Article on Formal Art Training
polycounter lvl 19
I took some time to write up an article about formal art school training. I'd paste it here but I'm still editing, so I'm providing a link to my site version which will be updated as I edit. This is much more applicable to US schools, which is where I have the most experience so far. Comments, suggestions, input, flames etc are all welcomed but I reserve the right to ignore or follow them as I see fit. :-)
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/formal_art_training.html
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/formal_art_training.html
Replies
Which leads me to a question. Not really a comment, suggestion, input or flame, but anyway. If I'd want to do 3D modeling for a living, would I have to do a (digital) art school? Or is it possible to self-teach you enough art skills to make it?
As for crits, what you have so far is pretty solid. I'd suggest adding some more options for aspiring artists, such as mod work. Great way to hone your skills in a pseudo-production environment, and meet and network with a bunch of other artists. Though all that really varies from team to team.
Another tip would be to include something about the importance of networking and sharing as much as possible with your fellow artists; a ton of what I know about 3d came from discussions and critiques with fellow artists/students. There were some outstanding artists in my class that never really talked to other people, and even though they had very strong traditional art skills, their 3d never really got up to par because they never learned anything besides what the teacher taught. The people that really excelled and got good jobs straight out of school were the ones that shared everything they learned with the people around them, and thus were able to learn a lot from the people they shared with, almost like we became one big hive mind of knowledge (10 heads are better than 1 eh?).
Anyway, I digress. Good article, hope my "crits" help.
It would be nice to see a small section in the next article about portfolio design and website construction as well as polishing up the rusty parts of applicants personalities. We as a community have pretty much exhausted the debate about construction and athesthics and some of that wisdom would be helpful to have in your next article. Personally I would stress making it as simple as possible and maybe even just using "PhotoShop File>Automate>WebPhoto Gallery" for the quickest way to get your stuff out there.
Actually I'm planning on a second article that's kind of a how-to for making yourself as attractive to employers as possible and it will include all the items you've mentioned Ferg. :-)
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Blonde wig and lipstick?
Sorry, mind drifted for a moment there.
Great read and so very true here in the UK too. For your portfolio article do you think maybe you could have some showreels up from various artists and review them, covering the good and bad points? I think that would be helpful and give people a better idea of what level they should get to if they expect to get into the industry.
an art degree in itself is completly useless piece of paper unless you have something to back it up, no matter where you got it. An MD means your a doctor, you dont have to prove your doctor, it just says it, right there on that piece of paper and people see it and they say, "hey, check it out this dudes a doctor! rad!"
With an art degree people see it and they say "PROVE IT!!"
so you do,you show them and in our industry they say, "well here prove it again, BUT i am telling you what to do!!!"
and i feel for the most part why our "certificates" mean nothing is because of the "wow thats neat, maybe put some more blue on it" way we approach art education. there is a right and a wrong way to draw anatomy, there is a right and wrong way to portray day light and neon light. in most programs if you get a question wrong you get a mark, in art you get - a talking to about what is wrong, and a half letter grade difference than the art prodigy in the same class.
probably went off a bit too much, but i think we both feel the same about the dime a dozen art schools. resturants are franchises not places of education.
Portfolio design and website construction is one of the backbone parts of the next article.
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yes... Now that you are doing all this teaching and tutorials dont you think its time to change your domain name and online name to become more professional? What about ben mathis.com? Im not trying to make a jab towards you or anything its just hard to take someone serious with a name like poopinmymouth. Anyone else agree? Also your site colors make things hard to read and is kinda a turn off from your site. Just some things to think about when you do that next article.
As far as the colors on my site, I'm going to have to disagree, as I like text that isn't full on black and white contrast, which hurts my eyes. I've also never had anyone comment on the read-ability before.
You sound a twinge bitter a couple times in that article, poop, and I think you have a few misconceptions about the requirements for a college professor. If Oprah wants to teach a class, she'd get to teach a class - adjuncts are not held to the same standards as tenure-track faulty.
Actually Verm, I am a bit bitter. I sat in on a panel focusing on industry and academia at GDC. A lead artist from WoW sat next to me and said something like this, "I'm a good artist on a successful game, and I like to teach, yet because I don't have a masters degree, none of your schools will let me teach."
The moderator then turned to the academia and said, "Is this true? Would you not let a lead artist from one of the most successful games of all time, teach at your schools? Surely you could find a way?"
The academics couldn't back pedal fast enough. None of them had a good answer on how he could teach at their colleges. One offered him to come in as a student but he could surreptitiously teach as a student-teacher. That's not good enough for me. If I'm qualifed to teach, let me teach. I know of several highly skilled people who have tried to teach at various schools who have been turned away because they lack the proper degree. Regardless of the number of schools that use my tutorials as part of their curriculum, none of them have come up with a way for me to teach other than single day workshops. So if there is some valid way to have a full time class for someone who desires to teach, yet lacks a masters degree, most of these colleges don't know it.
So a school can use my free materials to add value to their overpriced courses, but when I want to teach in person, they are unable? Yes, bitter is a good adjective.
Im sure we're the expception to the rule though. We've got a bit of an odd program here.
(on a side note, when, if you are, are you planning to get your master's degree poop?)
(on a side note, when, if you are, are you planning to get your master's degree poop?)
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right after I finish my bachelors. :-)
And actually I realize that some schools are not yet at the level of needing masters degrees. I think it's the cutoff of when they want to jump from college to university. Either that or being acredited. Regardless you must have a bachelors, which I'm also lacking.
My basic point is, if the industry you desire to teach about, has never asked a certain requirement of you, then a school shouldn't be so hung about it either. The different types of employment have changed radically from the days when universities were created. One hundred years ago a degree was mandatory for most skilled positions. However we now have several fields that are new enough that universities haven't been able to keep up with in terms of testing and ensuring ability. The universities should evolve as well and have alternate methods of endorsing a teacher as well.
I know a lot of artists who are great at their jobs and amazing traditional artists. Alternatively I also know a lot of amazing artists in this industry that can't draw to save their lives. And even further into the world of alternatives, I know amazing artists who can't wrap their heads around creating cubes within a computer application.
So, I think this article is good - but needs to open up and not be so wrapped around one ideal.
I won't even touch the teaching comments, theres not enough time in the day.
(also, LMU is a university and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.(whoever that is) Although I will grant you that the animation department is a bit young still)
...yeah, the bitterness is apparent
The initial issue would be that you lack a grounding in the fundamentals. There are tons of talented artists who can just *poof* create art, and it's beautiful. They don't understand how they do it or what makes it great, it just comes out naturally. That's fine in a professional enviroment, but educators have to be able to know the how and why of things, so they can pass it on to the students. A formal education implies an understanding of the processes behind the art, and the assumption that you can get that knowledge out of your brain and into someone else's. I'm not saying you would have this issue, but it's what a school would ask.
The second point, which I will agree with, is that you've made your mark entirely in a specialization. I expect that you could easily adapt your abilities to be a graphic designer or an electronic art professor or whatever, but extreme specialization doesn't help you with most schools (and I am definitely not a fan of game-oriented degree programs, not at all). If your experience or portfolio was more diverse, and a prospective faculty could see a range of application from your skills (be it product design, brand identity, interactive media, God knows what), you'd be more valuable to them.
Insofar as finding a teaching position, I think it's a lot like it is with finding a regular game gig. When you were ready to start finding employment in the game industry, you didn't knock on iD's door and ask them when you should report for work. You proved yourself in lesser jobs, on lesser titles, etc. The attitude of "That's not good enough for me. If I'm qualifed to teach, let me teach" wouldn't have worked with your career, so I don't think you can necessarily expect it to work in education.
I don't know what the situation is like in California for education employment, but I'd expect that the easier way in the door would be to de-specialize some. Don't only look to teach video game content at art institutes, but look for chances to teach courses on any kind of interactive 3D at UCLA, for instance. The design world is crazy for things like that - product demos, interactive walkthroughs, all things that are more traditionally associated with design but use the skillsets of a video game artist. That's exactly what I taught the first year I was a professor and actually did convince the program director to let me do a class purely on real-time 3D modeling based on prior courses' success. I only had a bachelor's degree at the time, and they were entirely taking me at my word that the course had value (despite Cincinnati's rep as one of the nation's best design schools, they're still fairly clueless on non-traditional media).
Since public schools are much more open in terms of enrollment and require instructors to cover a tremendous range of courses, I think you'd have a better shot there. They're more likely to take a chance on an "uneducated" instructor one semester at a time than a specialist art institute is, simply because their reputation isn't riding on your performance near as much.
I could be wrong, but that's how I see it work. And whetehr you're interested in the degree or not, I wouldn't rule out the student-professor back door option. You don't have to finish your degree, and while it isn't your ideal, what has being stubborn about what's "not good enough" brought you other than bitterness?
Widen your approach, come at it from different angles. Academics are often a hide-bound group, and you'll have to sell yourself in different ways to get them to buy.
Overall, yeah man, solid advice, but give it a little spit-shine and bring it all the way home. You have the urge to communicate, take it the last few steps and you've got yourself a bulletproof little article there.
It should read as a bit less bitter. I've also added more tips on trying to find a good school at the end, which is really what I intended the focus of the article to be about. I got a little carried away with the negative aspects and forgot. hehehe One of the reasons I pimp it around is to get good feedback to update and change it.
- BoBo
I can't draw at all. I can COPY (look at another pic and paint something identical). But I can't just whip out some amazing landscape painting or anything.
But I can sure as hell build a good looking environment!
If you're looking for an art job right away, then I agree that schooling is a good option. But if you don't need an art gig right away, I'd suggest working on some mods and gaining experience on the platforms. Learn as you go, don't force feed it to yourself.
The one thing I would recomend including would be the importance of working in teams. In school, you have several opportunities to work in a team. I'm not so sure people that are completely self taught will have those skills.
As far as references go, I was surprised you didn't touch on the importance of a strong hold on perspective.
@Bryan Cavett: I don't agree. I remember when I first stumbled upon Ben's sight (mainly due to the name). It's sort of a "man...poopinmymouth.com?! I have to see what this guy's all about." mentality. It's unique and fun. His work speaks for itself, and the sight makes him stand out from the norm.