Traditional art schooling?

Joseph Silverman · Feb 2008

Every once in a while we get a thread about game art colleges, and the usual consensus is that a game artist is best off practicing on their own, and training in traditional skills.

However, for a change, what if you're interested in getting a formal traditional art education? I know at least some of you guys went to art school, and pretty much everyone on polycount has an opinion on everything, so -- what's the worth of going to an old fashioned, formal, traditional art school? Any experience with them? I've asked a bit on IRC before, and i figured i'd just throw the question out here.

sir-knight · Feb 2008

I have a strong opinion on the mentality of what my teachers considered 'proper' in terms of steps towards education in the field of animation but since I'm new here, I don't want to appear like a complete douche

It doesn't hurt to get instructed... A nudge in the right direction saves a lot of time with trial and error and frustration, but everything that can be learned in school on paper can be learned at home on paper, or forgo paper all together and learn the same in a digital space... a bouncing ball is a bouncing ball.

For the record, I am a graduate of a fairly reputable classical animation program. I enjoyed my time in class I enjoyed the work, I tried to make the most of it, and I persevered and made the most of what I could, even against the odds of coming out of it with my sanity and a port that got me a job

I'll stop there cause I need to stop myself from typing more

Eric Chadwick · Feb 2008

I went to RISD, totally worth it for me. Expensive school, but you get what you pay for, there are ways. Faculty was top-notch. Made it into the Italy program for the final year (like only 30 students), a life-changing year for me.

I really needed it too, out of high school I had no idea what I was doing, I liked art but lacked direction. Well, even at the end I didn't know what field I was going for, only afterwards did I choose CG. I picked Illustration as the major simply because it let me take the widest set of courses!

But one big advantage of a fine art school is to help you find yourself, and push you hard.

Like the old saying, you only get out of it what you bring to it. I worked my ass off, I was nearly antisocial, but I learned and improved a ton.

aesir · Feb 2008

It seems to me that the most talented students are always popping out of ateliers. The ones in Italy seem very nice.

danr · Feb 2008

i did something that was pretty different, back in the day ... when i started uni in 94 i signed on for english and classics. Due to the nature of the place (keele), a lot of students did a four year course, the first year being a foundation year - it was during this year that i learned of a new course starting up, a visual arts course that was the only one of its kind in the country : being 50% practical, 50% theory. Ditching classics, i signed up - interview wasn't much, just had to profess a like for patrick woodroffe and hammer horror, and i was in (not like subsequent years when it was over subscribed to living fuck).

anyway, it wasnt what you'd call a "traditional" art course by any means (lets forget for the minute that it was DUAL honours with english, not joint honours, which meant i was doing the workload of and earning two degrees at the same time) ... in a mad whirl of mixed theory tutorials and practical sessions we learned how to develop film and what that meant to french communists, how to precisely draw from life and how henry rollins would spit blood at us for doing so, exactly what fags lou reed would smoke, and so on. i also learned how to edit video, digitally and ker-chunkily, i learned infini D, early html interweb stuff, all sorts ... and, crucially, i learned photoshop. Not textures or painting, mind, but the core techniques for processing images digitally. Something i could add to the fact i could draw, a bit, which led me to trying my hand at a couple of proper digital paintings and landing my first job as a texture artist just cos i kinda fancied having a go at it one day (if you care, it was a copy of Edge around september 1998, with one of the double-spread Rare ads saying "hey! you could do this"). And now, i guess, i probably earn more than any of you fuckers, a ho ho ho

anyway, i'm sure its all *very different these days, but, yeah, a non-gamey course did me just fine. Oh, and an english degree. If you have an art director like mine, an english degree will help no end, believe me

Neo_God · Feb 2008

I would say since coming to art school, and learning more traditional fine art skills, my work has become better. However I wouldn't say that the majority of my training has consisted of "Traditional" skills, because for the most part my sculpture classes focus more on conceptual design. Although I also take classical figure and anatomy courses.

If you want Traditional Art schools, I would say Europe is your best bet, I think there are schools in Russia have not updated their curriculum in 200 years, haha. However this is a school in the states that I know follows the traditional method of teaching art and that is the "New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture", however they only offer a Diploma or Master Degree, and is quite pricey.

Ruz · Feb 2008

I went to art school for about 7 years . It was great. didn't learn a lot from tutors, but at least I was in an environment dedicated to art , so i picked up stuff from other students.
I studied mainly wildlife and scientific illustration and it really helped me when changing over to 3d stuff.
I was a watercolourist and airbrush artist, though pen and ink was fun too.
in terms of texture art, the art school experience was invaluable. A lot of 3d students I se these days can only seem to model and have n't got that many texture skills.

bounchfx · Feb 2008

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A lot of 3d students I se these days can only seem to model and have n't got that many texture skills.

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I wish I did more research before picking a school. I thought I had, but boy oh boy do I wish I had went to a traditional school now. it's catchup time in terms of drawing and painting

Fuse · Feb 2008

I think school and formal education is only as good as you make out of it... I've studied with plenty of airheads wasting their money away on a degree they cared little about and it showed.. At the same time if you put in the effort it can pay dividents.. I personally think it has little to do with curicculum or faculty or even the program. Hard work will determine if you benefitted from being in school or not..

bounchfx · Feb 2008

however good teachers can make all the difference in the world, and good courses help you get started on knowing what you need to know. I went to school thinking they were going to teach me all the important aspects and I finished without any lighting or texturing training, if I had known that these would not be addressed I would have worked much harder on the individual aspects during the curriculum. lack of regular drawing was my own fault, but more drawing classes would have only helped.

there would be no point in going to school if you thought you could do it all by yourself, which, in hindsight, yes, 90% of the stuff I learned in school I could have learned by myself through textbooks and online tutorials. blast.

Traditional art schooling?

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