Should I Go to Art School?

It's a heavy question. Should you, or should you not go to art school? There's no easy definitive answer, and most people know that it's different for each person. I'm not here to debate the semantics of YES ART SCHOOL vs NO ART SCHOOL, it's more of an examination of what your goal is.

I'm a graduate of art school myself (B.S. in Visual Arts, Studio Art concentration, December 2019). I attended Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida, and I personally loved art school. I was self-taught throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and when I saw they were hosting an academic camp for their art program in 2015, I absolutely HAD to go, which sealed the deal for my college career. I knew I wanted to go to college, I just didn't know where, and when the opportunity came up, I seized it by the horns and rode that sucker for all I had. As a plucky child of seventeen, I didn't really know what specifically I wanted to do as an artist; I just knew I liked to draw, and I wanted to get better at it and make a living off it someday. 

WHY DID I WANT TO GO TO ART SCHOOL?

I just assumed that art school would make me better at art, and that when I graduated I would be competitive in my chosen field. I did, in fact, get better at art while I was in art school, and to a degree (in Visual Arts! Haha, I crack myself up) I am pretty competitive in my chosen field. It was worth every penny. However, what I didn't totally realize was how diverse art gets. I got a very broad artistic education at PCC, and it definitely leveled me up, but it didn't specialize enough for me.

Why do YOU want to go to art school? Do you just want to "get better"? I mean, education will definitely educate you (wow, I have such a way with words!), but if you don't have a specific goal, you'll end up floundering around a bit at best, or drop out at worst. Your goal determines how effective your chosen school will be at helping you grow into your artistic goals.

WHAT GOAL SHOULD I HAVE HAD?

In hindsight, I should have had a more specific goal when I started college. However, there wasn't really a way for me to have found that more specific goal. I was seventeen, fresh out of high school, and no one in my immediate circle were artists, really. I mean, we all doodle and color and play with paint, but I didn't know anyone who took art seriously to the point that I took it. Because of that lack of guidance, I didn't discover the field I wanted to specialize in until my senior year of college.

Here's the thing. My college never claimed to specialize in anything; in fact, their whole pitch is that they give you a well-rounded education. And that they did! I learned a ton of stuff, especially the fundamentals of art and having the right philosophy about art, creativity, and whatnot. No one at my school specializes in character design as of the writing of this post, so I felt that once I graduated, I wouldn't stay for grad school at PCC since they didn't have anyone who knew how to do what I wanted to do.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING AN ART SCHOOL?

One word: FUNDAMENTALS.

As a graduate, I can look back and see how absolutely foundational the fundamentals are. Yes, I'm talking about stuff like color theory, anatomy, a correct understanding of values and edges, the ability to convey convincing realism, etc. You have to master the rules before you break them, a common mistake that I made as a young(er) artist. (I'm just barely twenty-one so I can't really say I'm old.)

The popular consensus, especially amongst the "un-artistic" population, is that "anything is art". I've heard that hundreds of times throughout the years, and it always makes me roll my eyes (the most recent time was a homeless guy in the park who was probably a little tweaked out). There's something inside every person that looks at a banana taped to a wall and thinks, "That's not art..." Things like Comedian (the $120k banana) and Monogram (taxidermied goat with a tire-belt) are so permanently etched into the mind of the populace as "art", which is a shame on art in general. The whole point of creating is conveying a specific message. If you just slap some paint on a canvas without a purpose behind it, you're wasting your time, essentially. You know what art is, though? Embroidery, sculpture, architecture, furniture design, interior decorating, photography, advertisements, music videos, video games... the list goes on. Oh, yeah, and painting and drawing too. 

When choosing an art school, make sure they teach the fundamentals, especially if you lack knowledge, practice, or understanding of the fundamentals. I sort of understood composition and anatomy as a freshman, but I also learned about value, edges, color theory (which is still kinda nebulous in my head), proportion, realism, texture, emphasis... (sorry Mr. Digangi, it's been a while since Design Fundamentals, I'm a bit fuzzy on the list). 

Learning the fundamentals will make you a better artist overall. If you're not a pro in the industry already, you will always find someone better than you at color theory, or anatomy, or composition. Take the opportunity to learn from these people, even if some of them are insufferable. Don't just learn from the teachers either; other students have a lot to teach you, though not in such a formalized setting (even if that "something" to teach you is just not to punch them in the face; believe me, I learned that one VERY well).

I mentioned something about art philosophy in the previous section. Everyone has a philosophy about art, whether or not they know how to articulate it. It's that nagging feeling in your gut that says, "Wow, that piece is beautiful!" vs "Ew, that's trash". A good art school will be able to articulate their philosophy of art, and it should be sensible. Not just some mumbo-jumbo about "anything that you make is art". You're looking for something like this: "You should be good at using the materials you use, and you should be able to convey a clear message of some kind". 

DID ART SCHOOL MAKE ME A BETTER ARTIST?

Of course! My teachers were phenomenal and I learned many valuable skills while I was there, including but not limited to photography, painting in three different mediums, and print design. If I didn't have the rounded, broad art education I have now, my art would look nothing like it does now. I spent every penny in good confidence, and I was rewarded for the work that I put in.

However, there's a catch. If you want to get good in a very specific field, you can't just get a broad education.

You don't need a degree to make it in the art world. Sometimes all you need is paper, pencil, and a stable internet connection. A degree wouldn't exactly hurt, either. But if you want to specialize, determine that ahead of time, and get a game plan together. 

HOW DO I GET A GAME PLAN TOGETHER?

1) Establish your field of choice.

I discovered visual development as a field in my senior year of college. I knew it existed; I just didn't know the name for it. I'd always just called it concept art. Don't end up like me, if you can! Determine your field and decide whether or not it fits for you. I thought I wanted to go into illustration, but concept art just called my name.

2) Find industry giants you can study.

I dug into the field of character visual development and found some artists I could look up to, specifically Jin Kim and Cory Loftis. Recently, I've also been following Jake Parker, creator of Inktober as well as his podcast Three-Point Perspective (I prefer to listen on Spotify). 

Make sure you pick the field before you find your industry giants. I used to try to study artists like N.C. Wyeth and Alphonse Mucha because I liked their art, but what can classical illustration and art nouveau do for the concept art industry? Not much compared to the work of actual concept artists. Other art forms have a lot to offer you as a growing artist, so take what you can get, but don't slow yourself down by studying the wrong people.

The struggle with following other artists is that when you're in college, your life will probably get so busy that finding the time to study them may come at the cost of missing a meal or a precious hour or five of sleep. I didn't have time to listen to a podcast or binge Jake Parker's YouTube channel; I had projects to finish and students to check on (I was a resident assistant), and I also worked my way through college. Make sure you prioritize rest and food over art. It's not supposed to be "art or die". 

3) Decide whether you want to learn in an online or classroom setting.

A lot of good education can be found for significantly cheaper online. There's nothing like the pressure of an actual physical college experience to make you better (my capstone was my senior art exhibit, which was pass/fail), but if you don't have the time or energy (or money) for a physical college experience, you can benefit from online learning, with such websites as Skillshare, Society of Visual Storytelling, and more. 

If you're looking for a physical college experience, visit your colleges if possible, and talk to the faculty about the learning process, and sit in on several classes. If possible, ask the instructors which students are best to ask questions of. Maybe ask a student or two about the class to get a learner's perspective. Otherwise, try to email professors at that college and ask them about it. If you email the promotional teams, they'll just try to sell you on it, which is their job.

REMEMBER THIS: Regardless of whether you learn online or in a classroom, none of it matters if you don't put some elbow grease into it. Don't kill yourself over your projects: a dead artist is no good, after all. But becoming a good artist is 10% instruction/outside influences, and 90% you actually putting it into action.

SO SHOULD I GO TO ART SCHOOL?

I love how inconclusive this post is! The answer is "it's really up to you". No one can make the decision for you. But if you want to grow as an artist, and to grow fast, art school is probably for you. (Unless you're not done with high school yet, in which case you should probably graduate high school before you go to college. Not gonna be dogmatic about it, but I think it'll be easier to do that first.)

When you pick an art school, be sure to pick one that will teach you the fundamentals, and that has a very clear art philosophy. And while you're learning the fundamentals, apply them to the field of your dreams. This isn't a recipe for instant stardom; it is, however, a recipe for instant improvement. And we all like that, don't we?