I need 3 more credit hours at my community college?!

ZacD · Oct 2009

Well I need to be a full time student for health insurance and other reasons, and my college's animation/cg classes aren't too great.

Already taking Sculpture 2, Life Drawing, and Drawing 2, and need 3 more hours... any suggestions? There really isn't anything else art related left besides cermaics and 2D design.

Em. · Oct 2009

Some sort of art history,architecture or world culture study type class? The few classes I've taken like that, I've found the info I picked-up really useful.

danshewan · Oct 2009

ZacD wrote: »

Well I need to be a full time student for health insurance and other reasons, and my college's animation/cg classes aren't too great.

Already taking Sculpture 2, Life Drawing, and Drawing 2, and need 3 more hours... any suggestions? There really isn't anything else art related left besides cermaics and 2D design.

Does that mean you're already taking the classes that aren't that great? If not, take one, ace the class and keep your insurance. If you are already taking them, what is their 2D design syllabus like?

Firebert · Oct 2009

yeah if the offer art history, take it... architecture would be the most useful... and was my personal fav next to photography... never hurts to have that pure knowledge under your belt, and you'll also see a ton of stuff you probably had no idea existed that you may get inspired to go and model

jipe · Oct 2009

You could always take something that isn't directly art-related but serves to make you a more well-rounded person. Writing, history, philosophy, psychology, etc...

jakelear · Oct 2009

I'm not sure how intensive the classes at your school are, but 3 studio art classes is going to be a pretty huge time investment if you want to produce anything that's decent. I would suggest taking something else that you are interested in, but also that won't be too difficult, because most of your spare/schoolwork time is going to need to be devoted to those art projects.

Mark Dygert · Oct 2009

CPR and first aid...

Richard Kain · Oct 2009

Take a programming class. The credits for programming are more likely to transfer than any art class. And if you are wanting to work in games, it can't hurt to have a little programming under your belt. I'd suggest C#.

bearkub · Oct 2009

Take a public speaking class, a simple mathematics class, an interpersonal communications class, a physical education class to get some planned exercise. There are a lot of things you can take not directly related to art that will help you immensely in any job and will broaden your abilities.

ZacD · Oct 2009

danshewan wrote: »

Does that mean you're already taking the classes that aren't that great? If not, take one, ace the class and keep your insurance. If you are already taking them, what is their 2D design syllabus like?

I think I have to enroll in the program to take those classes, and any intro class isn't going to be much fun, aka, this is how you draw in 2pt perspective. There was an asset class, but there's 3 prereqs

snemmy · Oct 2009

ZacD wrote: »

I think I have to enroll in the program to take those classes, and any intro class isn't going to be much fun, aka, this is how you draw in 2pt perspective. There was an asset class, but there's 3 prereqs

Maybe not fun, but it is still practice!

moose · Oct 2009

ceramics and 2d design sound like good ideas, both of which are applicable to digital art, probably moreso than sculpture. having good design skills is not something many have, its good to learn more about that stuff and hone those skills.

danshewan · Oct 2009

Of all the suggestions, I'd opt for architectural history (or equivalent), then ceramics and then 2D design, though doing something outside of art will probably go a long way towards maintaining some kind of balance.

I don't know man, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Choose something useful that you can get your teeth into and that will benefit you later.

Jeremy Wright · Oct 2009

I'm with bearkub, take something not art related. You'll be glad you did.

Fencing, public speaking, culinary arts, etc.

Oh, but don't make the mistake my wife did. She signed up for Astronomy thinking she would get to study the stars, use telescopes, etc. Intead she wound up doing tons of space physics calculations, and they never once used a telescope.

Vonklaus · Oct 2009

I have to agree with 8ftSpider and bearkub! I would personally suggest a speaking class. I can't believe how beneficial my class was, I will be giving a presentation to around 150 people in a week or two and I am actually looking forward to it! haha I would try to meet the teacher of the class you are interested in. Ultimately, your experience will depend on the teacher!

Best of luck to you on your descision!

rooster · Oct 2009

something film studies related would be my pick

Target_Renegade · Oct 2009

Do they do archaeology where you're at? I studied it on my year abroad in university, mediterranean archaeology, very interesting and we got field trips to sites all over the place. Doing fieldwork and collecting samples in the countryside was a good experience. Like 8ftSpider and bearkub say, you could try some carpentry, or any work that is hands on, or sport, to get the mind working on something less personally involved to get freshness.

ZacD · Oct 2009

rooster wrote: »

something film studies related would be my pick

the closest I found was ENGL - Masterpieces of the Cinema, but it seems like its more writing based instead of having a cinematic and artist perspective.

rooster · Oct 2009

do you mean it's writing about cinematography, or the course is more focused on scriptwriting?

ZacD · Oct 2009

Students verify their judgments by summarizing and analyzing these important concepts, using discussions, and writing effective, well-organized essays in response to cinematic presentations and explanations.

moose · Oct 2009

ZacD wrote: »

Students verify their judgments by summarizing and analyzing these important concepts, using discussions, and writing effective, well-organized essays in response to cinematic presentations and explanations.

writing a thoughtful essay is a useful skill to have

The class cannot, and should not have to have "an artists perspective." YOU are the artist's perspective, the class is just information and knowledge. Having to write papers shouldn't put you off of something you are interested or curious about.

The synopsis sounds like it would be a good class, you get to learn about film, talk about it, and express your artistic viewpoint based on the knowledge you learn in research and texts.

rooster · Oct 2009

cinematography and mise-en-scene have some pretty useful paralells with environment art and characters

ZacD · Oct 2009

Then wouldn't like a directing class be more useful... is there video classes like that? I know we have tv cameras and stuff but I can't find what those classes are called.

danshewan · Oct 2009

ZacD wrote: »

Then wouldn't like a directing class be more useful... is there video classes like that? I know we have tv cameras and stuff but I can't find what those classes are called.

They'd probably fall under the title of video production broadly speaking. This kind of class would definitely be useful - I studied video production for four years back in college, and worked in broadcast graphics before I decided to focus my efforts in getting a job in games, and a lot of what I learned in video production still very much applies to games.

Saying that, a lot of what would be beneficial about an AV production class to your work in games is going to be theoretical so if you absolutely have to be producing art to feel like the class is worthwhile, you probably won't enjoy it.

I need 3 more credit hours at my community college?!

Replies