How do i prepare for art school HELP

heyy, I'm someone who went to art school and like another commenter said, maybe just don't? I don't mean to dishearten you but genuinely, art college or just getting the degree is super expensive and once you get into the job industry, it's a completely different scene and they don't pay you well enough to sustain your life either.

They do judge you on portfolio and job experience basis and it's pretty hellish and kinda sucks out the joy in making art tbf BUT you can try taking part in short term courses basically, they're fun and you learn almost the same things you would have at art uni while also sketching and trying out diff things on your own, like media wise (soft pastels, watercolors and such) and in the process of trying out things you will develop works to built somewhat of a portfolio

If you're still stuck on where to start from, some of the things I learnt in my first year were perspective study, still life drawings, drawing lines without a scale literally, shading, anatomy, diff media usage, creating a fully rendered short comic, portraits are some from the top of my head

Completely agree with redacted!

Definitely make drawing or even doodling a habit, even 10 minutes a day will do whether its copying another artwork, drawing from imagination or doing some observational sketches whilst on transport. I personally used a small sketchbook for a while to do this on my way to and from school, it also basically provides you with a small portfolio (imo anything could serve as a portfolio so if you practice, you will have material for it so throw it in during uni application perhaps) as it shows your development and will also be proof of your dedication to art. A lot of places look for motivated students and evidence of improvement.

If you're struggling with getting into the habit you can always stay within your comfort zone and tone down the pace of your learning (anatomy, perspective etc) if it creates a better and more enjoyable environment for you to draw in. Fundamentals are very difficult and take a lot of time to learn, you'll be gaining knowledge about art for about - the rest of your life, so take your time and don't rush things (unless you plan to go somewhere with higher standards)


I'd heavily recommend finding some channels on youtube that are relevant to the type of art you are doing. If you're doing fine art there are plenty of people online who can guide you through different mediums and fundamentals in a way that keeps you motivated, and you could draw along with. I personally am planning to get into concept art so I've found related artists such as Sinix and Trent Kaniuga who have shaped my style to be more painterly and assisted me in getting out of the habit of being a perfectionists and focusing on fine details, when the larger image/composition should've been my priority.
(Trent often talks about his career as well, so having his longer videos in the background has often been a source of motivation for me and can even put me in a flow state haha, so definitely find your people and community!)

As redacted also concluded its important you don't get burnt out. Don't force yourself to practice too often, don't make art feel like a chore and take short breaks when needed. Mistakes are very frequent as well, so use them for your own benefits, learn from them instead of trying to fix them. If a piece is beyond saving, leave it and move on. You will create and by extension practice more if you don't try to "finish" / "detail" every single piece you make.

(๑•ㅂ•)و✧ stay diligent and have fun learning! attend live/group drawing sessions if available and gather yourself some art people or even a rival to compete with if necessary to keep you motivated ^^

Personally…uh. As someone who went to an arts college. Maybe don’t.

Since you’ll spend a huge amount of money on learning an industry that doesn’t care what school you went to, only about the quality of your portfolio. Maybe consider requesting to audit classes? Or do it as continuing education? Since that’s cheaper?

I know the concept sounds romantic and inspiring and wonderful, but the juice ain’t worth the squeeze, bby.

If you still insist, I would also put out that the programs are starving for people precisely because the industry is crumbling and doesn’t make good money. They will lower their standards to fill their seats, so it’s not really worth stressing over. For a pseudo-portfolio, have a sketchbook ready to show some of your work. For practice ahead, draw from life and maybe practice with the Line of Action website. Reviewing your basics is always a good idea. Maybe take up some art challenges to sharpen your skills.

There are lots of inexpensive to free ways to better your art. College is a pursuit of vanity at this stage. Go at your own risk, aware that the chance it ruins you financially is sky high.

get the habit of drawing something, anything every day. when we started we first had lessons on just drawing circles and lines (straight and fast) to get used to it and then a lot of perspective exercises, cubes in one point/two point/three point perspective. when u can draw a box in perspective without doing the guidelines ur pretty much solid. learning composition can be helpful too, together with values (get an imagine in grayscale with one light source and redraw it as best as u can, add colour to make it a bit harder).

if you wish to mainly draw humans then shapes are also still needed but for poses it’s good to draw some poses as “stick”-figures within a time limit (ex. 2 min -> 1 min -> 30sec) it forces you to focus on the overall figure instead of hyper focusing on details early on.

but yeah would say just developing the habit of regular drawing (no matter how small or silly) is what really gets u further, and always have fun. throw in some things u wanna draw for fun in between practice so u don’t burn out. wishing you the best of luck and hope u enjoy your time there!!