Hey Saber! Did you ever go to art school? I've been considering it for a while but I don't feel as though I have enough potential to do so. If it's too personal you don't have to reply but I just wanted an artists opinion.
Iāll actually be transferring as a junior to CSUF this fall to start my animation degree! So yes, I have taken some lower division art classes, but honestly I think Iāve learned more on my own and my classes just gave me the chance to refine what I already knew.
Itās important to note: Iāve been drawing since I was 8 years old. Which means I have 16 years of experience under my belt. Iād been drawing for 10 years before I started college. And honestly, I feel like my art improved more in the two year break I took during the pandemic than it ever had before, just from the sheer amount I was drawing!
I also have been driven for a very long time. Since I was 12, I knew I wanted to be a storyboard artist, and eventually try to pitch my own tv show.
And as I get closer to entering the industry, Iām learning that the general consensus is your portfolio is what gets you hired, not your degree. You can get a Bachelorās in art, but if your portfolio isnāt There Yet, you may still need to keep at it for a while. You can never go to school at all, be completely self-taught, and have an amazing portfolio! There was a point at the end of 2021 where I felt like I had developed enough skills to build a portfolio, it was just a matter of actually making one, but I decided Iād rather get a formal animation education and build my portfolio with guidance from professors.
I donāt know what your current level of experience is, or what your goals are, or even what field of art youād like to be a part of (comics? illustration? Graphic design? animation? visdev? character design? layout design? storyboarding? 3D animation? live action vfx? game design/animation? etc etc) You say you donāt feel as though you donāt have āpotentialā, but that is completely up to you!!!!! If YOU are not confident in your art, your art will not be confident.
There are so many benefits of taking art classes! You can take as many or as little as you like! You donāt even have to try to get a degree if you donāt want to. Find a community college and look for art classes there. Maybe, you take some and you realize that an art career isnāt for you, but you still want to refine your skills a bit. Maybe you want an opportunity to try ceramics or printmaking or life drawing or watercolor. Maybe you go for the community, for meeting other artists in your classes or even the schoolās art club! Finding a group that can help inspire you but ALSO help you get feedback is, in my opinion, perhaps one of the most crucial steps to being able to improve your art rapidly. Iāve met some of my best friends in my collegeās art club. Art-focused discord servers are great for this too!
Donāt sell yourself short by thinking youāre ānot good enoughā for art school. You go there to LEARN, so itās ok if you donāt know everything. But you only get out of it as much as you put in.
