|
Hello, thread.  I'm looking for a bit of advice, but need to get out my general backstory first:I'm currently attending an in-state school aiming to be a Visual Communications major. I just completed my foundations year and will be spending the next year as a Photo major because I failed to make the cut into the VisComm program. 18 people get in every year after a portfolio review/interview and I just happened to slip through the cracks, for any number of reasons. I was pretty bummed, to say the least (I had multiple current-VisComm-major friends, worked with them as a layout designer for the college paper, who checked my portfolio and was convinced I was a sure-fire in). So I heard from my boss, a VisComm major herself, that one of the three VC professors was hoping that we rejects would go and talk to him about not making the cut, so I did. The professors basically told me I was almost in, that they had to guarantee several of the already-few spots to foreign students every year, that they let in five reapplicants who didn't make it the year before, etc. etc. After I kept meeting with the professors, they actually were impressed by my persistence and petitioned the art department to let me into the program that year despite not making the initial cut (which they've done before)--but the art department said no dice. So many good people got rejected this year that they would require reopening and redoing all the interviews for the sake of fairness (meh). So where I stand right now is I'm staring in the face of a five-year graphic design degree, spending my next year taking whatever art classes I feel like and finishing up my gen-eds. I'm also taking an independent study with one of the VisComm professors after pursuing any possible avenues to take any VisComm classes that I could. I basically have my foot completely in the door for next year's VisComm class, all things considered. I'm divided over a lot of things. I'm perfectly happy and extremely excited to be going into graphic design, and I would not mind in the least to be stepping into that career field for the rest of my life. However, it's not really my "dream"... at least, it's not the biggest and best of my dream careers. My most passionate interests lie in concept design/3D modeling/animating... lots of digital animation stuff. I would be more specific here and sound less uncertain but I should probably be sleeping rather than writing this post  I've thought about going ahead and doing my graphic design degree, and then going on to getting a master's in something more related to what I'd rather be doing. But I don't know if this is actually feasible at all. How could I get into a grad program for something I have very little experience in? It doesn't make sense. Would I have to go back and get another bachelor's? The real kicker here that makes most of this post, sadly, conjecture, is that I really can't afford to go out-of-state--at least, not to an art school that would have the kind of respectable program I'm looking for (  at least not for my undergrad!). For reference, SCAD was my absolute dream-school throughout high school, but when it came down to it I just couldn't afford it, nor justify bringing that amount of debt on my head (even factoring in the projected "$10,000 a year in scholarships" that the advisers I spoke to told me). I think if push REALLY came to shove I could somehow manage it, but, well. The reason I wrote about being set back a year is that, well, I had all my poo poo together and still got set back a year and now have to face a five-year undergrad here unless I switch schools and/or majors, so I thought it might be relevant to any feedback in that vein.Still, I'd really like to get some feedback on this if possible, even if it's not what I want to hear. That is, for the sake of the post, let's pretend I could switch schools at the drop of the hat. Am I setting myself up for complete and utter devotion to graphic design with no looking back? If I follow through at my current school, will I need to start back at square one for digital animation? Will I get anything out of going into a grad program? Thanks
mareep fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Jul 18, 2010 |
#
¿
Jul 18, 2010 06:11
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 05:00 |
|
|
ceebee posted:It sounds like you're spending too much time worrying about what school/what major and not worrying about what will get you a job. You're right about what I'm worrying about, but I think it's more in a "these things appear to go hand in hand" way. Of course it helps to know that I'm the kind of person that puts a lot of stuck in getting that degree, despite the fact that it's the portfolio that counts. It's not that I place too much reliance on the course itself for magically blessing with me the skills I need to get a job, but that the environment helps, being surrounded by students approaching work at different angles teaches you new things, etc. etc. Not to mention the achievement that goes along with the degree. That is, to get "the job" as it were in digital animation, it would make sense to go to school for that (if I want the degree in it). You're right about doing it on your own, and it's not like I'm NOT doing that. I guess I just still place a lot of personal emphasis on being in the best environment for concentrating on one area or another. This is why my question was "is it feasible to think I could go to school after the fact for 3D stuff, or should I switch now to avoid having to get another BA if it turns out that's what I really want to do?" I said it before, it's not like I have any "problems" with being in the graphic design major. On the contrary, I'm pretty loving excited and I look forward to it and I could easily see myself working in that field for the rest of my life. I guess this is mostly just a case of "let's say I have a desperate need to be a digital animator. What should I do?", although I can really only say my desire to work in digital/3D only slightly outweighs my interest in becoming a graphic designer.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 18, 2010 21:15
|
|
|
Slashie posted:Then your answer is clear: Get your graphic design degree, have 3D animation as an intense and rewarding hobby, and let your 3D animation portfolio be that amazing extra thing that catches people's attention when you're out looking for creative jobs. All those job distinctions kind of smoosh together out in the field anyway, and that's only going to happen more and more. It's not like anybody's ever going to say "Well, she's a great animator, but I'm not sure we want any graphic design people around here, blech." Thanks, this is really direct and exactly what I needed to hear. I can't pretend I have a great understanding about how the "real world" of design/art jobs works because I'm just not at all there yet, so this is really good to hear, even if it was sort of obvious in hindsight I guess v  v Thanks Slashie!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 19, 2010 01:26
|
|
|
I'm no veteran, but I'm a graphic design student in Oklahoma, and (obviously) a lot of emphasis is beaten into us about internships/jobs. Even internships are a bit hard to come by, although if you were looking to be unpaid it'd be easy to find one. I think your best chance to look outside the state if you want to advance your career, especially considering Oklahoma really is not the best place for any art or design career. I'd say look pretty much anywhere else you can; the opportunities are much better out-of-state. Since I'm just an undergrad myself, I can't say anything about grad school, though. Good luck!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2011 22:53
|
|
|
HorseDickSandwich posted:There are a few really stand out places here, but they are so small they hardly ever hire. I've been looking primarily out of state, and I think that really is the best bet to find a good job. Whoops, missed this. I'm at OU and really loving it. Definitely looking to get out of the state come graduation though!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2011 17:36
|
|
|
I love our OU  I was aiming to go to an out of state art school but definitely couldn't afford it. I'm just really happy the program here turned out to be so awesome (to me anyway). I couldn't be happier where I am right now! But unfortunately not so much planning on sticking around in-state.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2011 05:07
|
|
|
thylacine posted:Hi, I'm in the integrated marketing comm. class in the middle of loving Kansas and they have incredibly low standards. Your text is really cramped in those boxes, and the typeface isn't super interesting either. It's not terrible, but it is kind of a boring design doesn't sound like your program has much to offer you though. If you have that low an opinion of it, you probably aren't going to get much out of it; I'd look elsewhere. I'm a design student in Oklahoma, actually, and while I love my program, I'd say you'd definitely want to shoot higher for places to work  doesn't seem like there's much going on down here as far as design goes.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2011 05:53
|
|
|
Does anybody have any experience with CalArts grad programs? Kind of a shot in the dark but I'd love to hear more about it. I couldn't afford to go there for a four year degree, so I'm getting my bachelor's in graphic design at a state school, but I've always planned on going to grad school (I just really love being in school, honestly). CalArts costs a bajillion dollars though. Their most appealing program to me is Character Animation, but that's only a bachelor's and I'd really like to get my master's in something. The Experimental Animation program has a master's... but honestly I'd rather be taking the Character Animation classes. And on top of that I noticed they've posted on their website that one of their master's programs for graphic design is a specialty in motion graphics, which I'm also very very interested in pursuing. Anyone know anything about this?
|
|
#
¿
May 2, 2012 20:25
|
|
|
Yeah, essentially I'm a graphic design major at the moment but I'm 'specializing' in motion graphics; some graphic design programs have legitimate specialties but ours doesn't, so really I'm just doing everything I can to incorporate motion into my normal projects and learn as much as I can about it while I'm an undergrad. I'm located in the midwest but I'm actually interning in LA this summer (with a motion designer) and plan on checking the school out while I'm there. I graduate next year and plan on working for a few years before I go to grad school but mostly I'm interested in polishing my skills with some more targeted academic guidance rather than just doing it all on my own.
|
|
#
¿
May 3, 2012 07:11
|
|
|
Yikes, just a heads up Fortis but I also clicked the first picture in your Pixel Art section and had to close your website (in Firefox). Didn't click anything else so it might be an overall problem.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2012 22:24
|
|
|
Huh. I just tried it and it did the same thing at first but I just refreshed and now it's working fine. Maybe it was just my browser. The site looks good, everything's easy to see and view. The only thing I don't like is the type — it's not really hard to read but I think it detracts and doesn't look very good. I'd stick with something smaller and cleaner.
|
|
#
¿
May 8, 2012 18:33
|
|
|
I feel like I should throw myself out here and see what comes back. I've read through probably this whole thread and it's full of great advice! This is me: caitcadieux.com I'm graduating with a BFA in Visual Communications from a state school in May. I want to get into animation or something to do with film or games, but I've really no idea how to tighten up my portfolio or what I should add or do to increase the chances of that. My primary focus in school was on motion graphics (but the program itself is primarily print and branding based with a more recent lean toward environmental graphic design and UI/web, so this is mostly self-taught, although I did have a really helpful internship in Los Angeles last summer where I learned a lot about After Effects). I also have always had a real interest in concept art — I totally do not have this represented in my portfolio but have considered building that up. I'm also working on a pretty big semester project that will involve a lot of concept art, as well as introductions to 3D modeling, rigging, and all that good stuff. I don't have any of this to show in my portfolio to my satisfaction, but will have plenty to show for that in a couple of months. I guess it's confusing because I'm essentially learning whatever I want in a program that really isn't at all bent toward what I want to do, so any feedback for that would be awesome. I feel like primarily what I'm missing, for the kind of job I'd LOVE to do, is a lot of polished digital art. But crits for this portfolio as is are more than welcome, anything at all really!
|
|
#
¿
Feb 25, 2013 22:09
|
|
|
redjenova posted:I feel like I should throw myself out here and see what comes back. I've read through probably this whole thread and it's full of great advice! ...anyone?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2013 04:16
|
|
|
mutata posted:Correct me if I'm wrong, but what you are essentially asking is whether your graphic design/motion graphics portfolio is a good start for a possible animation/concept art/something-something digital art job in games or film. If this is your question, then the answer is no, it does not. Thanks! Essentially your last paragraph was what I was looking for, and what I could work on if I wanted to build up a portfolio for something more concept art related. Obviously the answer is concept art! But my current design portfolio is built up primarily from college assignments, so it just naturally developed into what it is now, and I'm not going back to school for concept art or 3D or anything like that. Thank you so much though! The UI stuff I hadn't really thought of. Chernabog posted:As it stands, for games, there's nothing in your portfolio that demonstrates that. If you want to do game animation you need to have a lot of cycles, attacks, jumps and stuff like that. If you want to do concept art, like you said, you need to work on that. 3D modeling? A bunch of models. You get the idea. Really? That's weird about the last frame, I could have sworn up and down I edited that. Ah well. I'll have to fix that. At any rate I'm polishing up my motion graphics portfolio a lot in this last semester. My design program has no specialties and is very print and branding and the tiniest bit of web stuff so I've kind of done my own thing in the last year to animate and learn After Effects and so on. Which is how the AT one was made, but it was basically the look I was going for, very puppeted. I would tweak it to make that look better though! The Videodrome video is basically that, essentially my first After Effects projects. I want to keep the portfolio polished so maybe I'll lose that piece. There are some more recent things I've done that would tighten it up a little more than it is now. Thank you! As for the other stuff I guess it makes sense to just get in it and do as much work as you can. I feel pretty confident in my drawing ability that I could do this, but I don't think it would be at any sort of professional level any time soon. Stuff to think about! mareep fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Mar 1, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2013 15:14
|
|
|
Anyone have any experience with transitioning from a strong design background to a more technical field? Right now I'm thinking of going back to school for industrial design (master's) in the next few years, but I really don't feel informed enough about what that will actually mean for my career/financials, and what I really want to do. I have a BFA in graphic design and I'm interested in doing something with more of an engineering bent. This is super vague, I realize, but I'm casting a pretty wide net here just trying to gather information! Anyone willing to chat would be very much appreciated!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2015 12:40
|
|
|
Thanks for the advice! I haven't nailed down industrial design quite yet. Part of the reason for my vagueness is that all I really know for sure is I'm ready for a next step/change, and I'm flushing out my interests to see what's viable. UI/UX is something I've definitely looked into, but for some reason most info about it online is aggravatingly vague beyond 'do web design' and 'learn to program'. It's likely I'd just need to find a way to talk to some people actually doing it, though. I'll keep this in mind, I am trying to pick up more math/programming in my free time so I may be on the right track after all! If anyone here is a UI/UX designer, I'd love to talk!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2015 16:28
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 05:00 |
|
|
Have you considered getting into more motion graphics type work? A lot of it can be done remotely, and I built my career up working almost totally remotely for the first few years out of school. I did end up having to move to a major city for a full time opportunity but now work remotely full time in that same position. It's not at all an easy path but it's a little easier than it used to be!
|
|
#
¿
May 20, 2017 15:08
|
|