[shalmah]

i need some advise about a school that offers a degree that would let me do computers and art together. would that be called graphic design? does this place exist? if so what career options are out there? any information would help.

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: shalmah ]

[dr . bang]

graphics design doesnt mean that its completely based on computer to create art. There's alot of cutting and sketching involved. I suggest you learn fine art first, computer is not very important cause its much easier to learn compare to art.

[Breakerboy2]

What kind of work do want to be doing when you get out of art school? Something more specific than art with computers, right?

Graphic design has more to do with designing brochures, packaging, websites, newspapers, magazines, logos, etc... Lots of computer usage, but not the kind you see around here.

Fine arts could be a good major depending on what school you go to. You would study drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture. A lot of people on this forum probably studied fine arts.

Illustration was my major. Illustrators use computers more now than ever, and a lot of schools are teaching that. My alma mater - Ringling School of Art and Design - does have computer illustration courses. They aren't 3d classes, though. They're geared toward Photoshop and Illustrator/Freehand. Illustration majors study a lot of the same subject matter as fine arts students, but with a different business mindset.

Then there's computer animation which is all the 3d stuff you see in video games or pixar movies. There you would study modelling, animation, storyboarding and more (I can't remember).

Which major to choose and which school would probably depend on what you wanted to do when you graduate.

I'm sure you'll get some more helpful advice if you can get a little more specific about what your goals are.

[ichiban]

graphic design is what I do...and breakerboy2 is right...it's essentially interchangeable with "advertising design" but with a little more art involved. i'd love to get into a little more CG Illustration, but those jobs are tough to get, and usually are for very specific fields. we have a guy here who's completely kick@$$ with computer illustration, but he also is a good designer. it's all about marketability...

you want to have a broad enough area of capabilities, otherwise you are useless when it comes to "thinking outside the box."

you also want to have a specialty - design, illustration, concepting, people skills, etc. otherwise you are just a worker bee.

[renren]

Personaly I feel a fine arts education is best because it gives you the broadest understanding of art and all the possibilities art has to offer beyond careers. A career may be slower to develop once you're out of school though.
I'm 34 and still struggling with my career. Although studying fine arts has given me the ability and confidence to tackle any art related problem I haven't developed my work along a specific line so my portfolio doesn't look very coherent. Still, I've been pretty lucky getting commercial work which clients seem to llike!
Hope this helps a little, good luck!

[renren]

oh, I forgot to add I think going to school for a bit in New York City is a good idea because there's so much great historic art work there - it really exposes you to art's possibilities! Schools in Manhattan may be expensive, but schools like Queens college and Brooklyn college have good art programs including computer related art. Plus - they're a good bargain price wise.

[Svanur]

Just remember to think carefully on what you want to learn. I was gonna study Computer Animation but my passion for painting and drawing outgrew my passion for computer animation and modeling.

Now I'm trying to get into school to learn illustration.