to bear no connections to the work of the other artist. Art schools don’t want to see students who are good at copying. They want to see students who are good at coming up with their own compositions.

Another note is that admissions officers like to see large scale work. They love the scale of pictures that are done on 18”x20” paper!

When putting together your portfolio, have your art teacher help you. A portfolio usually consists of 12 to 15 pieces. Of these you should have at least two examples of each of the following; 3D art, portraits or figures, still life. Five to seven of your works should be observational. It is also good to have a variety of mediums. My portfolio contains ink, charcoal, oil pastel, wood, metal, watercolor, computer graphics, and monoprint. Even though it is predominantly oil pastel, it shows that I’m good with other medias as well. However, DO NOT put in a piece in a different media just for the hell of it. Every college that has reviewed my portfolio told me not to include my clay, acrylic, glass, and oil pieces just to add more mediums, because those pieces didn’t show my strength as an artist. In the eyes of admissions staff, the strength of the pieces you include in your portfolio count much more than how many medias you include in your portfolio (though you should include more than one media nonetheless…) I would say that having at least three or four two-dimensional medias (two of which are colour), as well as at least one three-dimensional media would suffice.

Another thing which I highly recommend would be to get portfolio reviews from individual schools before you submit your final portfolio. Most art schools offer tours and portfolio reviews on request, so take advantage of that! Give the admissions office a call or send the school an e-mail requesting a tour and portfolio review. Most schools are more than happy to accommodate this.

Also, if there is a portfolio day in your area, go to it! This event will give you the chance to have multiple schools review your portfolio over the course of a day. It would be good to bring along parents, a cell phone, and a gameboy to these events. Your parents can hold your place in the four-hour long line for a portfolio review form RISD, while you get portfolio reviews from other schools and wait for your parents to call you and say that they’re almost to the end of the RISD line. The gameboy will help entertain you as you wait in line. Also, it’s good to bring a notebook and pen to these events, so you can jot down what the admissions staff tells you about your portfolio.

The final step in getting your portfolio together is, once you have pretty much all of your pieces together, you’ll need to document them. Most colleges accept portfolios on CDs, but a handful of schools do not. You should check each colleges website for how they want your portfolio, and if they accept CDs, whether it needs to be formatted for a Mac or a PC.

Also, a few schools have extra portfolio requirements. Of the 25-ish schools I looked into, Rhode Island School of Design was the only college to have such requirements. Extra portfolio requirements are usually things such as drawing a certain object and sending the original drawing in. Though such requirements are rare, they’re good to check out anyways.

I will be posting my portfolio as a reference once all of my acceptance and rejection letters are in!

The next part of applying to art college is the academic aspect. Some colleges are more lax than others, but most schools take academics into consideration. Your GPA usually has to be above 2.5 (meaning that the average of your grades is around 79-80%). Some schools are more lax than this; others are tougher than this. If an AP studio art course is offered at your school it is recommended that you take it. Just like with regular colleges, art schools like to see students who can handle AP work. If you feel you can take on more AP classes, then go for it!

Most art schools also require you to take either the SAT or ACT. It is good to begin taking these tests towards the middle of your junior year, and take the test at least three times. This will increase your chances of getting a good score. Each time I took the SAT, my scores were higher by a significant amount. If you are from a low income family, you may be able to get fee waivers from your school so that you don’t have to pay for your SAT or ACT test. Also, if you have spoken English for less than seven years, then you may take the TOEFL test as opposed to the SAT or ACT. TOEFL tests your English language abilities, and is accepted in place of the SAT or ACT at many colleges.

By the beginning of your senior year, you should have a list of colleges that you’re interested in. During this time you need to check and see what these schools require for writing samples. Most regular colleges with art programs will accept your standard college essay, but art specific schools usually require a statement of purpose instead. A statement of purpose is usually an essay about what drew you to art and why you wish to pursue an education in that field. If you check out the ‘admissions’ section of most art colleges’ websites, they’ll tell you what sort of prompt you need to write on. Make sure to give copies of both your essays to your English teacher, and let your art teacher see your statement of purpose, so that they can help you edit them and make sure that they are what colleges are looking for!

Alongside all of that, you will need three or more letters of recommendation for most schools. Ask both your guidance counselor and art teacher for recommendations, as well as at least one other teacher.

It is good to include a resume with all of this. This should include a brief history of your family and home life, your achievements, your job(s), and any athletic, community service, civic, or extra-curricular activities you have been involved in during high school.

Finally, you will need to fill out applications. The Common Application (which can be filled out at http://commonapp.org/) is accepted by many colleges, but most of the art specific schools I’ve looked into do not accept it. If some of the schools you are looking into do accept it, then by all means, fill it out! As for colleges that do not accept the common application, you can usually either fill out an application on their website and e-mail it, or fill it out and snail mail it to the school.

You also need to have you SAT and/or ACT mailed to the colleges to which you are applying. You can do this through the SAT or ACT websites.

You should also schedule an interview at the school, if possible. Though interviews are not required by most colleges, an interview may give you an edge over other applicants, so it is definitely recommended.

Once all of this is cleared up, you should send everything out to the schools you are interested in. Here is a little checklist of things to mail them. It is best if you try to mail everything together.

-Application
-A Check for the Application Fee
-At Least Three Letters of Recommendation
-College Essay or Statement of Purpose
-Resume
-Documentation of Your Portfolio
-Your High School Transcripts
-Any Extra Materials the School Requires


Here are a few websites you should check out:

Fastweb.com- This is a website containing a list of scholarships.
Scholarshipexperts.com- This also contains a list of scholarships.
CollegeBoard.com- This offers online SAT registration and score reviews, as well as a pretty cool college search engine.
ACT.org- This website offers online ACT registration.

Even if you don't have a perfect portfolio, there are still plenty of options for you to get into art school. ^_^

Some schools have really high acceptance rates, so you may want to look into that. For example, Montserrat College of Art has a 91-98% acceptance rate (and it's right next to Salem, MA... it's a pretty cool location.), so even if you don't have as much experience in art as you would need to get into most art schools, you can always go into one of these high-acceptance schools, and once your portfolio gets better you can transfer to a more competitive school if you desire. Or you could always go into a school that dosn't require a portfolio. I know that Rhode Island College dosn't require a portfolio for thier arts program (they just require you to keep a certain GPA in your studio art classes during foundation year), so maybe you could find a school with a set up like that? Also, some schools (I believe Suffolk University does this...) allow you to enter a summer studio program, where you can work on and complete your portfolio, and go on to attend classes for your art degree in the fall. Of you could always take your first semester at community college, and complete your portfolio through the art classes offered there. Most colleges have application deadlines between January 15 and March 1, so these are good options for if your portfolio isn't quite in sorts yet (which would be perfectly understandable.... it took me almost three years to assemble my portfolio!)

Thanks, again for the insight, and I did look at those schools... not for me, because they're either too big, or in an area that I don't particularly like.

Well, I have found a college I quite like (called Pacific Northwest College of Art (in Portland, OR, and only 500 students)), and my art teachers say that I should get into any art school no problem (I don't know if they're just saying that, or if they're serious), but talking to the admissions people at the college, they said I could easily pass the portfolio portion of my admission, so I'm fairly confident I'll get in. (People don't just overlook a 3.5 GPA and a 2000 SAT score... XP)... But, yeah, I've been trying, and I've flushed out my work a bit... I might put up some more (they've gotten much better recently.)