MAD Magazine illustrator, Tom Richmond, gives his opinion. Clicking his illustration here will take you to his full article.
Over the years I have had many good students, but only a few I thought really had a deep talent for art. In most cases my advice to students is to find a career path "that will allow you to continue to be creative, but still pay the bills." In general, a fine arts degree should be a goal of the very talented, or the children of very rich people who don't need to work anyway. (Jaded, I know.) My advice is that if your art earns more income than your main gig, then you can transition into being a fine artist.
Only 3 or 4 times in my near 30-year teaching career have I encouraged a student to go for a fine arts degree. (Painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Tom Richmond, a top illustrator from Mad Magazine, wrote THIS excellent article on his opinion of the value of a college art degree... It's candid, honest, but not what everyone wants to hear.
It boils down to this quote:
"Art school or no art school is an age old question, but one with an easy answer… if you find the right school it is worth the time and money, but only for what it teaches you, not for the degree/diploma that it imparts at the end."
He does point out 3 specific colleges that do open doors for illustrators (his career path). "...companies like Pixar or similar sometimes recruit artists via some high end art schools like Ringling in Florida, Cal Arts in Southern California or the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Still, your work is what gets you hired… but having attended those schools does open a few doors."
For the full article please click on his illustration above, or the bold link above. I think his "real world" advice is valuable.
Only 3 or 4 times in my near 30-year teaching career have I encouraged a student to go for a fine arts degree. (Painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Tom Richmond, a top illustrator from Mad Magazine, wrote THIS excellent article on his opinion of the value of a college art degree... It's candid, honest, but not what everyone wants to hear.
It boils down to this quote:
"Art school or no art school is an age old question, but one with an easy answer… if you find the right school it is worth the time and money, but only for what it teaches you, not for the degree/diploma that it imparts at the end."
He does point out 3 specific colleges that do open doors for illustrators (his career path). "...companies like Pixar or similar sometimes recruit artists via some high end art schools like Ringling in Florida, Cal Arts in Southern California or the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Still, your work is what gets you hired… but having attended those schools does open a few doors."
For the full article please click on his illustration above, or the bold link above. I think his "real world" advice is valuable.
RSS Feed