Ringling College of Art and Design 2012 Hopefuls

[Randarn]

It is that time again where a new hopefuls for the coming years seem to be needing a home.

I will update and expand this first initial post with more informational content for new students, but until then.

It is a new year fresh for the taking! Where are you hopefuls 2012?!

Previous 2011 thread : http://conceptart.org/forums/showthr...gling+hopefuls

[Randarn]

New member myself, new to art, interest lies in illustration but not throwing everything else in the fire without giving it a once over. So Illustration 2012 hopeful here I'll say. Again, will be updating with more helpful content in the next day or so but I have to sleep! I get up in 3 hours for another round of school. Yawn

[Praemium]

Hey guys, I'm a freshman in CA (and also posted rarely on hopefuls '11). I was actually wondering when this thread would get rolling, and here it is finally

Let me just say that the freshman (CORE) re-design is awesome. Since most posters are probably in the Media Arts major (CA, IL, GAD) I'll talk a little about that since I didn't know quite what it would be like before I got here.

Drawing I--This is a class focusing on perspective (1pt, 2pt, 3pt). You will be doing very technical drawing w/T-squares, rulers, compasses, etc.

2D Design--Focus on basic design principles (composition, balance etc.) Having some painting experience and basic photoshop is a plus. In fact, knowing the basic photoshop tools (and some computer skill) is pretty important.

Figure Drawing--Figure drawing is basically what it says... have good drawing skills & try to take some figure drawing before you get here.

Writing for Media Arts--Creative writing, some reasearch-paper type work. Easy-cheesy although it can be tough for second-language speakers.

Film & Narrative-- A class where you get to watch movies, whoo! Most people complain about this class but I've learned a lot of camera techniques and watched some pretty classic films so far (Casablanca, Citizen Kane, etc.)


Expect to meet some of the most amazing people here... I've just been blown away by the amount of talent that comes out of this place. There's always creative energy and it's art 24/7 here. It's a lot of work, but, it's definitely been an incredible experience so far.

[yyates05]

Hello everyone Im currently a CA Sophomore. Ill try to frequent this thread and answer questions.

[Wingal]

I was wondering if there were some examples of different types of portfolios. For example a Great portfolio example, an average portfolio example, an awesome portfolio example, and a bad one. (Awesome would get more scholarships etc)

[deerinheadlights]

I was going to be a hopeful, but my parents say Florida is too far, especially since the upper east coast has plenty of art schools already. I don't really mind, but the promotional USB they sent me is not working at all and it's ticking me off xD

[Lee_Way]

Fellow hopeful here who was wondering when this thread was going to get started. Thanks for starting it!

I would also be interested in seeing some examples of portfolios.

[yyates05]

I was wondering if there were some examples of different types of portfolios. For example a Great portfolio example, an average portfolio example, an awesome portfolio example, and a bad one. (Awesome would get more scholarships etc)

Hey Wingal, here are a bunch good portfolios that were accepted to different schools.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...ted+portfolios

[ChibiRobo]

Hi all. Hopeful Sophmore transfer here for illustration. Have Art Center and CalArts within an hour of my house but Ringling seems better suited to me (doesn't hurt the fact that my ultimate dream job is artist for disney and they Recruit from Ringling a lot.)Nice to meet you all

also: there was a link in the Ringling catalog I got that went to a portflio site they set up. Here it is:
http://portfolio-prep.com/

[IchiBrun]

Hey everybody,

Glad to say that this year I'm a hopeful. Last year I did however keep tabs on the other thread and got a bunch of good info . Ringling is my first choice , duh but yea I've also applied to cal arts and scad. Hopefully it all works out and good luck everyone :p


Cheers

[DanialGlover]

I've chickened out or messed something up trying to apply to this school for the past 4 years. Feeling pretty good about 2012...I guess lol.

I'm trying to raise my pathetic gpa up from the 2.5 it was at to a 2.8/3.0. So far so good.

I'm also going to be making a brand new portfolio, as my past attempts were terrible. Hope for the best for everyone!

Applying for CA.

[themegagod]

Hey everybody! I'm a hopeful again. I chickened out last year, but I know that if I don't try I'll never know, so here goes another shot. wish me luck.

Yeah DanialGlover, I too know your pain, i've been trying to get the nerve and the skill for two- three years now myself. How about we make this year our year? I'd have to find out, but i think i managed to pull my GPA to around a 3. something. I hope. Not to mention I finally found a local place that offers some kind of figure drawing classes, or rather 'meetings' which should add a bit more confidence for me in my portfolio.

anyway, hope to meet you all soon, when we are taking some truly life altering classes up in ringling. lol.

BTW, I'm a GAD hopeful. anybody know the statistics for GADs right now? I think there has been a graduating class already; some thesis work was on the promotional USB. so what was the graduating classes success rates in the field: it being a new program and all, are people getting hired? What news is there about how the program will be in the next few years to come, since I understand it is still ever evolving?

any info is greatly appreciated.

time to start updating the 'sketchbook' again.

[Praemium]

themegagod, according to Jim McCampbell during our department talks at the beginning of the year, GAD actually had a slightly greater hire rate (maybe 15% more) than CA in 2010-11, which I believe was a first. I don't want to misquote these numbers though... overall, from what I've seen here, it's mainly the extreme hard work (in and out of class), a bit of talent and love for your own certain skillset & personal strengths that will land you the job. I wish I could say more about the GAD dept. specifically, but I don't know too much about the program. Definitely hit up a figure drawing class if you can and draw from life as much as you can before you get here, it will really help.

[threecharles]

Hey themegagod,

I am an illustration senior at Ringling right now. I only know two of the GAD graduates from last year, but both did get jobs in the video game industry. To add to that; both of the graduating illustration students i knew last year who wanted to be concept artists got jobs. One in video games and the other in animation.

I hope that helps. Good luck on your journey!

[Cetriya]

I do wish that the Ill major had more concept art class electives.

[threecharles]

We do have a minor that includes 2 concept art classes. I think you will find that the important thing is learning to paint, draw and design. Which will easily fill 4 years. With those skills you can get into the concept art industry. And honestly part of Junior year and all Senior year you can really push your classwork to concept art. To make 'concept art' you don't really need a class named 'concept art'.

[Lizzybeth]

Hey guys. I'm a 4th year CA. I usually try to frequent these threads but am working on thesis this year so my visits might get a little sporadic but I'll try to hang around and answer questions (: Also, my entry portfolio is in the accepted portfolio thread posted above and my blog goes from freshman year to present. I've got lots of links to other ringling guys too. They're mostly CA or ILL, but there are others in there too, several now graduates as well.

For GAD hiring, I don't know a whole lot, but the few GADs I do know that graduated all have jobs now. CAs did well this past year too. We've got guys at Dreamworks, Moonbot, Psyop, Disney, Pixar, Digital Domain, Sony, and plenty more places I'm sure just from this year.

[Randarn]

I had a question for you CA ringling students yyates05 or Lizzybeth. If I became a CA major..would I be able to take any upper level illustration classes for electives?

Lizzybeth: I believe you were the student who was in the financial office more often then not. I believe you worked too during one if not a few of the years at ringling...how much will you owe ringling after you graduate? I'm off to look at your portfolio you posted and what scholarship reward amount you received initially.

yyates05! : Did you receive any scholarship initially?

thanks thanks. Ryan

[Lizzybeth]

If I became a CA major..would I be able to take any upper level illustration classes for electives?

Lizzybeth: I believe you were the student who was in the financial office more often then not. I believe you worked too during one if not a few of the years at ringling...how much will you owe ringling after you graduate? I'm off to look at your portfolio you posted and what scholarship reward amount you received initially.

You can not take upper level illustration classes for electives. HOWEVER you can take illustration classes in general as electives if you meet the prerequisites for the course (have taken necessary previous courses) and if there is still room in the class after all the people within the major have enrolled. You will still need to get special approval from the instructor/department head. Plain elective courses you do not need special permission to enroll in if you meet the prerequisites. Examples of electives can be seen here. If you can find the time you can draw with illustrators outside of class at fews, portrait night, or go painting in groups.

Randarn, you probably have me mistaken for somebody else. I don't go to financial aid often or actively seek scholarships now. The only work I've done since I've been here is a few hours a week on campus since sophomore year and my summer internship. Overall I've been pretty lucky with scholarships with need, merit, and staying in state. In total I've had nearly half of my school expenses covered by scholarships. I don't know the exact number right now but I am probably looking at somewhere around 90k of debt on graduation, give or take a few thousand (that's private loans + federal loans + interest). Like I said, I consider myself quite fortunate.

[copperfire]

I had a question for you CA ringling students yyates05 or Lizzybeth. If I became a CA major..would I be able to take any upper level illustration classes for electives?

Lizzybeth: I believe you were the student who was in the financial office more often then not. I believe you worked too during one if not a few of the years at ringling...how much will you owe ringling after you graduate? I'm off to look at your portfolio you posted and what scholarship reward amount you received initially.

thanks thanks. Ryan

I think you're talking about me? I'm no expert on the subject of saving money, but I did work very hard to find ways to, so maybe it will help others.

I've been very lucky with state grants myself (I'm a Florida resident so I get money to go to Florida schools). I did work while in school and paid off my loans every month (I had pay-by-month loans so I didn't worry about interest). I also came from a family that makes about 11,000 a year if that, so there's more scholarships as well. I went to financial aid maybe 3 or 4 times a month, and emailed at times. However, now it's more like once a month since I'm a senior and it's not as important. I owe a lot to the people there and really appreciate everything they've done for me. Going there and being noticed makes them remember you when it's time to hand out scholarships. Treat them with respect and smile , show them you want to be there, they will try to help you. Living off campus also really helps if you can. Be prepared to work extremely hard too, you need to have at least a 3.7 GPA most of the time.

My junior year I took on a parent plus loan, I had to when tuition went up, it was 3,000 per semester. It wasn't planned but I stopped working as much that year (junior and senior year is almost impossible to work off campus). Over-all with Subsidized government loans and unsubsidized loans, I'll owe about 45,000 when I graduate. Try your best to stay away from private loans.

Needless to say, again, I'm no expert, my methods might not work for others, but I Hope that helps

[Cetriya]

We do have a minor that includes 2 concept art classes. I think you will find that the important thing is learning to paint, draw and design. Which will easily fill 4 years. With those skills you can get into the concept art industry. And honestly part of Junior year and all Senior year you can really push your classwork to concept art. To make 'concept art' you don't really need a class named 'concept art'.

I heard they're discounting that minor cause of limited staff.
I've already some what started using my illust classes as concept classes but they are very short projects instead of 1-2 large project with multiple pieces. I also just want to work on designing and getting ideas down then fully render a stand alone piece. hope you get what I'm saying.

I think I'll have to stalk the Fin Aid office now. after paying rent there's no way for me to really pay for monthly tuition pay. I try to squeeze in commissions and contest work between school and my part time. I've definitely learned my lesson so during summer I'm just going to work and save to payoff school.

[IchiBrun]

Damn 45k ain't too bad Copperfire, it must been hard to work to trim it down so much. I can only hope to get out of the school owing that much, at least I'm a Florida resident .

[Lizzybeth]

yeah copperfire, you're a beast. (:

That brings up something to keep in mind too. Expect your tuition and other costs to slowly go up. Things go up with inflation and all that. Since I've been here tuition alone has probably gone up nearly $1500 per year on average. In 2008-09 full time tuition was $26,050, for the 2011-12 year it's $32,280. And that's not just some Ringling thing - it's happening across the board. When I applied to CalArts for the 08-09 year I was looking at around $32,000 something in tuition. Their website now says it's $37,684 for the 11-12 year. It sucks, but it is something that should be considered when planning out your finances.

[stay__see]

I'm a definite hopeful. Emphasis on hopeful, but I'm currently a sophomore at a university in Texas so I'll be a transfer.

With that said if there's anyone out there who can help me out with transfer questions I'd appreciate it!

oh and super stoked btw

[threecharles]

I heard they're discounting that minor cause of limited staff.
I've already some what started using my illust classes as concept classes but they are very short projects instead of 1-2 large project with multiple pieces. I also just want to work on designing and getting ideas down then fully render a stand alone piece. hope you get what I'm saying.

From what I have heard it won't be a 'minor' anymore, but the classes will be available still. I can't say much about what is happening to those classes, but they have been talking about changing the minor around or getting new instructors for it and things like that for the 3.5 years I have spent here. Yet, still it persists the same way.

Best of Luck.

[Randarn]

I think you're talking about me? I'm no expert on the subject of saving money, but I did work very hard to find ways to, so maybe it will help others.

I've been very lucky with state grants myself (I'm a Florida resident so I get money to go to Florida schools). I did work while in school and paid off my loans every month (I had pay-by-month loans so I didn't worry about interest). I also came from a family that makes about 11,000 a year if that, so there's more scholarships as well. I went to financial aid maybe 3 or 4 times a month, and emailed at times. However, now it's more like once a month since I'm a senior and it's not as important. I owe a lot to the people there and really appreciate everything they've done for me. Going there and being noticed makes them remember you when it's time to hand out scholarships. Treat them with respect and smile , show them you want to be there, they will try to help you. Living off campus also really helps if you can. Be prepared to work extremely hard too, you need to have at least a 3.7 GPA most of the time.

My junior year I took on a parent plus loan, I had to when tuition went up, it was 3,000 per semester. It wasn't planned but I stopped working as much that year (junior and senior year is almost impossible to work off campus). Over-all with Subsidized government loans and unsubsidized loans, I'll owe about 45,000 when I graduate. Try your best to stay away from private loans.

Needless to say, again, I'm no expert, my methods might not work for others, but I Hope that helps

Thank you for your response!

Awkwardly, from being too much of a lurker of Ringlinger's I remembered who you were but couldn't remember what you went by on the forums! So! I pulled a quickie in hopes you would appear! [Flash forward] Omg! You appeared!! Aren't I awesome?

Your posts of the years have helped my search for scholarship money grow enormously over the last two years.

Ryan Z

P.S. Oh! So this Kevin Bolk character...he IS hilarious!! I may just be reading through his website comic periodically until I'm caught up to the present. I actually laughed out loud for once..how he references concepts are too close to home that they are overly funny. I thought only I was crazy like that.

P.S. #2 oh! Oh! [to copperfire] How are the extracurricular activities at Ringling? Living off campus, did you have time to attend many of them or play your fair share of sand volleyball pick up games between...well...everything? [open question to everyone as well]

I like the ocean. That's where they keep the sand.

[Randarn]

I'm a definite hopeful. Emphasis on hopeful, but I'm currently a sophomore at a university in Texas so I'll be a transfer.

With that said if there's anyone out there who can help me out with transfer questions I'd appreciate it!

oh and super stoked btw

Apparently you and I live in the same city? Austin right? I usually go to AVAA drawing groups on Sundays, the art department on Saturdays, and Spiderhouse on Mondays with some classmates (but only for Mondays). Do you go to any? Because you should! Throw a shoe at me if your interested. I'll spit out street names to stick in your gps. =)

I will be here in Austin attending community college for about the next year to two trying to refine my foundation skills and currently knocking out liberal art credits.

If you want to meet any mutually interested/mutually driven faces let me know; I'll put my Wacom or pastel down, call some people and we can go eat Vietnamese food! yum..

[stay__see]

Apparently you and I live in the same city? Austin right? I usually go to AVAA drawing groups on Sundays, the art department on Saturdays, and Spiderhouse on Mondays with some classmates (but only for Mondays). Do you go to any? Because you should! Throw a shoe at me if your interested. I'll spit out street names to stick in your gps. =)

I will be here in Austin attending community college for about the next year to two trying to refine my foundation skills and currently knocking out liberal art credits.

If you want to meet any mutually interested/mutually driven faces let me know; I'll put my Wacom or pastel down, call some people and we can go eat Vietnamese food! yum..

I don't live in Austin actually. I go to school near Dallas and I'm from Houston. If I happen to visit atx before I apply I might take you up on that though!

[copperfire]

Thank you for your response!

Awkwardly, from being too much of a lurker of Ringlinger's I remembered who you were but couldn't remember what you went by on the forums! So! I pulled a quickie in hopes you would appear! [Flash forward] Omg! You appeared!! Aren't I awesome?

Your posts of the years have helped my search for scholarship money grow enormously over the last two years.

Ryan Z

P.S. #2 oh! Oh! [to copperfire] How are the extracurricular activities at Ringling? Living off campus, did you have time to attend many of them or play your fair share of sand volleyball pick up games between...well...everything? [open question to everyone as well]

I like the ocean. That's where they keep the sand.

Thanks! Glad my posts helped !

As far as extracurricular activities go, Ringling has some really fun on campus events. I was almost always too busy to attend them though. Also, living off campus, you won't get the "dorm" experience. Meaning, you could miss out on making friends with people living in your hall, so you should try to make up for it by attending activities or joining clubs (like Dipsy!)

[themegagod]

In regards to working while going to school:
what is the job market like for students in the sarasota area?
did you have any job skills/ degrees under your belt so you could get a decent paying job, or were you working at a minimum wage entry job to lower your debt?
how many hours could you work, or is advisable to work?
how'd you manage job work and school work, when many others can barely handle class work? Did it take a toll on your elective courses- did you have to take easier electives than perhaps you would have with more free time?

In Living off campus:
To have a bit of a "dorm experience" are their often other art students looking for off campus housing?
(in other words if enough art students lived in one house, wouldn't their be a similar "art community" environment?)
In prior posts in the past year or so, it was mentioned that to get around one MUST drive, yet in the promotional usb a student said you could bike every where; which is more true?

I know... i ask a lot... but any help you can give, again is much appreciated.
and yes mostly this is directed towards copperfire, but if anyone has any insight- please be my guest to answer anything... chances are you know A LOT more than i do.