California College of the Arts - Illustration

**CaNiBaLe** · October 15th, 2008, 12:02 AM

Hi there!

I've been doing extensive research about schools with a good department of illustration, and now I've decided that I have to pick one in california. The reason? it's simple, there are two (main) things that make me happy: art and biodanza (sort of "dance classes", very hard to explain actually) and there is only biodanza in California, specifically in SF. So, after a lot of research about schools there I think I CCA is the best for me. Art Center really looks good, but really, REALLY don't like it's location, and it's far from my stuff too

.There are some other schools too like CalArts, Otis College, AAU, etc. but the CCA was the one I liked the most so far. Maybe somebody can notice I missed a school to look at, but I really want to focus into CCA information.

So, any reviews about it? anybody here attends/have attended/teaches in the CCA? any ideas about their connections? about cool electives such as watercolor, gouache, digital? about it's drawing strengt?

I looked into their student's work and there wasn't much, but it was pretty great, or selected xD who knows.

Well!!! any kind of help is VERY useful for me!!!

**Candy Rain** · October 15th, 2008, 11:57 AM

My question to you is how much time you're expecting to spend doing biodanza each week. I think the general consensus here is that if you're going to shell out the money for a full time art school experience, you're going to get the most out of it by living breathing art and doing very little else.

And *really*, I wouldn't choose a school based solely on its proximity to an extracurricular.

A lot of schools will have their course catalog online, if you dig deep enough, so that should help give you an idea of what electives will be available to you.

**CaNiBaLe** · October 15th, 2008, 12:47 PM

I'm not choosing this school only because there's biodanza stuff around, but it's an important point for me and you have to respect it. If I just wanted to make this decision based on that, I'll stay where I am, where the bigger school of biodanza is, and where I know a lot of people etc. I just want to have a balance, FYI biodanza is only once a week, nothing too bad, I've managed to do extracurricular stuff along with art school before, and it's hard, but not impossible.

Maybe it was a bad idea to even tell the reason I want to be in California, I thought many people wouldn't understand that kind of decision, but it's already done... so please take the biodanza reason as SECONDARY, and if you know something about this SCHOOL please tell me, it seems very good, I liked the program, the alumni work and it's in the ACAID, so this is not a crazy decision either....

**BubbaGump** · October 17th, 2008, 12:43 AM

Mike Mignola!

**CaNiBaLe** · October 20th, 2008, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by BubbaGump

Mike Mignola!

huh? :p

So, there's nobody in CA currently studying in the CCA?

does anybody know about any other kind of forum where I can contact students from there?

**emifinan** · October 20th, 2008, 01:44 PM

In my experience, art students are generally too busy with classwork to lurk on forums and answer questions XD there seem to be a few exceptions here from Ringling, SVA and Art Center though. I go to collegeconfidential.com forums, they have one specific to Art Majors but its mostly parents of HS kids posting there. On livejournal there are a few artschool school communities but I don't remember the CCA one being active.

Stalking is possible, I would search google, deviantart, livejournal, blogspot, wordpress ect for illustration graduates at CCA. If you can find one, they usually link to their other graduating class mates since they're usually still trying to find jobs haha. From there you can sometimes find professors blogs and find current student blogs. (Seems like every artist keeps a blog nowadays) Without being too invasive you can get a feel for the illustration work at a particular school (as students usually post assignments, and graduates usually posted assignments in the past), and if you really wanted to you could probably message those people.

Boy do I sound like a creep or what?

**BubbaGump** · October 21st, 2008, 01:24 AM

Originally Posted by lady_kito

huh? :p

So, there's nobody in CA currently studying in the CCA?

does anybody know about any other kind of forum where I can contact students from there?

Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) studied illustration at CCA. He's pretty successful...

**BubbaGump** · October 21st, 2008, 01:25 AM

Originally Posted by emifinan

In my experience, art students are generally too busy with classwork to lurk on forums and answer questions XD there seem to be a few exceptions here from Ringling, SVA and Art Center though. I go to collegeconfidential.com forums, they have one specific to Art Majors but its mostly parents of HS kids posting there. On livejournal there are a few artschool school communities but I don't remember the CCA one being active.

Stalking is possible, I would search google, deviantart, livejournal, blogspot, wordpress ect for illustration graduates at CCA. If you can find one, they usually link to their other graduating class mates since they're usually still trying to find jobs haha. From there you can sometimes find professors blogs and find current student blogs. (Seems like every artist keeps a blog nowadays) Without being too invasive you can get a feel for the illustration work at a particular school (as students usually post assignments, and graduates usually posted assignments in the past), and if you really wanted to you could probably message those people.

Boy do I sound like a creep or what?

Don't worry. I do the same thing too. I love looking at student blogs (creeper!!!). They're putting their work up for display, what's the harm in peeking?

**CaNiBaLe** · October 21st, 2008, 01:26 PM

Thanks a lot for the advice, it's been hard to find good search results tho..

And I think it's ok too to see their blog work, that's what a blog is for isn't it?