Do i stand a chance and where

I want to do a degree in Graphic Design. Problem is i have no portfolio. I'm 19, have 230 UCAS points (unless General Studies gets me another 20 or something), but i dropped Art as AS Level because of one of the teachers who liked to take her post divorce depression out on anyone with a penis. Moving swiftly on, as i'm on a more industral trained course, in 10 months time i'd be a Certified Internet Web Designer, dont know if playing this card would help? But obviously a dont have a portfolio what so ever so what's on offer to me if anything?

Reply 1

steveoyo

How long do you have until you want to apply? Im starting a graphic desgin course this Sept and I've never studied any art related subject previously and had no portfolio. I decided this was what I wanted to study after working on some websites last year, so I spent from about this time 2006 up until my interview in May 2007 creating as much work as possible. If you really want to do it you'll find it fun and rewarding doing this, I went through about 6-7 sketchbooks, created about 20 coloured graphic works in Photoshop and Illustrator and printed these to A3. I even did some paintings (never touched the stuff before) and took some photographs.You just experiment and learn some basic skills. I was really nervous because I'd never had my work critiqued by anyone before and it was such a relief/ego boost when the guy interviewing me seemed amazed that I'd produced all this work off my own back over the course of a year!

Reply 2

Kil-Kev

ah k, well done.

I'd be applying for 2008, so that gives me time, around what time did you apply and when you did did you have a portfolio you'd made?

Sounds like what you did would be a possibility.

Reply 3

steveoyo

I didn't apply until May which is the deadline for route B applications and I had all my portfolio ready by then. The interviews are end of May start of June, so that people studying year long foundation courses can put together their portfolios, hence it figures you can put a portfolio together in a year. The web design thing will help, if you put some screen prints of websites you've worked on in your portfolio.

Reply 4

Kil-Kev

k cheers for your help

Reply 5

sweetface.

You should start drawing, buy a sketchbook and just practice your drawing. Hopefully this will give you enough work for a portfollio.

Reply 6

Kil-Kev

okies, as soon as i have enough money to buy a pencil i will begin

cheers

Reply 7

Kil-Kev

Out of interest, would making your own portfolio work for any art degree? How high is the standard? Would foundation entry be better for me?

What do they ask in interviews? not Art related questions is it? Will they hold it against me that i have a thick Geordie accent, lol, actually that might help me blabber some questions

Reply 8

steveoyo

I put my portfolio together over the course of a year without doing foundation or anything, previous to putting it together I hadn't drawn since I was about 15, (im 22 now)
Here's a couple of bits I put in it, I applied for a mixture of art schools and universities, on both BA Graphics and BA Illustration, the one Im doing in September is at Norwich School of Art.
Here's some bits I put in my portfolio that might give you an idea.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=8475794&albumID=306161&imageID=11889506
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=8475794&albumID=306161&imageID=12988821
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=8475794&albumID=306161&imageID=16836083

These are all sketchbook stuff that I coloured in photoshop and one of them is drawn in illustrator. Hope it gives you an idea of what you could try and include. I think the value of a student that has put together an entire portfolio is very high, even if your work isn't of an amazing standard, as it shows you are passionate about the course you want to do.

Reply 9

peeps

If you dont think you have the dedication to do it off your own back, you should totally do a foundation course. You'd still need to do a few bits and pieces to get in, but no where near as much as a full portfolio for a degree interview if you choose to do foundation at a local college or something. Then you've got a full year to improve your skills, verify exactly what you want to do without getting into masses of debt, and build a solid portfolio with help from tutors who've got thousands of students into uni before. That's what I did anyway after being away from school and studying something totally different for 3 years, I would totally never of had the dedication that Steveoyo did! As for not having loads of ucas points or not having A level art, they often have a bit under degree requirements that says "or relevant experience" which web design probably would be for a graphics course.