How to Make an Art Portfolio for College Admissions

Applying to art school isn't just about putting your favorite paintings from high school into a leather tote purse and sending it off. Preparing an application for art and design programs is a meticulous and exhaustive procedure that takes months, even years, to get right.

When information technology comes to art schoolhouse, everything starts with creating an art portfolio.

What is an fine art portfolio?

An art school portfolio is a drove of piece of work that represents your abilities, interests, creativity, and overall development equally an artist. Whether you're a painter, illustrator, sculptor, photographer, videographer, graphic designer, or a fleck of each, impressing your dream schools requires forethought, a critical eye, and the willingness to share work that's personal.

Although most fine art and pattern institutions evaluate a range of materials—from personal statements, to written tests, to interviews—the portfolio is an indispensable window into your potential and intentions as a student and artistic person.

"The nigh solid portfolios we receive really evidence a personal, direct, and informed presentation of the applicant's work, with full knowledge of the program and a passionate, focused reason for why they're applying to our program specifically," says comics artist Nathan Pull a fast one on, who is Chair of the Visual Narrative MFA program at New York's School of Visual Arts.

In that location are many crucial steps when deciding how to create an artist portfolio that is effective and impactful. It might seem overwhelming at first, simply incorporating the post-obit eleven principles into your process early can mean the departure betwixt an adequate art schoolhouse awarding and an outstanding one.

Art School Portfolio Preparation: 10 Principles

1. Outset edifice your art portfolio early
2. Go familiar with the art school programs yous're applying to
3. Create original work for your art portfolio
4. Experiment with your fine art portfolio
5. Include artwork that highlights your strengths
6. Consider works-in-progress to your art portfolio
7. Portfolio curation is everything for college portfolios
8. Effectively certificate your art portfolio work
9. Nourish National Portfolio Twenty-four hours
10. Think nigh the large picture beyond your portfolio

one. Commencement building your art portfolio early

If you're considering applying to art school, information technology's essential to kickoff thinking about which media excite you, what your strengths every bit an artist are, and which programs you're interested in. You should begin preparing your application immediately, and the best way to first is to get in touch with previous fine art students and artists who've been through the plan.

"Creating a portfolio should not be an effort that you lot take to make entirely on your own," writes Rhode Island School of Design professor Clara Lieu on her blog, Art Prof. "Visual arts is no unlike from whatsoever other field—you have to become an exterior opinion to ameliorate. Take the initiative to go a thorough portfolio critique from an art teacher whose opinion y'all trust, a professional artist, or an art professor who has experience helping students become into undergraduate programs."

Getting feedback on your artwork from a diversity of mentors is vital because everybody has different ideas about what constitutes good art and what will impress art schools.

"Knowing what people's sympathies are and what kind of work they're used to looking at is important for understanding the implications of their critiques," says Brandon Geib, a graphic designer who recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. "When I was preparing my portfolio, my high schoolhouse art teacher looked at ane of my pieces and said, 'This is your best piece of work. You should put information technology at the front.' Then an art school representative looked at the same piece and said, 'You lot could accept this out. Information technology doesn't really matter.' I had the same feel vice versa with a different project. And then in that location's a lot of ambivalence."

Asking several trusted mentors and peers for feedback will go a long way to building an artist portfolio that best represents your work. Y'all'll want to do this well in advance of your submission deadline so you lot have time to consider changes.

2. Get familiar with the art schoolhouse programs you're applying to

All art and design programs are different, and the blazon of portfolio they want can vary widely. Reading and re-reading awarding guidelines throughout the process allows you to cater your portfolio to a specific audience and contain their individual requirements as your ideas progress and your work develops.

"Don't be agape to reach out and ask questions, copyedit your materials, and ask each program what they are looking for in an bidder," says Pull a fast one on. "I tin't tell you lot how many times I've talked to applicants who realized they could have asked simple questions beforehand that would have helped them in their conclusion making and how they applied."

As well as contacting professors, explore the specific styles of art they teach and produce. "Looking at the work that graduates and faculty are producing not merely gives yous a adept understanding of the type of work a detail school fosters, it as well helps you lot effigy out whether y'all'd like their program," says Geib. "Y'all could realize, 'Okay, this is a high-ranked school, merely I'chiliad non interested in the work they're doing.'"

This kind of familiarity also gives y'all a sense of the educational and artistic community that you're hoping to join. "When an applicant shows that they really researched what we do in our classroom space, our specific projects, and what our alumni are doing, information technology says that they've taken the time to understand u.s. instead of just reaching for a name or a place," explains Erin Stine, Managing director of Undergraduate Admissions at Parsons School of Design.

3. Create original work for your art portfolio

When submitting an art portfolio for college awarding, schools don't want to see that y'all are really good at copying other artists' work. They want to see that yous have your ain heady ideas, and the ability to realize them. A expert way to express your originality is to make full your art portfolio with pieces that are clearly unique, whether information technology's a work of direct ascertainment or a project that displays novel and inventive thinking.

According to Professor Lieu, when submitting a college art portfolio most of the portfolios that loftier school students submit to RISD lack straight observational work altogether. "This problem is so prominent that drawing from direct observation is now the rare exception among high schoolhouse art students. Just doing this one directive will distinguish your work from the crowd, and put you lite-years alee of other students. That means no fan art, no anime, no manga, no glory portraits."

Another way to showcase distinctive work is to create subjects that y'all detect personal and engaging. "In the best-case scenario, a student's portfolio volition be a reflection of their personality, what they're excited about, and what they're interested in, and will feel like a visual representation of them," says Stine. "Of course, nosotros want to see stiff technical abilities. Just we really want to run across what you're interested in making art and design near, what issues you're responding to, and how you're using visual design to explore the globe. We're very open, so the possibilities of what you tin submit are quite broad."

While assembling his application portfolio for art school, printmaker, illustrator, and installation creative person Noah Lawrence never worried about whether or non evaluators would similar his piece of work. "To me it was, 'I believe I can do fine art, which is why I'thou applying to this plan—hither's the art that I tin can do,'" says Lawrence, who studied fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. "That might have been a bit vain, looking back. I never did any research into what portfolios were supposed to expect like by and large—I just read the program'southward criteria and thought, 'I tin practice this and more.'" Tailoring your college fine art portfolio to the specific criteria of the program yous're applying to can exist a good way to narrow down the work y'all include.

4. Experiment with your art portfolio

Every art and design establishment will value particular elements of your portfolio over others. But that doesn't mean they won't be impressed and excited by something unexpected or unorthodox.

"Within each wide category of art that I featured in my portfolio, like 'photography' or fifty-fifty 'street photography' or 'studio photography,' I tried to get even more than specific by experimenting," says Geib. "For case, I looked at different ways of overlaying and developing film in addition to playing with things like composition."

One of the benefits of refining your fine art portfolio over a long period of time is that you don't have to decide what to put in an art portfolio on your showtime endeavor. Remember, if you become out on a limb and don't like the concluding product, you lot can ever redo that particular project. Sometimes the strongest pieces in a body of work are the ones with the most tumultuous development process, requiring many iterations to come to fruition.

"It's exciting to see that a pupil has stretched in order to experiment with a type of piece of work or a concept that I'd be unsure about if you lot described it to me, but that'south really effective when I encounter it fully realized," says Stine.

The lesser line: there's no one reply to the question of what an art portfolio looks like. The contents and presentation volition vary from artist to artist.

5. Include artwork that highlights your strengths

Submitting a diverse fine art portfolio is a bully way to permit whoever evaluates your work know how excited yous are about unlike types of art. By featuring a broad range of approaches, media, and content, you are showing schoolhouse admissions officers that you oft explore a variety of ideas and artistic practices.

School of Visual Art graduate Michelle Nahmad emphasizes that an art school portfolio should human activity equally a gallery and timeline of your abilities and ideas. "Cull pieces that stand equally unique beats in the story you're telling about your piece of work, edifice on one another to give a sense of your range of abilities and interests," says the designer, illustrator, and narrative artist.

Lawrence built his art portfolio effectually the subjects he most wanted to appoint with while studying at Emily Carr. "I tried to showcase the skill that I thought I had in each of the classes I wanted to take. I included drawings, paintings, photography, and I even showcased my editing tactics by submitting video montages of myself snowboarding."

Just while a various portfolio is a good thought, it isn't necessary to exist an expert in every category earlier kickoff your caste. A common fault made by hopeful art and design students is submitting substandard work but to announced multidisciplinary.

"I can't describe or illustrate well at all," Geib admits. "There are a number of schools that require you to submit still lifes, so that was something that actually worried me. At the time it felt risky, but I decided not to submit drawings to programs where that wasn't a specific requirement. I think that was a good determination. I ended up getting into near of the schools I applied to."

If you're applying to RISD, including strong drawings in your application is a must. "Achieved drawings are the heart of a successful portfolio when applying at the undergraduate level," says Lieu. "Y'all might have xv digital paintings, but none of that will thing if you take poor drawings."

Institutions like Parsons, on the other hand, don't have mandatory portfolio checklists for particular kinds of classical media. They're more interested in whether students are experimenting with both 2nd and 3D work, and if they've explored digital and video product. "We don't wait students to share technical work for the sake of technical work," says Stine. "I would encourage making strong editing choices and really featuring your strengths."

Most applicants to Parsons select a major, but about ten percentage of students enter the program undeclared. Even when portfolios are major-specific, they don't demand to revolve completely around that programme. "We have a common first twelvemonth, and encourage students to explore," says Stine. "We conceptualize that a lot of our students are going to alter their major once they get here."

vi. Consider works-in-progress to your art portfolio

Deciding whether or not to include works-in-progress when creating an art portfolio depends a lot on which programs you are applying to. Sometimes admissions departments don't definitively indicate if unfinished work is appropriate, in which case you are left to decide for yourself if calling attention to your conceptual explorations will benefit your awarding.

According to Professor Lieu, unless a program requests sketches, applicants tin assume that their art portfolio should be largely fabricated up of finished works, with 1 or two sketchbook pieces at most. "Be sure that everything else in your portfolio is a work that has been one hundred percent fully realized," she warns. "This means no dirty fingerprints, no ripped edges, no half-finished figures. Many portfolio pieces I see by high schoolhouse students are only almost l pct finished and have big bug like glaringly empty backgrounds and lack of detail. The majority of students stop working on their projects prematurely, which leads to works that are unresolved."

Some institutions, on the other hand, welcome unfinished art. Parsons believes that just as the strongest pieces are frequently those that took many attempts to develop, providing a window into your creative process can speak volumes about the kind of artist y'all are.

"Sometimes the final product isn't the all-time part of a work—it'south really about what they learned in the middle of it," says Stine. "We love it when students have these really elaborate sketchbooks with all of these small moments in them. There are ways to incorporate that into a portfolio, and that tin can really support the pupil."

Including unfinished work in your portfolio tin can be beneficial if you lot believe that the work offers useful information almost your creative procedure. Your best bet is to consider whether or not each particular piece of work-in-progress really adds something to your portfolio. Don't just include incomplete sketches for the sake of bulking up your submission. Information technology's better to accept a smaller, more refined art portfolio than a larger one with lower-quality works.

7. Portfolio curation is everything for higher portfolios

It's now time to cull out the best and most various pieces from your personal drove to present in your final portfolio. For each project, select only the specific and unique things yous can bring to information technology. For example, if you have multiple projects each with the same approach, include only the strongest one. An art portfolio is like an essay - presenting ideas must be comprehensible and succinct.

An art schoolhouse portfolio is about pushing the limits of fine art and design throughout your work. One approach could be to select work that takes reward of those mediums you've selected.It can expect like this: select photos that portray the earth differently than paintings, or paintings that achieve something drawings are incapable of, and then on. This mode of refining your collection guarantees that each slice is unique while as well carrying your rationale for using each medium.

Professor Lieu says most applicants don't take total advantage of what drawing tin can offer in their portfolios for higher. "The vast bulk of loftier school students are creating tight, bourgeois, photorealistic pencil drawings drawn from photographs," she explains. "Cartoon is not simply near copying a photograph equally accurately equally possible; we now have cameras that can do this instantly with incredible precision and quality. Ask yourself what you can express with your drawing that a camera would non be capable of producing by itself."

Exhibiting the strengths and capabilities of particular styles of fine art also ways experimenting with the different media that are available. For example, instead of cartoon with pencil, try doing that same study with crayons, pastels, charcoal, chalk, or ink.

"Charcoal, in particular, is a great drawing textile considering it motivates students to develop an approach to cartoon that is bolder and more than physically engaging," says Lieu. "Just using these cartoon materials volition distinguish you from the other student portfolios, and will inspire yous to experiment with drawing in a bolder and looser manner."

viii. Finer document your art portfolio piece of work

The way you document your art, whether information technology'southward with photographs, video, or scans, can make or suspension your awarding. In many cases, this documentation will be the only account of your work that an admissions section is exposed to.

"Documenting your work is a practice that will exist continually emphasized as you lot movement through school and continue in your career," says Nahmad. "It volition hopefully become second nature and tailored to your process. Depending on your skillset and the kind of piece of work y'all're aiming to record, your documentation might likewise require that you seek outside aid."

Although photography is the most traditional medium for capturing static fine art, don't be afraid to go the most suitable route you can call up of.

"Sometimes video tin can be the well-nigh effective manner to capture something that y'all've made," says Stine. "For instance, if you accept a 3D object or something that y'all take to collaborate with, instead of taking a bunch of nonetheless images, take a quick 360-degree video of it. The same thing goes for books or zines—rather than stressing about taking up your whole portfolio with a series of images, why not make a 30-second iMovie that goes through the extent of what y'all did?"

Professional fine art photography is extremely expensive. Luckily, you tin can accept more than acceptable photos of your work with a little planning and minor equipment. If you lot're shooting your own art, the well-nigh of import elements to consider are fifty-fifty lighting, accurate color replication, abrupt focus, and capturing high-resolution images.

Photographing pure white in an artwork that too contains darker colors can exist tricky. The key is using at to the lowest degree 250-watt lights, placed at even intervals surrounding the surface that y'all want to return.

"These lighting kits aren't super inexpensive, simply regular incandescent and fluorescent lighting is not sufficient to produce high-quality photographs," cautions Lieu. "Regular lights will not produce the colour accurately, and you will non get adept focus because the lights are not bright enough."

You may be able to use equipment that is already at your schoolhouse if you are currently in loftier school or higher. If you are not a pupil, you lot may want to rent or borrow photographic equipment for the day. Depending on what kind of work you lot brand, scanning images may be more advisable than photographing.

For not-students, local impress shops volition accept low-cost scanners available. if your portfolio contains drawings or collages, photos can show the details better. If your portfolio contains analog photography, be certain that the prints or scans y'all include are high quality. When getting prints or scans done at a lab, ensure that the photos are the all-time representation of your work.

9. Attend National Portfolio Mean solar day

Juggling all of these tips might seem like a difficult task on top of trying to consummate your loftier schoolhouse education—or working, if you're a loftier school grad. National Portfolio Day was created to make it easier for prospective art students to get portfolio feedback. It's an opportunity for students to discuss their art portfolios in person with representatives from schools all over North America.

A university fair-style event, National Portfolio Day offers the take a chance for yous to accept your portfolio critiqued by well-nigh every undergraduate art and design program in the Usa and Canada before you use. Betwixt September 2017 and Jan 2018, NPD held events in forty-two cities across the continent, plus an online session for those who couldn't make it in person.

"I would definitely propose that everyone applying to fine art schoolhouse become to National Portfolio Day, especially anyone debating about whether or not they want to apply," recommends Geib. "It's easy to get trapped in what your two loftier school art teachers think. There's a lot more variety of opinion and insight out there. Some of the school reps at the event looked through my portfolio and basically said, 'As long as your GPA and basic higher archway requirements are met, your portfolio is good enough to become to our school.'''

However, be prepared for honest and even jarring critiques of your piece of work too. "I definitely got some pretty harsh criticism as well," Geib says. "But you have to exist able to separate yourself from your work, otherwise you're going to get beat up emotionally when people are trying to help you improve your work overall. You take to be able to say, 'This is something I created, non me equally a person.'"

If you're going to attend an NPD effect, make sure to arrive early, equally archway lineups can get extremely long, and sometimes the organisation turns people abroad birthday because of limited capacity.

"If you're actually serious virtually being accepted into a high quotient undergraduate fine art plan, this is the event to become to," says Lieu. "I recommend going in the autumn of your junior year, only to become a feel for things, then again in the fall of your senior year."

10. Think almost the large flick beyond your portfolio

Meeting these criteria for a successful application portfolio will profoundly increment your chances of getting accepted to the art or design school of your choosing. The last slice of the puzzle is asking yourself, "Does my art school portfolio truly represent why I want to make art?"

You may feel like you are making art to meet admissions requirements for a professor or critics during this long process. Remember what drew you to art school, and think of how art school will continue to enrich that human relationship.

"One of the nearly popular quotes about creativity is 'Proficient artists borrow; great artists steal.' There's a lot of fence about information technology, simply I call back essentially it ways don't try to fulfill other people's expectations with your art," says Lawrence. "Yous have to ask yourself whether you're making fine art from yourself or for other people. When I made my portfolio, I started by immersing myself in other people'south work and the prompts the schools gave. But ultimately, I tried to forget about all of that and make art that excited me." Make sure you know why you want to study art at a mail-secondary establishment earlier clicking the "Submit". "It'due south truly axiomatic in their application materials if applicants aren't really aware of what they are applying for and why," says Professor Play a joke on. "We invest in our students as much as they exercise, and expect the same in return from all applicants."

In 2021, fine art school applications are at an all-time loftier. With online applications and global interconnectivity, information technology might seem similar studying fine art is simpler than ever earlier. However, more opportunities means more competition.

Still, having a good sense of why art matters to y'all really comes beyond in your portfolio. It says that you're set to give it your all, and sets yous apart from other prospective students.

Fine art Educatee Portfolio: How To Become Into Fine art School

As you lot tin can probably see from this list, getting into art schoolhouse takes time, dedication, and patience. In detail, creating an art portfolio that is well thought out and intentionally put together is one of the biggest factors influencing your acceptance into your school of pick.

As mentioned, nosotros recommend taking your time, being intentional with what you include in your portfolio, and beingness articulate about the guidelines from the schools you are applying to.

While nosotros sympathize that applying to fine art school can be overwhelming, we promise this guide gives y'all the conviction you demand to put together an impactful portfolio that gets y'all started on your path to pursuing your passion.

Looking for more than advice on curating your work? Read our ultimate guide to curating a photography portfolio.

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Source: https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/art/how-to-make-art-portfolio-college-university