Art Prof

Creating a portfolio should not be an effort that you have to do entirely on your own.  Yet it’s very common that many students do not take the initiative to seek out feedback and help on their portfolios. Don’t get stuck in your own ways with your portfolio and shut out any outside opinions.  Because […]

Table of Contents Make sure that you have both black and white artworks as well as artworks that display a full range of color.  Black and white artworks are important so that you can demonstrate an understanding of a wide range of tones and value,  and to explore contrast and lighting. The color artworks you show in an […]

Make sure that your portfolio represents a diverse range of art media! Showing many art media is a way to demonstrate that you have taken the initiative to learn and hone skills in contrasting art media.    If you have only few media in your portfolio, even if they are your strongest, you are sending […]

Drawings are the core of a portfolio You might have 15 digital paintings with an impressive amount of technical skill, but none of that will matter if you have poor drawings. In terms of drawing media, the vast majority of high school students are creating tight, conservative, photo realistic pencil drawings drawn from photographs. Drawing is not about just […]

Presentation matters Be sure that everything in your portfolio is neatly presented.   This means no white backgrounds, no dirty fingerprints, no random sketchbook drawings, no ripped edges, no half finished figures, etc.  It takes very little time (sometimes just a few minutes!)  to clean up your presentation.  The same drawing presented in a neat way […]

Drawing from life is rare nowadays Drawing from life is hands down the number one, absolutely essential thing to do that almost all high school students fail to do. This problem is so prominent, that drawing from direct observation is now the rare exception among high school art students. Following this one directive will distinguish your work from […]

Table of Contents Show you are open many subjects Depicting a wide range of subject matter throughout your entire art school portfolio demonstrates your willingness and interest to work in many contrasting ways. There is an endless range of possibilities when it comes to subject matter in a portfolio. Admissions officers don’t want to see […]

Table of contents What do I need to know first? Preparing an art school portfolio for college admission is not a casual undertaking, it’s very common for high school students to underestimate how much time and labor is involved.  Creating the artworks for an art school portfolio is not simply the amount of time it […]

Table of Contents How do think conceptually? Unfortunately, many art students are taught to learn technique and content separately. They are instructed to first focus exclusively on mastering technique because they are told that they are “not ready” to address the subject matter of their artwork. The consequence is that students develop technical proficiency, but […]