Accepted RISD Portfolio 2019 - Walkthrough 

This is higher education art. I guess a good way of thinking about it is would you expect a mathematics major to know basic arithmetic through calculus before getting into a university program? Same thing with art. Even if you haven’t taken formal art classes, the hope is that you’ve honed your skill and passion on your own.

Well, for me it should be like that, I study in a design school and I always feel slowed down because everyone else still don’t know basic stuff, so I feel like I’m not showing my full potential

Yea I just went for an art major at a liberal arts college instead of going to and 'Art School' the program was slightly more forgiving

weird flex but ok

Really depends on the school...

When Asian do something, it is expected to be done right. Jk. It is well put together though, art is great too.

seriously?

Just checked the sub count because of this comment and same. Job well done 👍🏻👏🏻

@@yamilet16 She definitely deserves more subs. Her content and art is high quality

She’s at 4K now! It’s definitely well deserved

I really hoped to make something genuinely valuable (and nice to look at), so your comment means a lot to me

I completely, completely second this!!

Yeah I don't know what the big brains at youtube tweaked about the algorithm, but this is awesome.

haha she has 26K now! growthhhhhh

40k now!

i'm extremely glad to hear it's relevant outside the art school community; thank you!

same!!

To clarify, CalArts and RISD both cost around the same w/o financial aid (;_;), and the character animation program at CalArts is equally prestigious and much more selective than RISD. However, my decision was not based on the school's selectivity. I wanted to go into animation, and I was fond of the community I found there. On another note, I think RISD's prestige is founded on the vibrant artistic community it nurtures; I would disagree that it's considered amazing mostly for its prestige.

@@lemoncholy Lol yeah sorry I actually thoguht this was the RISD+Brown program when I commented. (The ivy league was where I was referring to prestige). I guess I thought it was the Brown program because your portfolio was so amazing.

Wrong. They don't look for imperfections, they look for your ability to speak and express using art. One very common misconception about art is photorealism is good. They are rarely good unless you have a strong composition.

You made this comment a year ago sooo did you attend the risd or anything else?

I'm really glad to hear it helped! Take care, and best of luck with your animation portfolio 💪

you got this 💪

you have time! make as much work as you can, working on technical skills but don't get hung up over it. try to express ideas and really hone in on your own creative voice; this will come from experimentation and looking at lots of other art.

Don't worry! I go there and when I was a senior my work 1st semester still wasn't up to par for risd, but I kept practicing and improved a lot by 2nd semester when it was time to submit. Though technical skill does matter, if you focus your portfolio on that you will not get in. You have to let the judges know you have a story to tell.

@@Kessekom same here but now im on my last year of hs 😭

CatInaBox hello fellow canadian!

I definitely feel that way! Just being exposed to so many different styles and ways of drawing has changed my art.

Audrey the cat nerd don’t ever give up hope if art is what you’re passionate about. Firstly, if you’re worried about skill, just remember that you have all your free time to practice and get better before you actually apply. Experiment and learn new things. Second, RISD is what you would consider a “top” art school, and you don’t have to attend that school to become an artist. Set your sights lower and practice just as hard and you’ll end up in the same place after school. Lastly, you don’t even need an art school education to become an artist. Whether you’re freelancing or applying for jobs, your work is the most important thing. As long as you have good work, you’ll find good work.

Not all art schools are like this. RISD is pretty high teir

If you really want to get into an art school, you'll need a strong mentality to do so. Though some things are definitely out of your control, you've got to control what you can. For some, it takes several tries to get into the school they want to, and the common denominator to their success is determination and hard work.

Goodbye art dreams, it was fun in a while haha

sameee ughh its kinda my fault cause i kept putting it off and i feel so behind now cause i still dont even know the basics

aaa, thank you! i put a lot of thought into these pieces and i’m glad it was noticed ☺️

same

I do my best ^-^

really glad it helped, hope it goes well!

Hey, I'm a student there if you want some help I'm willing to help!

(*´ω｀*)

Thanks so much! I can’t tell you how many hours went into adjusting text, colour correcting, and changing other tiny, tedious things, so it makes me really happy that you enjoyed it ☺️

I'm sorry that you don't have the support you should have, especially when so much of your financing ability can depend on your family. It's gonna be a tough journey, that's for sure. There doesn't seem to be a good answer to the dilemma of following your passion at the expense of losing respect vs. being "responsible" and regretting your choices (not to mention that going into art requires a certain level of privilege). However, I do believe that once you're in the right community, you will find people who very much believe in the importance of art careers in society. Just remember that somewhere out there a small Canadian girl supports and legitimizes your goals.

Yeah, that's something I definitely appreciate about North American school curriculums. I know how it feels though - I went to a program that was ill-suited for my interests and would not let me take higher-level art courses until admin had a change of heart, but at least and I had a choice whether I wanted to quit or stay. Out of curiosity, what is the cultural scene like where you are? And is a career in the arts respected?

Thanks for the suggestion! I did consider making the background black, but I was too attached to the line quality of the edges to do so. I also considered adding more detail (more signs, textures, etc.) to fill up the white space but I feel as if my original composition is already too compact to make the additions look natural. It's more of a poster than a work of art - I'll just have to be more careful next time.

Hello, you raise some good questions - I'll do my best to respond. I don't think it matters what stage your art is at - there is always something to learn and to improve upon and it should always stay that way. I'm flattered that you think my work is nearly of professional quality, but I still see large gaps that separate my art from industry standards. I learned so much during the first month because I was exposed to so many things I wasn't aware of (you don't know how much you don't know until you learn about it). To be specific, I haven't learned about drawing outside my own practice, but I've learned a ton about design, storytelling, and of course, animation. That being said, school to me is still much more than what teachers can teach you. If anything, I'd argue that the environment is much more important. My classmates are my largest sources of inspiration, possible future colleagues, and through friendly competition they motivate me to stay focused and improve. In contrast, I didn't go to a high school that prioritized art as a discipline, and didn't find many people who challenged me creatively. As a result, I grew complacent - I didn't draw much and experienced little improvement. The resources offered at school are also helpful. From industry guest speakers to cintiqs to being located near LA, it makes work and making connections a lot easier. (The thing with art is that just being good might not land you a job - you'll need to know the right people too). All in all, no, it's not necessary to go to an art school to be an artist (the only real way to get better is to keep practicing). But, art school can certainly help you stay on track, offer you resources that would otherwise be difficult to obtain, make it easier to make artist friends, network, and be exposed to crazy stuff. Whether or not it's right for you really depends on how you like to work + if you have enough funds. I'm not extremely self-directed as a person - I need to be surrounded by competition and other external stimuli to get my own shit together, so art school makes sense for me. I'm also extremely fortunate to be able to afford education that supports my working habits. Not to sound like a testimonial, but my experience at CalArts (so far) has been invaluable - I feel like I've been developing the artistic voice I've always wanted. To answer your second question, standards vary per school. For instance, if you apply to a competitive program like Character Animation at CalArts, you'll have to have good ideas and be good at drawing, but no actual animation experience is required. In general, I'd recommend looking at more portfolio videos (accepted + rejected) for the schools you're interested in to gauge the skill level needed. I would definitely not call my work professional. Sorry for the word vomit, but I hope that helps + thanks for asking!

that's a heartwarming thing to hear! i'm currently trying to balance art school and life, so i can't promise any videos soon but there will be videos

woah, I'm happy for you!

Yᴀ Xɪɴ Lᴜ thank you for the kind words! i don’t know for sure if portfolio reviews are guaranteed, but it seems unreasonable to me that schools you select would discriminate based on skill level. RISD did get back to me promptly, and on the AICAD portal it says “please allow 14 business days to receive feedback”. i suspect the lack of response might be because of the large volume of requests - i’d advise emailing admissions about it. wishing you the best of luck!

funny that you should mention disney - i'm pursuing animation now so most of my current works look "commercial". but, i'm working towards finding my own voice in design that diverges from more conventional, widespread styles. thanks for the feedback!

celina, i can always count on you for a play on words ;) hope everything's going well on your side too

as someone just starting out, i'm curious - what's the thing you missed most about being in art school?

lemoncholy being around fellow artists and awesome professors who work their dream job everyday! They work extremely hard but they are all so inspiring and cool

Hi! Thanks so much for the kind words! 1&3) I took IB SL Art in grade 11 and about 1/3 of my pieces came from the course (2 semesters long). Some art assignments can be quite limiting, and I definitely feel like the art you make on your own provides a better sense of your artistic abilities and identity. It's all about standing out. 2) I started collecting art for my portfolio during the second half of gr 11. I have a feeling this is pretty late - many people start around a year or more before the deadline. I definitely struggled with the timeline (lots of anxiety during the last month when I was trying to pump out as many pieces as possible), so I recommend starting earlier than I did. 4) When applying to art schools, the quality of your portfolio usually matters MUCH more than your grades (the extent to which grades matter vary per school: while RISD values good grades, academic scores are the last things CalArts checks). Universities certainly do not look at your middle school marks; what they see are your gr 11 marks, and gr 12 first semester marks. *Please note that I go to school in Canada so it might be slightly different where you live. 5) I started in the summer before my gr 12 year. I had 6 months, but it was barely enough time to finish 100 pages, especially given the workload from other IB courses and extracurriculars. Another note: The IB program at my school was very limiting because initially, SL/HL Art were not offered as course options. It took a lot of asking around, nagging admin, and luck. If it didn't run, I would have been forced to take a biology or physics course, and completing my portfolio on time would not have been possible. (If that scenario had played out, I would have dropped out). Good luck with your portfolios and IB! They're both challenging tasks, but with enough dedication and active efforts to improve, you're sure to do well