Ringling College of Art and Design 2013 Hopefuls

[Brit-Thor713]

Hey guys! I'm very new to this so you'll have to forgive me lol I sent in all of my stuff into Ringling around Ja
12th And my portfolio around the 7th. Now I wait. Lol I'm super nervous I won't get into the CA program since I'm a self taught artist -_- ugh I wish I knew now lol

[AllieAmmons]

Hahahaha! I seriously spent the last ten minutes laughing about the rape whistles. XD

[AllieAmmons]

Hey guys! I'm very new to this so you'll have to forgive me lol I sent in all of my stuff into Ringling around Ja
12th And my portfolio around the 7th. Now I wait. Lol I'm super nervous I won't get into the CA program since I'm a self taught artist -_- ugh I wish I knew now lol

Well, post your portfolio! Haha. It is a very nervous thing to go through, but best wishes. hope to see you at acceptance day!

[themegagod]

Hey guys! I'm very new to this so you'll have to forgive me lol I sent in all of my stuff into Ringling around Ja
12th And my portfolio around the 7th. Now I wait. Lol I'm super nervous I won't get into the CA program since I'm a self taught artist -_- ugh I wish I knew now lol

Lol, we're all nervous, even those of us who already got accepted! It's so new, and chances are, getting in is going to be majorly life changing. If you weren't a good bit nervous, there would be something wrong!

Try not to worry though. most of us are self taught artists. Okay, I have taken some classes in Art, but most of them I didn't really take seriously. A lot of what I've learned, due o my own stubbornness is self taught. Then the few art classes I did take seriously, when I was going to a community college, I was already ahead of the level they were teaching to, so I had to push myself to learn from the projects, and assignments. You still have just as much chance as anyone else of getting in being self taught.

congrats on getting everything in, that in itself is a challenge. and good luck, I hope you get in.

[anomalexie]

Lol, we're all nervous, even those of us who already got accepted! It's so new, and chances are, getting in is going to be majorly life changing. If you weren't a good bit nervous, there would be something wrong!

Try not to worry though. most of us are self taught artists. Okay, I have taken some classes in Art, but most of them I didn't really take seriously. A lot of what I've learned, due o my own stubbornness is self taught. Then the few art classes I did take seriously, when I was going to a community college, I was already ahead of the level they were teaching to, so I had to push myself to learn from the projects, and assignments. You still have just as much chance as anyone else of getting in being self taught.

congrats on getting everything in, that in itself is a challenge. and good luck, I hope you get in.

i agree with all of this lol

and now my teacher is making me draw 100 gestures by tuesday morning for a grade yaaaaayyyyyy not fun

[themegagod]

i agree with all of this lol

and now my teacher is making me draw 100 gestures by tuesday morning for a grade yaaaaayyyyyy not fun

Only 100?
lol. sounds like an actually decent teacher.

You should try to do over 100 gestures- like 500 hundred (LOL), and then ask the teacher/ prof. to choose their favorites.

Lol, my teachers only ever asked for like one sketchbook drawing a week. It was actually quite sad.

[anomalexie]

Only 100?
lol. sounds like an actually decent teacher.

You should try to do over 100 gestures- like 500 hundred (LOL), and then ask the teacher/ prof. to choose their favorites.

Lol, my teachers only ever asked for like one sketchbook drawing a week. It was actually quite sad.

considering i have 93 to do, full page 9x11 btw, its a lot to do in the one afternoon i have to do it in

he can be an asshole sometimes, but lol i guess he's decent

[themegagod]

considering i have 93 to do, full page 9x11 btw, its a lot to do in the one afternoon i have to do it in

he can be an asshole sometimes, but lol i guess he's decent

I do hope that my sarcasm in saying "only 100" came across. I hate that sarcasm so often get lost on the internet- and I'm a very sarcastic person- often these two concepts do not mix well.
all I can say is good luck with that... I mean look at it this way- at least you have seven of them done...

Ironically I find that almost all of my best teachers have been assholes/pricks/ b**ches, and any other variety of insults. Maybe I'm just a masochist, but I always seem to remember the knowledge from their class the best, and because of that, the most fondly.

[MangMang]

considering i have 93 to do, full page 9x11 btw, its a lot to do in the one afternoon i have to do it in

he can be an asshole sometimes, but lol i guess he's decent

You can do it, man! Gestures are awesome...took me forever to practice and understand the concept of those damn things, but literally, it's just a bunch of scribbles. None of them have to be perfect or anatomically accurate...the point is to just capture the movement and essence of the pose. Just draw super fast, it's good practice.

Lulz, it WOULD be hilarious if you drew WAY too many. Like, "That's right, professor, here's my damn gestures! All 500 of them...which ones do you like best?"

BAYAM. He'd never see it coming.

Speaking of ridiculous assignments, I'm struggling in my Advanced Figure Drawing class at the moment. My instructor wants us to actually memorize the names of a series of bones, muscles, and topical anatomy. It's so...boring... I'm having a hard time finding the relevance to that. What do you guys think, is it really useful information? I'll suck it up if someone can give me a good reason for it, otherwise...I'm seriously considering dropping the class, and then stopping in every week once they start drawing live models.

>.< Don't...wanna study anatomy! Bargle! But maybe it's useful somehow?

[themegagod]

You can do it, man! Gestures are awesome...took me forever to practice and understand the concept of those damn things, but literally, it's just a bunch of scribbles. None of them have to be perfect or anatomically accurate...the point is to just capture the movement and essence of the pose. Just draw super fast, it's good practice.

Lulz, it WOULD be hilarious if you drew WAY too many. Like, "That's right, professor, here's my damn gestures! All 500 of them...which ones do you like best?"

BAYAM. He'd never see it coming.

Speaking of ridiculous assignments, I'm struggling in my Advanced Figure Drawing class at the moment. My instructor wants us to actually memorize the names of a series of bones, muscles, and topical anatomy. It's so...boring... I'm having a hard time finding the relevance to that. What do you guys think, is it really useful information? I'll suck it up if someone can give me a good reason for it, otherwise...I'm seriously considering dropping the class, and then stopping in every week once they start drawing live models.

>.< Don't...wanna study anatomy! Bargle! But maybe it's useful somehow?

As one who likes anatomy, let me see if I can defend its study.
Okay, knowing the names seems a bit useless- and that's hard to argue, except having a way to better describe what you are talking about. For instance the use of the word "clavicle" versus "that shoulder bone, no not the one on the back, you know the one that is a bit higher and makes that kind of v shape near the neck." Knowing the vocabulary makes it a lot easier to describe what you are talking about. Other than that though- knowing which forearm bone is the radius doesn't really matter, so its sort of just an annoying aspect to get through. Basically names are just good for reference points.

Knowing all of the bones and muscles, that actually can be really helpful to art. Think of the body as a machine. All of the bones and muscles work together in very specific ways creating what we see in the human body. For example, if one raises their forearm- yet keeps their upper arm neutral- the bicep contracts making it appear to swell, as the triceps, stay soft and extend, counter balancing the arm. This is why in basic cartooning, most styles will draw a limb rounded on one side, and straighter on the other. It's a very simplified view of what the body actually does. I think that is pretty cool.
In the body, like a machine, as long as their are no medical anomalies, and no defects, every person's body will act the same way. This is important if you are creating a pose that perhaps one can't stay in, or you don't have any type of model at all. Knowing the way to construct anatomy, you can draw a person in any position, and make it look/feel real, because the muscle groups move appropriately.

But you can't see everyone's muscles you might ask? and you are right. In America, we have an obesity epidemic so if creating people that look like most people we see, why should you know how a person's innards act. I's not like you can see a 5'7" man's muscles if he weighs 300 lbs.
Well, the truth is, all the same stuff happens below all of those layers, they just have a lot more obscuring the view. Much like clothes, fat and skin tissues have "anchor points" where they sort of meet the body. This means that much like a sheet draped over a bent arm, the fat folds are dependent on what is happening below the surface. True fat and skin is more like a rubber suit filled with jelly, but it still moves dependent on the structures below the surface.

Knowing anatomy will also really help if you begin drawing more creatures, and animals, (even ones that don't exist) as anatomy is almost universal at a multi-cellular level. A horse's leg is much the same as our own, except they have much longer ankles which which gives it that kind of backwards look at the hoof. Wings are basically really long webbed fingers(phalanges) with bats , and with birds, the fingers and hand is missing, but the tip of the wing is the same as our fore arm. Then things get cool when you realize that turtle's shell is really a modified ribcage.

So as a final thought, is it useful?
It could be, but if the class is giving you hell, and after looking at it in every way, it still seems redundant, than I'd say drop. Me personally, I see many uses for it, as it is the building blocks of the living things we see around us. If you've ever tried to draw super heroes (I'm a male artist, I had to try) you will have found that even having the veins lined up appropriately along the arm is noticeable if it's wrong to the viewer.
So is it as useful as correct perspective? mood? color theory? maybe not- but is it helpful, you bet.

[anomalexie]

You can do it, man! Gestures are awesome...took me forever to practice and understand the concept of those damn things, but literally, it's just a bunch of scribbles. None of them have to be perfect or anatomically accurate...the point is to just capture the movement and essence of the pose. Just draw super fast, it's good practice.

Lulz, it WOULD be hilarious if you drew WAY too many. Like, "That's right, professor, here's my damn gestures! All 500 of them...which ones do you like best?"

BAYAM. He'd never see it coming.

Speaking of ridiculous assignments, I'm struggling in my Advanced Figure Drawing class at the moment. My instructor wants us to actually memorize the names of a series of bones, muscles, and topical anatomy. It's so...boring... I'm having a hard time finding the relevance to that. What do you guys think, is it really useful information? I'll suck it up if someone can give me a good reason for it, otherwise...I'm seriously considering dropping the class, and then stopping in every week once they start drawing live models.

>.< Don't...wanna study anatomy! Bargle! But maybe it's useful somehow?

I would never reach 500 in time, he'd probably think I was making fun of his assignment XDD

Yeah I feel ya, my teacher is teaching us important landmarks of the body and we write everything he says down but he tells us it's not overly important, it's just good to know some of the bones. I think in art, it really depends on how realistic you're getting because if you're going really realistic it important to have those indents from the clavicle or whatever (obviously hasn't learned anything). Knowing the anatomy of the human, like tmg said, is going to help improve your art and help you when it comes to the structures of other animals. But, personally, if your art is stylized, I mean, its pretty useless lol, except for the fact that you know the body's limits and how it moves and make its movements believable by breaking it up into anatomical parts. At least you'll be able to show people that you really do know anatomy and you aren't "just some kid goofing around in art class."

[Amaranthine]

I haven't been on here in years, but I figured I'd pop in and say hello. I'm a Ringling grad (class of 2009) now working in the industry, and would be happy to answer any questions about the college or post-college life. Just let me know

[anomalexie]

I haven't been on here in years, but I figured I'd pop in and say hello. I'm a Ringling grad (class of 2009) now working in the industry, and would be happy to answer any questions about the college or post-college life. Just let me know

Hi! What was your major and are you happy doing what you're doing now?

[Amaranthine]

I was an illustration major. I also took a few classes in the vis dev minor while it was still around. I currently work in feature animation as a vis dev artist. I love my job and I wouldn't change anything about my education.

[escaphilia]

My professor always strayed away from the 'get this much done by this time' because he thought it only created work that students did in a rush and didn't reflect actual development. Instead he just wanted to see our thought process (which usually included thumbnails and gestures by default) for any larger piece. For still lives it was just 'include some gestures' and then naturally we'd do a ton. There was always the ones who did like three or whatever, but it also showed in the art. I like the way he ran it a bit better than do this by then.

Yes, knowledge of anatomy and observation is extremely important in art! As themegagod said, knowing the names give everyone a point of reference so that they are on the same page. Whether you are going to be drawing realistically or drawing something more stylistic you need a good foundation on the way things are put together, which means devoting a great deal of time to just drawing from life.

[escaphilia]

That's really awesome Amaranthine!

[Amaranthine]

My professor always strayed away from the 'get this much done by this time' because he thought it only created work that students did in a rush and didn't reflect actual development.

I see merit in what your professor was doing, but it's super important to be able to get a certain amount of work done by a specific deadline. In the real world, even if you're an amazing artist with lots of development, if you're not on time, you won't keep a job. It's good to explore and try different approaches while you're learning, but once you're in the real world working, there's a timeline.

[escaphilia]

Oh, I understand that! I make a living off my art currently, so I definitely understand deadlines lol And time management is SUCH an important skill in the real world.

Like I said, it was my personal opinion that his methodology worked really, really well for me. There would be a deadline of the overall project, but those little nuances - like completing thumbnails and such, were left up to each student. I can certainly see the benefit in both ways of doing things, but I def preferred that approach more.

Edit - Also, browsed through your site. I love your style, the textures you use are really, really nice!

[Amaranthine]

Aw thank you!

And yeah, I totally feel you! School is SO much about exploration, that it's a good time to find out what works for you. I miss those days sometimes

[anomalexie]

sarah, i went through your portfolio and i loved it D8

[Amaranthine]

sarah, i went through your portfolio and i loved it D8

Aw thanks so much. I'd love to check out your work!

[anomalexie]

lol i barely have any. but my portfolio for CA is here if you'd like to check it out <: anomalexie.tumblr.com

[steampoweredseagoat]

themegagod: Actually, America is the only country where more men are raped than women but that's mostly because of prison rape so you won't have to worry too much unless you go to prison. But yeah, just stay safe and such and never take rape with a grain of salt. 99% of the time rape stories are true.

Anyway, I have some more questions. I've been doing some research and I've been reading a lot of reviews that Ringling tends to over accept students that aren't very skilled artists into a lot of majors, especially for computer animation, just so they can guzzle their money for a year because they know these students are going to drop/fail out. They apparently expect about 40% of the students to fail, mostly for computer animation. I also hear that if a certain amount doesn't drop out they will kick students out that they feel aren't good enough for the program. Though, I find that bit a little bit iffy and probably not true...if money was their priority why not keep the crummy students and guzzle up all their money? I'm just curious how much of this is actually true. I've seen it on a few reviews.

EDIT: And oh gawd I forgot about the weather questions I asked. Honestly that's perfect for me. I live in Jersey it's around 19 degrees over here right now. I hate it. I promised my self I would go someplace warm for school.

[ilovesketchbook]

Aw thanks so much. I'd love to check out your work!

Awesomeee and beautiful works! I love your works!!!

[Lectriece]

I've been doing some research and I've been reading a lot of reviews that Ringling tends to over accept students that aren't very skilled artists into a lot of majors, especially for computer animation, just so they can guzzle their money for a year because they know these students are going to drop/fail out. They apparently expect about 40% of the students to fail, mostly for computer animation. I also hear that if a certain amount doesn't drop out they will kick students out that they feel aren't good enough for the program. Though, I find that bit a little bit iffy and probably not true...if money was their priority why not keep the crummy students and guzzle up all their money? I'm just curious how much of this is actually true. I've seen it on a few reviews.

Ultimately all students are not on the same level when they are accepted. I wouldn't say the reason is to guzzle money- there have been some students here who came in with little ability to draw, but turned out to be amazing 3D modelers and texture artists. On the CA side I would say the ability to draw is more important, but ultimately your inability to succeed in one aspect of art won't necessarily prevent you in succeeding in another. The 40% statistic you are hearing is an over estimate (it's more like 34%) and it is not based on students failing. That amount of students *do not complete their degree* which means students who voluntarily switch majors, have medical complications which don't allow them to complete their scheduled credits, fail their liberal arts, and fail in the department count as well. It also means students who can't afford to return to school are included in that statistic. I have had friends and acquaintances whom have dropped out for these reasons. I also have a friend who had to leave the school to complete military service for his country. There are other reasons that statistic is so high, I'm sure.

I couldn't give you an accurate number on what percentage of students genuinely fail out of the program- the reason being is this (supposed) policy: If you fail one of your CA/GAD department classes, you cannot move on to the next semester in these majors. You are effectively removed from the program until you can retake the class you failed- and sometimes if the incoming class for that semester is too large you won't be able to get back into the major. This is a student-by-student basis thing and doesn't have to do exclusively with skill. It may include whether the student actually bothered to turn in their assignments or not, because believe it or not sometimes a student thinks they can pass without ever turning in work.

As I have said in one of my previous posts- you get in essentially based on potential and ability to understand basic artistic principals. Not everyone lives up to that potential. That may be the student's fault, that may be the wrong fit between the student and the school, or it may be the classes they take. I would say in the case of Ringling- the #1 reason why students do not complete a degree is cost.

[ilovesketchbook]

My Ringling Portfolio is at http://isaacliangportfolio.blogspot.sg/

Feel free to visit my Personal Artblog at http://isaacliang.blogspot.sg/ )

[anomalexie]

isaaaaaac. why do i love your style so much

[themegagod]

themegagod: Actually, America is the only country where more men are raped than women but that's mostly because of prison rape so you won't have to worry too much unless you go to prison. But yeah, just stay safe and such and never take rape with a grain of salt. 99% of the time rape stories are true.

Anyway, I have some more questions. I've been doing some research and I've been reading a lot of reviews that Ringling tends to over accept students that aren't very skilled artists into a lot of majors, especially for computer animation, just so they can guzzle their money for a year because they know these students are going to drop/fail out. They apparently expect about 40% of the students to fail, mostly for computer animation. I also hear that if a certain amount doesn't drop out they will kick students out that they feel aren't good enough for the program. Though, I find that bit a little bit iffy and probably not true...if money was their priority why not keep the crummy students and guzzle up all their money? I'm just curious how much of this is actually true. I've seen it on a few reviews.

EDIT: And oh gawd I forgot about the weather questions I asked. Honestly that's perfect for me. I live in Jersey it's around 19 degrees over here right now. I hate it. I promised my self I would go someplace warm for school.

I've read a lot of similar reviews and I think there is some validity to the claims. Sad but true. Most big name schools have similar practices.
But it's not as unethical as it sounds...
The school more than likely does accept many students simply for money. They may not think the student has what it takes to really succeed, but they give the student a chance. giving an artist a shot is a good thing right? I think so. Yet if the student doesn't show signs of success, for the school is it all about money? Well if they have too many open seats, it's really bad for profitability and such, so maybe a bit, yeah. In fact I've read that a lot the money from all of the less known programs (fine arts, art business, etc) go into the things like labs, and so on, that are only really used by the "major" programs such as CA and GAD. This is NOT to say that the other programs aren't also great, but things like CA cost more, so money from another's tuition might go into those programs. It's just business, and not meant to be taken personally by any program- it's sort of like if a school has an award winning football team, a lot of money goes into that activity as it brings in a lot of money to the school overall.
and about failing- well the saying about Ringling goes, "it's easy to get in, hard to stay". With all of the stress surrounding the portfolio acceptance that's kind of hard to imagine, but I've seen/heard it enough times to believe it. With a strict attendance policy (I think you can only miss a total of 4 classes in a semester), intense classes and work loads, and a mandatory (I think) 2.5 GPA minimum, many are expected to fail. And though a C average doesn't sound as though it is all that hard to maintain, I can imagine it gets a good bit harder when you begin going on binges where for 3 days at a time you may not sleep (A student of CA told me they eventually had to do this regularly to keep up- he would fall asleep in bathroom stalls). So is it easy to fall behind and get the boot- let's just say, when you haven't slept, you are zoning out/ sleeping in classes (because you can't miss the class to catch up in other assignments), and then attempting to finish all of your projects, but not make them look rushed, so that you can pass and get a bit of shut eye- I'd imagine it isn't impossible to fall behind and out.
Now let's say, in the off chance a crummy student, does just enough to pass, but not enough to succeed, why would the school then boot the student out, and not simply accept all of their money? that sounds just down right mean.
Mostly reputation. IDK what was everyone else's selling point on Ringling, but I know mine was seeing the student galleries. I saw their CA videos, and thought to myself , "in four years I could be able to do THAT?" When they sent me an information (proof) book, and I saw it was created by students, and all of the work inside was created by students, and it was all beautiful I was again even further amazed.
I'm not sure what the statistic are now, but i know that when I first heard about ringling it had a 100% job placement for interior design students. That almost made me want to apply for interior design, not having any like or love for that really- it was just the idea of a guaranteed job at the end. I've never seen a commercial for ringling, I've still never seen the campus, and never has a box in the corner of my facebook advised I look into ringling- all of it's advertisement seems to be based on word of mouth and the school's merit as being one of the best schools for art. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a commercial for yale? but you know of the school right? If the school lost its reputation, it may very well lose everything.
Now if ringling didn't weed out the less than the best, their reputation would go down. Perhaps the interior design program would have only a 75% job placement at the end... doesn't sound so good anymore. good but not outstanding. The CA program would have more mixed reviews. if mediocre students graduated regularly do you think it would still be ranked on of the best CA programs in the nations? Imagine graduating along with a student who couldn't animate a walk cycle by the end of all four years- companies would be less likely to hire graduates, as they'd not be sure what the quality of alumni actually is. So if they didn't weed out the not as good students, they would lower their reputation, then fewer good students would enroll, as fewer companies would hire, and as the education the school provided would mean less, the school would have to lower tuition, and if they lowered tuition they couldn't afford to keep great teachers, and then the cycle gets worse and worse. As well, if you are going down the artist path, yet you weren't fleshing out into a professional level, would you rather an institution tell you that you suck, or would you rather they tell you to just keep giving them money, and then when you graduate have nothing to show for it?
In many ways the weeding system is for everyone's benefit, yet still the goal is to be in the bracket of students who don't get weeded out.
On top of all of that that goes into the weeding process, I've also read that Ringling, though very good at weeding out most students, still is not perfect- and therefore, you should be trying harder than their expectations. (stressed yet; I am).

I've lived all over New Jersey. I came down to Tampa, from Atlantic city (south), grew up in Monmouth county (central) And have regularly visited family that live in newark and jersey city (north). I love the weather down here, and in fact I was just telling a local about that early. As a fellow New Jersian, I have yet to find an issue here in sunny florida. People do keep warning that the summer gets humid and incredibly hot, but around September when i came down, it was really nice out IMO. I'm also always been a summer person. I love to feel the heat beating down on me and I love the sun. I hate the cold- cold hurts, it's one of the main reasons I decided to get out of new jersey before I was even accepted.

[ilovesketchbook]

isaaaaaac. why do i love your style so much

hahahah lol thanks thanks! lol oh whyyy? i like your works as well.

[anomalexie]

I've lived all over New Jersey. I came down to Tampa, from Atlantic city (south), grew up in Monmouth county (central) And have regularly visited family that live in newark and jersey city (north). I love the weather down here, and in fact I was just telling a local about that early. As a fellow New Jersian, I have yet to find an issue here in sunny florida. People do keep warning that the summer gets humid and incredibly hot, but around September when i came down, it was really nice out IMO. I'm also always been a summer person. I love to feel the heat beating down on me and I love the sun. I hate the cold- cold hurts, it's one of the main reasons I decided to get out of new jersey before I was even accepted.

wait for june. you can fry eggs on the sidewalk. also i agree with the harsh reality of art school weeding out

@isaac: its just such a cute style dsgfdxgfc