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Stick_Fig posted:I'm a designer specializing in newspapers, and due to economic tough times company-wide, my paper (a free publication that was actually near profitability) is likely going to fold, and if not, it's going to scale back significantly. Didn't get any response, so I'm gonna bump. I do have a bit of an update. I have an interview next week. They got back to me the same day, which is kind of impressive. It's close to where I currently live (Norfolk) and it's somewhat of a logical next step for me. I don't like moving but if this works out, it would be a great spot to land in newspaper design while I work on expanding my skill set more to focus more squarely on Web design. Plus, I wouldn't lose the severance package. It would be money in the bank. It might be worth it for that alone. Any thoughts or insight?
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Nov 19, 2008 21:54
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Stick_Fig posted:Didn't get any response, so I'm gonna bump. While it may not be directly related to web design, it's a start at least, right? Most jobs I'd genuinely be qualified for won't give me a call because I don't have the experience they're looking for. With this job you'd have at least that much.
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Nov 19, 2008 23:16
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KittenofDoom posted:It sounds like it's a job that's well-suited for your intended career path, then. Is moving the only problem? Yeah. Moving's tough for me; I think the nature of being ingrained into a community and then starting over scares me a little. But honestly, I guess if I have to be a realist, I have to be a realist. We'll see how it goes.
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Nov 20, 2008 21:23
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I have a question for people a bit higher up in the food chain. I'm currently looking for work in the Bay Area as a graphic designer, but I've hardly gotten any response for any of the dozens of online job applications (Craigslist, Monster etc.) I've filled out. I'm pretty well-rounded for a designer. I can do print, illustration, some web design, even a little animation. Unfortunately, without experience I need to be overwhelmingly good, and I don't know how to get there on my own. Assuming I have no experience outside of freelance work and a temp job in web design, what programs and skills would you expect a generic print designer to have? How about a web designer, animator, illustrator, or any other branch of the design tree? Can someone take a quick look at my portfolio and tell me what I'd need to include to be seriously considered for a decent job? If I don't have any projects in a certain area, print/animation etc., should I make one up on my own? KittenofDoom fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Nov 20, 2008 |
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Nov 20, 2008 23:43
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KittenofDoom, I'm kind of in the same boat as you; I'm fresh out of school and struggling to get my foot into the proverbial door. I like your portfolio, the only thing I'd suggest is maybe put things into categories. Now it seems a little unorganized. As I clicked through the images I'd be thinking, "this piece looks very nice... but what is it for?" In my opinion design differs from art in that design has to fulfill a very specific purpose. So, to come across as a good designer, you kind of have to make your intention with a certain piece very very clear. Just my opinion though, and any input from people who's actually in a hiring position would of course be appreciated  And definitely make something up if certain area seems a little weak; I've been doing stuff specifically with the intent of it being a portfolio piece. At the very least it makes me feel productive. Now, ranting time: I had a fantastic interview with a small design firm last week, through Craigslist no less. The interviewer was very impressed by my work - it was for a part-time assistant position though, and she flat out told me that she'd be willing to hire me as a designer, however she only has budget for a much smaller position which she thinks "would not allow me to fulfill my potentials." WTF. I'm taking it as a compliment, but still. So yeah, how do I get in the door, and how do I stay in there, unlike what I've just experienced?
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Nov 21, 2008 01:42
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KittenofDoom posted:I have a question for people a bit higher up in the food chain. I'm currently looking for work in the Bay Area as a graphic designer, but I've hardly gotten any response for any of the dozens of online job applications (Craigslist, Monster etc.) I've filled out. You need more print pieces that show your typography skills. It looks like an illustrators portfolio and not a designers. Also, get rid of the dead links. This is one of my in class pieces for expressive typography. Poem or song expression. I love Sweeney Todd's Epiphany.  Click here for the full 792x1224 image. I have an internship from my second interview and enjoy my boss. cheese eats mouse fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Nov 21, 2008 |
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Nov 21, 2008 02:08
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Don't worry about knowing programs, at that stage of your career the best things you can be are organized, motivated, reliable and able to talk about design. A lot of people are hesitant to hire newbies because they have a tendency to burn out or be flakes in their first real job. A lot of places do contract to hire now so make sure you're registered at the agencies like Filter and Visuals [there's more but I forgot them]. Those temp jobs can pile up into a decent living and amount of experience. Also don't just respond to postings, post your resume. Make it keyword-friendly so it'll hit a lot of searches. KittenofDoom: Your portfolio is an illustration/photo portfolio, not a design one. Kne.Li.: she thinks you'd be frustrated with the limited scope of the position and she's probably right. But you could still convince her to take you on if you want but what all hiring managers want to avoid is bringing someone in and then having to do it again a short time later.
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Nov 22, 2008 00:34
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qirex posted:KittenofDoom: Your portfolio is an illustration/photo portfolio, not a design one.  A lot of the more designery stuff I've done still has heavy illustrative content, should I include that in the place of some of the other stuff?
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Nov 22, 2008 20:20
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KittenofDoom posted:I was pretty sure that was the case, I just needed confirmation of it You really need to show you can do layouts like brochures and books. You know what a widow is right? Make sure you have none of those in your pieces before you put them up. Yea put the designer stuff up and let us know. Have you asked for a critique of your portfolio from your professors?
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Nov 22, 2008 22:47
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cheese eats mouse posted:You really need to show you can do layouts like brochures and books. You know what a widow is right? Make sure you have none of those in your pieces before you put them up. Yea put the designer stuff up and let us know. Have you asked for a critique of your portfolio from your professors?
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Nov 23, 2008 01:35
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I've been asking my family, teachers, classmates but the more I think and talk about things the less sure I am about anything. I'm 24, in my first semester of art fundamentals at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. Long story short: I went through 3 schools between high school and starting and sheridan through various programs which in the end were all bad choices and so i'm getting back to the only thing I love and care about: art. In going to those other schools and switching around, I basically exhausted every possible financial resource and am around 25k in debt with nothing to show for it, and scrounged to pay for this year out of my pocket. I came into the program thinking I wouldn't be able to do anything more for lack of funds. Now that I'm at school, I'm loving it and want to continue onto another program from here, either animation or illustration (leaning toward illustration). Either choice would be a 4 year BFA program, and I'd be loving 28 by the time I graduate. Also I have no clue how I'd make it happen financially. I commute an hour to school and the expense, school workload and time spent driving is all killing me and I really can't imagine keeping this up for another four years. I could move closer to school if I get into a program, but I'm married and my wife doesn't want to move and whatever we'll cross that bridge when we get there. All that said I absolutely want a career of some kind in art. It's the only thing I'm passionate about and I know for sure from the last 6 years that I absolutely can't be anywhere near happy doing any of the other poo poo I've been doing. Also I have no qualifications or useful experience in anything so art is all I've got. So now we come to the point where I have no clue where to go from here. I don't even know what I want to do. Like I said I'm leaning toward illustration because I want something as fine arty as possible, and want to develop my skills because this semester-so-far of art fundies is the only formal art instruction I've ever had. My teachers all say I can't do poo poo without some kind of diploma or degree. I'm considering even maybe finding some short graphic design program somewhere just so I can find something marketable. I'm in love with the idea of freelancing and being free to also pursue my own projects, and all I know for sure is that I want to have the skills to render any ideas I may have. I'm working on some comics on the side, but that's very slow-going as I want to get it right, and that's purely to exorcise these ideas from my head and put the story out there. If I can make money off it I will, but that's not the goal. Is it at all realistic to think that I can build a career with just art fundies and working my rear end off on my free time (while working whatever soul-crushing work I can find in the mean time) to build as diverse a portfolio as possible? Is it possible to build a career from just making posters for local bands and poo poo until I can land progressively bigger and bigger jobs? I feel like the clock is ticking and I don't know what the gently caress. I'm in crisis in every way possible these days and I need to figure out a plan. Help me, internet. I need some input.
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Nov 26, 2008 02:12
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General Ripper posted:I've been asking my family, teachers, classmates but the more I think and talk about things the less sure I am about anything. I've heard of debt relating to school going well over 80k, and that was in US dollars, too. It's easy to tell that this is what you want to do, even in spite of all the stuff that's in your way. It's possible to build a career off of freelance stuff with no education, but there is a lot you gain from a degree, beyond just the piece of paper. I'm self-taught in most of the design programs being used today, but my classes taught me to do things with them I wouldn't have even considered otherwise. There are things like typography, color theory and layout that are better taught than self-learned, too. The ability to receive and give criticism is an incredibly valuable tool, possibly one of the most important ones I was given. If I was left one my own, I would have kept going down the same stunted path I had started on my own. Having an education helped lift me out of that rut and set me in a better direction. It's awesome that you have a sense of urgency. I lacked that when I started school and it cost me 4 years of my life. So yes, it'd be great for you to do freelance stuff, but there's a lot that you can gain from a formal education you don't even know about yet. If this is what you love, and it's what you want to do, the other stuff should be trivial in comparison. (It might take some convincing, but make sure your wife is cool with it, too.)
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Nov 26, 2008 02:39
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How do I find a literary agent? Side note, if you are a literary agent reading this, contact me for making des monedas
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Nov 28, 2008 04:56
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FizFashizzle posted:How do I find a literary agent? Get the Writer's Market Guide to Literary Agents, filter by genre and acceptance status, cross-check their stated submission guidelines with their company websites, and start sending out pitch letters and pages. Don't do anything annoying like sending it sign-on-delivery or putting pictures and crap in the envelope. Or do it my way and write a whole bunch, get published in a lot of different places, and make a great impression on everyone you meet. Eventually someone will pass your name along.
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Nov 28, 2008 07:28
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Could I get some feedback on my Portfolio that I'm putting together for admission to art school? Excuse the low resolution images – InDesign's PDF export utterly confounds me. Known Issues: - Sketches section is empty. Workin' on it! - Game design images are a bit dark. - "This Portfolio" section is messy. I'm going to tidy those plans up a bit. Considering: - Adding a few more pages to show more process. They love process. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Nov 29, 2008 23:54
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The "this portfolio" page is a little too meta for me. Also the inside margin beneath the page numbers is uneven between pages and is kind of distracting.
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Dec 2, 2008 01:09
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Speaking of agents, I'm trying to find a headhunter in southeast Wisconsin (graphic design). Any ideas where to look, a listing of agents online or something? Needs to be regional, not national.
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Dec 2, 2008 04:02
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KittenofDoom posted:In my art program you would've been far from being "the old guy". There were people just starting their education who were in their 40's or even their 50's. This is pretty dead-on. Doing art in itself doesn't NEED to be taught, but the surrounding things that an art-based education give you are also really really important. I must agree on the criticism bit. Getting ripped to shreds by your professors really helps toughen you up and get some perspective on your work, while at the same time you learn to look at a piece and be able to see why it needs work and how it can improve, and how to express it. As for doing freelance successfully in the meantime without a degree, network, network, network. Did I say network? I'm an industrial design major, and all the freelance work I've done has been in either web design and illustration, and obtained through just knowing the right people and being recommended to people they know. For example I happen to know lots of people in the publishing world, my current illustration job is the cover art for a friend's book that's coming out under a major publisher. Previously, I did illustration work for an advertisment campaign for a book under another major publisher, because my other friend does collaborative work with them. So yeah, get yourself out there, make friends and connections, and make sure they know about your art. I'm not at all trained in illustration, or web for that matter, but I still get sweet jobs through people I know.
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Dec 2, 2008 11:24
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I was wondering if anyone here had any insight on the design or illustration career side of the retail/fashion world. That is, is it even feasible to focus solely on fashion-slanted marketing, illustrations and graphic design? I'm 23, my educational is in liberal arts/languages, I have a bit of background in visual merchandising - <mini-portfolio> here is a brief, old sample of my (not very good) sketches. I want to take some night classes in art fundamentals, put together a portfolio, and try to get into in-house retail merchandising, advertising design or freelance fashion illustration. I just would like a little advice on the art side of things: am I missing something important or being unrealistic? I know I need to learn more about design and polish my skills in illustration, color etc. I just never see much information on fashion in particular and I want to make sure I'm not focusing on something too specific. Thanks in advance.
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Dec 3, 2008 02:42
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Authentic You posted:This is pretty dead-on. Doing art in itself doesn't NEED to be taught, but the surrounding things that an art-based education give you are also really really important. I must agree on the criticism bit. Getting ripped to shreds by your professors really helps toughen you up and get some perspective on your work, while at the same time you learn to look at a piece and be able to see why it needs work and how it can improve, and how to express it. Thanks to both you and Kitten of Doom. I'm applying to both illustration and animation and will see what comes of it in the spring. I definitely want the education but there are so many obstacles I want to give myself as solid a plan-B as possible. I figured for freelancing, knowing lots of local indie musicians, I could start doing promo art or concert posters for them around here, maybe start one of the zine ideas I've been throwing around forever and getting my name out there and developing more for my portfolio. I've also got 3 cousins in the creative field, all of whom went to my school. One's a 3D animator/concept artist, the other two are web designers/illustrators and all three have been helping me along the way, so I'm trying to maintain good ties with them to have connections when I get to that point. I want to build up as big and varied a portfolio as possible, throw it on a site and start sending people there to see it.
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Dec 3, 2008 05:51
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I'm a junior in High School looking to attend The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, is there anything I should know about it? I've heard that they dont really look at your GPA or Portfolio, Is this true? Is there any general tips for applying to an art school like this?
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Dec 3, 2008 06:09
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KittenofDoom posted:
I think you need to specialize a bit more. My first portfolio had print, web, 3d, animation and the works. But when it comes down to it, people are going to be looking for an animator OR a graphic designer OR a web designer, not someone who can do all three. Obviously having the skills to do it all is good to have but being an expert at say print design will get you a lot further then being a jack of all trades I think.
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Dec 10, 2008 11:43
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LiquidPropaganda posted:I'm a junior in High School looking to attend The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, is there anything I should know about it? I've heard that they dont really look at your GPA or Portfolio, Is this true? Which one? The School of the Art Institute, or Art Institute of Illinois - Chicago. They're extremely different schools. I went to the Art Institute of Illinois - Chicago and it's pretty much a glorified trade school. Came in without a portfolio and any sort of art training. Left because its not really the best environment if you want to do more "artsy" art stuff. One piece of advice though take as many classes you can with Welsh, he's easily the best instructor there.
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Dec 13, 2008 04:34
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Hungry Ghost fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jan 9, 2020 |
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Dec 15, 2008 12:10
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Hungry Ghost posted:I have a question. How much does it matter where your BFA is from once you get out into the real world? You need a good portfolio and good connections to succeed in a creative field after school. The portfolio is all on you (and to a certain extent your teachers), so staying in a place where you feel comfortable and can do your best work sounds like a good plan to me. Connections come from internships and low-level industry jobs you get while in school, so I would avail yourself of any resources your school has in that department. If you're good at what you do nobody's going to go "pfft, MCAD... NEXT!" The one advantage to being a creative is that you can show examples of your work. If you're a lawyer or an accountant employers have to make guesses about your performance based on your resume, so schools become very important. For you, if the employer wants to know that you can draw a circle, he can just flip to the "circles I have drawn" section of your portfolio, you know?
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Dec 15, 2008 18:41
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Hungry Ghost posted:But here's the thing: I'm paying about the same (more or less) at MCAD as I would be at, say, SCAD. SCAD is considerably more well known than MCAD in the industry, so I'm a little worried that I might be wasting my money staying here when I could switch to a more prestigious art school. Don't go to SCAD. I got punched in the eye riding my bike back to the dorms my first week there. And a few weeks later 4 black kids decided to steal a car, run a redlight, and totally gently caress my car up. It's a great school, but for the pricetag and the neighborhood you have to put up with it's not worth it. Unless you get some godly amount of scholarship money I would not recommend it.
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Dec 16, 2008 06:44
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Hungry Ghost fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jan 9, 2020 |
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Dec 16, 2008 08:31
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Downtown Savannah is like any other urban area. Yes there is crime, but unless you do stupid things (walk around alone drunk, join a gang, try to buy drugs on the street, etc.) you most likely will not have any problems. There are places to stay away from but it's pretty obvious. Savannah is a cool city to live in and not worse than most places, so don't let stories of  OMG CRIME scare you away.
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Dec 18, 2008 04:01
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brad industry posted:Downtown Savannah is like any other urban area. Yes there is crime, but unless you do stupid things (walk around alone drunk, join a gang, try to buy drugs on the street, etc.) you most likely will not have any problems. There are places to stay away from but it's pretty obvious. Savannah is a cool city to live in and not worse than most places, so don't let stories of Did you even read my post? I got punched in the face riding my BIKE down a MAIN ROAD for no reason other than me being white/looking like an art student. You have to be loving retarded or a recluse to even think that Savannah is better than your every day urban area. Savannah is a lovely city. Sure the weather is nice, but it smells like papermill and poo poo every 2-3 days. There's such a large division between locals and students that they take any chance they can get to gently caress us "invaders" over. I've lived nearby Boston for the past 18 years of my life, and never have I once seen any nearby "urban" areas as lovely as Savannah as far as aggressive locals go. If you've got rich parents who can treat you to a loft on broughton st. and buy you poo poo like hummers and vespas then sure go right loving ahead and blow your parents money. If you're looking for the best living situation combined with education then go to a more populated city area that's NOT in the South. If you don't have rich parents feel free to put up with SCAD's horrid student transportation, and get used to having your first few semesters of classes spread out into every corner of the lovely city. ceebee fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Dec 18, 2008 |
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Dec 18, 2008 04:12
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Why do I get the feeling that "looking like an art student" means you were riding around with a furry tail and ears or something? I didn't even really need to click through to your website to see the poorly done anime to confirm! If you don't like the South that's cool but I lived in Savannah for 4 years and have no idea what your rant about "invaders" and "aggressive locals" even means. There is crime in Savannah but you won't have problems if you are not a moron. Also if you didn't know that SCAD had no central campus before you enrolled for that big bucks tuition maybe you should have done more research instead of whining about rich kids with Hummers?
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Dec 18, 2008 07:31
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KittenofDoom posted:The majority of my design work has been package design and single-page spreads like posters, where there's more room to stretch my legs as an illustrator. The main reason I'm trying to be a designer instead of a straight illustrator is the desire for a steady paycheck. In your first post you said quote:I'm pretty well-rounded for a designer. I can do print, illustration, some web design, even a little animation. Unfortunately, without experience I need to be overwhelmingly good, and I don't know how to get there on my own. But from what I see you can't really do anything that well. My school pushes the idea of being 'T-Shaped' - be really, really good at one thing and have a wide range of skills across the board. You're going to get hired for that one thing, but the other skills are going to change how you think about things. On a basic level, even if you don't code the final website, understanding HTML and CSS will improve how you design websites on paper. Understanding photography will improve your art direction of shoots, even if you're not the one behind the camera. From what you've shown you're sort of an illustrator with some basic web design and ???. I don't see the print design, at all. I prescribe a heavy diet of designing CD covers and flyers for local bands and taking on everything you can in SA-Mart and the Spec/Freelance thread. I don't know if I'm being harsh because you're the one with the degree on your CV (which is too long, by the way, keep it to a page or two), but you're trying to sell yourself as a print designer and I just don't see it. Zygar posted:Could I get some feedback on my Portfolio that I'm putting together for admission to art school? Excuse the low resolution images – InDesign's PDF export utterly confounds me. - Margins aren't even dude! - You're cutting across gutters and stuff, don't do that, sort of nullifies the nice grid you have going on 
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Dec 18, 2008 14:00
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Zurich posted:I know this is too late and you got into uni and whatnot (well done!), but anyway - Thanks – I did manage to even up the margins a tad before I had it printed but yeah I'll keep the gutter tip in mind. I did get a bit inconsistent with it at points, aligning stuff to the inside of the gutter for some elements, and to the outside for others, and I'll try to avoid that in the future.
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Dec 18, 2008 20:22
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brad industry posted:Why do I get the feeling that "looking like an art student" means you were riding around with a furry tail and ears or something? I didn't even really need to click through to your website to see the poorly done anime to confirm! Ah forgive me and my horrifically furry anime site. I'd try photography but unfortunately 99% of the skill in it is how much you're willing to spend on a camera and fix the pictures up in Photoshop (don't even try to make excuses). Maybe you should go outside more, since you don't seem to get that Savannah is in fact a big ghetto with sugar coated areas for tourists and students. Don't get me wrong SCAD has great potential, but it's in such a lovely area the negatives outweigh the positives. Not to mention the administration is full of idiots, and those idiots are handling all your money.
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Dec 18, 2008 21:42
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I'm a semester away from graduation and I still have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with this stupid BA in English. Maybe I should go to career counseling or something? I don't really know.
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Dec 18, 2008 22:08
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Hamelin posted:I'm a semester away from graduation and I still have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with this stupid BA in English. People with BAs in English usually use them to go to graduate school.
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Dec 18, 2008 22:54
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Hamelin posted:I'm a semester away from graduation and I still have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with this stupid BA in English. Try to be a copy writer at an ad firm?
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Dec 18, 2008 23:39
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Maybe I should add I live in Michigan. I'm starting to really stress about this. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do after I graduate. No goals, no plans, no career ambitions, I just don't know. It makes me a little sick when I think about it. I would love to be able to answer my family when they ask what I'm going to do with my degree, but I can't come up with any answers.
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Dec 19, 2008 01:50
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Hamelin posted:Maybe I should add I live in Michigan. http://english.unc.edu/undergrad/careers.html Googled for a list of English degree career choices and got this for reference. Pick one or two and specialize. The only way you're going to get a job is to be good at a specific field of English. If all else fails you could always teach English in a foreign country until you figure out what you want to do with your life.
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Dec 19, 2008 02:11
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Jabe fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Oct 12, 2012 |
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Dec 19, 2008 11:14
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| # ? May 16, 2024 10:41 |
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Zurich posted:I don't know if I'm being harsh because you're the one with the degree on your CV (which is too long, by the way, keep it to a page or two), but you're trying to sell yourself as a print designer and I just don't see it. I'd say that I'm not lacking in skills, just lacking in work that proves it. I sort-of updated my portfolio with a couple of print pieces I did a few years back, and got rid of the horrible frames (seriously I don't remember why I used them). There's plenty more to add and improve on, but are the first two designs not embarassingly bad, at least?
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Dec 19, 2008 19:34
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