Help/Critiques with my portfolio for art school

[Paper.Trains]

My name is Laura. Im planning on applying to Art Center, CCA and LCAD for Illustration. Apps are due at the end of the month and I was hoping I could get some critiques on the work i have right now. Any help on what to include, what to leave out, what to work on would be GREATLY appreciated!

The picture of drawing of the Girl in the Forest isn't the greatest, my teacher took it quickly, I'll have to take a better one soon.


Thanks for any help you can give!

Laura

*edit*
Edited down portfolio:

[joshualyness]

Im no expert im 16 and only starting out, but you should try and get a bit more range in your tones, be brave and it will liven up your drawings.
Also are you just using one type of pencil?

[Paper.Trains]

Thank you, yeah i know i have a problem with that... One teacher suggested putting a white and black (or light and dark with pencil i suppose) mark at the bottom of the page so that you can see how far you have to go in each direction.

Nope, im just an expert at using dark pencils lightly But no, im using 6H to 6B, though it takes me a while to get to the 4and 6Bs

[tsengko]

Figure drawings are great for applying for Art Center. If I remember correctly they require two portfolios, one is pure figure drawing, and the other one is base on what major you apply.

For instance if you are applying for illustration then perhaps you should include some of you personal illustration works, portrait studies, still life renderings or paintings.

I see you have some still life renderings and perspective study. Those are good, but i would say put more efforts into them, it seems like some of the drawings you've done are rather quick. Try to make them look "Finished", but im only talking about your illustration and renderings, not your figure drawing.

As for your figure drawing i recommand you buying Glen Vilpu's figure drawing handbook. He is a porfessor at Art center and his books are very helpful.

Last but not least i would recommand you take out the drawings that you have doubt with. Right now I'm not liking the third picture with the fuzzy line drawings, it looks awkward to me.

You need to go to the national portfolio day, where they have all the art schools around the nation giving critiques to students. I wish you good luck.

[Wheeljack18]

Screw Vilpu, get your hands on some Andrew Loomis. www.saveloomis.org He's published way more books, have a much easier system to learn, way more comprehensive and his approach is a direct lineage from the the great master Howard Pyle himself.

As for your works, I suggest that you go to the schools you want to apply to and see what their students are doing. What are the first year exercises like? Try to find out or talk to someone on site and go after it. All you have to do is ask. The worst they can say is no. Then create some projects for your self similar to their assignments. How can they reject you if you are already doing the same work as their first year students?

I see you comment about using the whole range of leads from 6h-6b. Don't. To take your work to the next level quicker, draw on toned paper and use a black lead and a white lead. Bam,you have your light, mid, and dark tones and then it is up to you to use them to work out your values. All those pencils just over complicate things and waste time. You show a lot of promise. Show them that you are trying to understand fundamentals like composition, anatomy, perspective, tone and color. Focus on fundamentals right now and you will be way ahead of your peers.

Couple of rules about your portfolio:
You are only as good as your worst piece.
Put your best piece at the front and your second best at the back. The first one is to wow them and the last one is the one that stays open the longest during a review.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

[Paper.Trains]

Hey thanks guys! I've heard of Loomis but I'll check out both their books. Any recommendations on any kinds of art books is always appreciated (I love books )
And thanks for all the input and tips, all of it is greatly appreciated.
Wheeljack: your comment on putting your best piece in the front and second best last makes total sense, but at the same time i feel like gestures should go first? Maybe i'll try and find a happy medium..

Anyways, so I edited my portfolio way down. (Also made the images smaller. I've never posted pictures here, I didn't realize how annoyingly big they were going to look)
Right now I'm working on more colored pencil illustrations, I was told I need more of those creative pieces.
And I need to take better pictures of my drawings. Does anyone have any tips on doing that?

[Wheeljack18]

Put your best work first. If it's your gestures than Great. If you want to have gestures there, then crank out some until you feel that they are your best and put those at the front. Otherwise, find out what the exact requirements for submissions are and tailor your portfolio along those lines. Sometimes they can be very specific ie: 5 Gestures, 2 still lifes etc.

If you are trying to get into an illustration program then for sure put together some more illustration pieces. Focus more on idea and less on execution. They want to see that you are thinking like an illustrator. Technique can be taught. Comps and studies pertaining to your illustrations might go over well.

Better pictures of your drawings.... Back in my day we had to submit the portfolio with originals or else they would only take slides. Slide had to be specially photographed and were/ are a major pain. What you should do is take your work to a copy center like Kinkos that has a large format scanner and get the images scanned at at least 300 dpi. Bring a flash drive or a CD to store the files. OR you can take your work to a more up scale establishment and have the work professionally scanned which costs money. Unless you are a trained photographer and you comprehensively understand lighting then don't waste your time taking snaps of your artwork. Get it done right.

If you have any questions let me know.

Cheers!