Leave your ego at the door.
Many students enter art schools with a confident swagger and self-assurance. After all, they attended many art classes in high school and easily outperformed their classmates in terms of originality, talent, and knowledge. The hard thing with this line of thought is that it generally results in pupils exaggerating their skill set and becoming overconfident in their skills. Students starting art school should realize that the slate has been wiped clean. Every other kid in your class is most likely a gifted artist. They, like you, were undoubtedly among the most brilliant artists in their high school, regardless of field, and they all picked an art school significantly to enhance that skill.
You will be disappointed if you come in with an ego and want every piece of work you do to be perfect. Your work will be sloppy and negligent, and your professors will note. Being modest is the unique approach to enhance your work and lay the groundwork for an art career. Arrive at school motivated to learn and keen to pick up new methods and ideas to help you develop. And, if you don’t rest on your laurels and work hard every day in class to improve your skills, you’ll get a lot more from your education and, possibilities are, you’ll become a better artist as a result.
Please keep in remember your major but made a decision quickly.
Because art is such a vast subject, art schools often offer dozens and dozens of distinct majors and disciplines of study. Some art schools require you to declare a major before enrolling, while others allow you to do so after you have begun your studies. Most students have a notion of what subject of study they want to follow once they start school. Perhaps they were a fantastic sketch artist in high school and believe it is the correct path for them, or maybe they are incredibly interested in the fashion business and aspire to be a designer.
Wherever their passions lay, kids typically have a notion of what they want to study. There is nothing wrong with that; nevertheless, it may behoove you to take a step back and evaluate all of your possibilities. At an art school, you will face many different disciplines within the profession, and pigeonholing oneself in one of those disciplines from the moment you walk into university may be counter-productive. If you are a fantastic painter, take some painting lessons and consider taking some classes on another topic, if only to get a sense of what studying different art forms is like.
However, don’t stick to that broad approach to your study for too long. Freshman year is for exploring your hobbies and discovering your actual passions. Still, after that, it is to your best advantage to concentrate on a certain topic and begin to focus your study in that area. If your education is too broad, you will struggle to stand out in any field, and standing out is what helps artists (or anybody) find work and become more desirable to employers. So, if you discover a subject that you truly enjoy and are excellent at, focus on it. And strive to be the greatest in that subject that you possibly can be, since specializing in one subject can help restrict your job search and may also offer you a leg up as you trying to jump-start your career.
Locate a Mentor
Teachers are hired largely because of their competence in a particular subject. It’s unusual to find art professors who are experts in chemistry or complicated maths. However, these professors may be beneficial in more ways than merely passing on knowledge and information; they can also be very important tools in helping you gain a leg up on a particular job or internship. If these professors are specialists in their fields, it is probable that they have been practicing their skills for many years and have developed numerous contacts with others around the art world.
Students must understand this and regard their teachers as gatekeepers to the professional world, not only instructors. It’s not a terrible idea to approach a teacher who is especially outstanding or with whom you have a good connection and ask for guidance not just on your schoolwork but also on your job hunt. Finding a mentor is crucial in any area, but it is especially critical for your development as an artist. While in college, a mentor can assist you in overcoming challenging barriers, supplementing your skillset with other abilities, or even unlocking aptitude and knowledge that you were unaware you possessed.
When you begin looking for a job, they may be able to assist you by getting you in touch with some of their contacts or by providing a glowing recommendation letter about your abilities and work ethic. These teachers might serve as a source of assistance for you. They can assist in guarantee that you don’t fall behind in school and that you thrive after you’re out of it. Significantly, there’s nothing wrong with putting your head down, getting good grades, and making it on your own. But if there is assistance available, especially assistance as helpful and valuable as these professors may be, it makes sense to use it in any method you can.
Consider Your Portfolio Serious
This appears to be a no-brainer for most kids who are already in art school. Because your portfolio serves as your CV, you should take its development exceptionally carefully. However, you would be shocked how many students do not devote enough time to their portfolio and instead add to it without much rhyme or purpose. This is ridiculous. Compared to the wealth of knowledge you are acquiring in school and class, the portfolio may appear to be a little element of your professional growth. The great news is that many individuals are eager to assist you in developing your portfolio at an art school. They recognize the significance of developing an exceptional portfolio and will do all in their power to supply you with all of the tools you need to create one. You must make use of these resources whenever possible. Don’t just make a portfolio and expect your effort to be done. You should build the portfolio, subsequently evaluate it, then have someone else review it, and then ask others who know much better if what you did is valuable or if your work would underwhelm employers.
Remember that your portfolio is the conclusion of your years at art school; it informs employers, professors, and everyone else about you as an artist, and we don’t simply mean your artistic abilities. As well, it should reflect aspects of your personality and be innovative and entertaining. So, when it comes time to develop it, make sure you spend a lot of time perfecting it.
Make Your Real-World Connections
Yes, art school is about learning. However, it would be best not to devote all of your time to the classroom and the campus. You must also be out on your own, displaying some desire and attempting to build a reputation for yourself in your profession by encountering individuals who are already working in it, as well as others who aren’t. If you find a mentor, they will assist you in making contacts, but every artist who truly wants to thrive in the marketplace should do the same. It doesn’t even have to be yet another fashion designer. Encounter some business professionals who can assist you acquire some business understanding; then again, it may come in helpful whenever you want to start your firm.
If you are a fine artist, visit galleries, attend graphic design seminars and events, and locate individuals in the fashion business who are ready to sit and talk with you about the industry. So don’t have to be searching for guidance; you need to meet these folks and lay the groundwork for a friendship or professional connection with them. If these folks are professional artists, there is a strong possibility that they have faced some of the complicated challenges that you may face at some point. Please make use of their expertise to help you achieve both in and out of the classroom.
