Should I just go to college?

[Paul M.]

Hey,

My name is Paul Maybury. I am 20 years old and have been drawing my whole life. I've been working on a comic book project for about 3 months now. Along the way I keep finding all these weaknesses I have. I graduated from high school in 2001. However I have a C average. (Long story but my school lost my grades and the Boston Public School system decided to just replace them with Cs.) Now I applied to Mass College Of Art anyways. But they turned me down because of my poor grades. But I'm sure there are other art schools that don't care so much about academics.

The longer I am out of school the lazier I get. Should I just keep trying to go to college? Or should I just struggle with my artistic weaknesses as I go along and hope I get better?

Bottom Line is I am going to be a comic book artist no matter what. I am kind of targeting the alternative market.

I'm just not sure what to do at this moment. Any thoughts?

Oh ya...If you need to see where I'm at.
www.paulfresh.deviantart.com

[Phil Clark]

I would recommend going to a junior college and getting an associates degree in Commercial art. That way, if things don't work out on the comics front right away, you can always get a job as a production artist doing advertising, or something like it. As long as you have a steady job you can always do all the side work you like. And when the comics work finally starts making you enough money to live off of, you can stop doing the advertising. Unless of course you find that you really like it.

[Mike]

Pclark's idea is a good one. I'm not sure what a junior college is, but there's bound to be some kind of community college or something where you can basically pick and choose classes. The thing that I've always had in mind (that all my friends are doing) is getting at least the basic classes (all your math, english and stuff) out of the way (and bolstering your GPA) so you can go into a larger college and start in on what you really want to do, like take striclty art classes.

The thing with that is that it could concievably take longer to go through college and get any sort of degree.

I didn't know the Paulfresh was that young! You're younger than my little sister and twice the artist I am! ****er!

[Exiter]

i say you go back to your HS and read those fuggers the riot act

Thats the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard. They Lose your grades and then give you Cs??
And they wonder why kids like to shoot up schools nowadays

[Juan]

Just quit your job and become a bum......



















Come on, you know you want to.......




















Ah **** it then, become a pornostar and become rich..........





















I meant gay pornostar.........





















BWAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Okay I'm done.....


-Juan

[The unknown artist]

A junior college is like a community college. You go for two years and then you get and associates degree. Makes it easier to get into other colleges. I just got out of one last spring.

[whoreable]

Just go to JoeKuberts art school, they just need your requirements of a high school diploma, the fee and that your really serious about being an artist, i think this is all they loook for, i could be wrong but thats where i wanna go when i finish my last year, in 12th now.

[whoreable]

Okay, here i found this off there site.....


Applications for enrollment are accepted anytime during the year for the following school year. Since instruction is based on an individual student's own capabilities and potentials, upon receipt of the application, arrangements will be made for the interview procedure and submission of a portfolio. Individual classes are generally limited to a maximum of 25 students and applicants are urged to apply early. An applicant must be a high school graduate or have received a high school equivalency diploma for initial acceptance into The Joe Kubert School. An official high school transcript must be sent to the school prior to enrollment. Interviews (personal or telephone) are scheduled upon receipt of application and application fee. Interviews will not be scheduled until all of the preceding requirements are fulfilled. An applicant who resides a considerate distance from the school is accommodated with a telephone interview. In such instances, the school must receive the portfolio prior to the scheduled telephone interview. It is the responsibility of the applicant to place the call at the scheduled time of the interview. Requests for transcripts must be made by the applicants to their respective high schools and post secondary schools and colleges.

[Phil Clark]

The only thing about kuberts school over a junior/community college, is that you cannot get a general Commercial art degree. Advertisting agencies are all over the place, and they are always looking for good people. Comic publishers are scarce. So take the training that offers you the best shot at getting a job first, then pursue a career in comics. That is what I am doing.

[Mike]

That's all well and good, but we all forgot to mention animation. I know it's shit work, but look at Phil Noto. The guy's a full time in-betweener or somthing (doing basically lackey stuff), but hell, it's full time art of some sort and it can and will help you learn better panel to panel art.

Get an associates, get your commercial art degree, whatever, but do take some kind of animation class. They pay decently and you always have room to move up the chain of command. One of my family friends (the best friend of a deceased uncle on my dad's side) created the Timon character for The Lion King. He started out as an animator then moved into character design and lead character animation. The guy's rich! He works for a year then takes a year off and sails around the ocean in his sailboat!

Keep it in mind!

[ArtGyrl]

i agree that you should go to school. you can do that and do your comic at the same time. but it helps to get a job if you have some type of degree. i graduated the same year as, you, and i went to college and decided to major in graphic design. i went to a regular college, not an art school, but i'm about to transfer somewhere next semester.

my point is, if you go to a community college, it won't be that difficult, because you'll be taking basic classes, and like they said, you can get your grades up and transfer to another school. and my advice about your grade situation. . .if you apply to another art school, be sure to submit your portfolio, because if they see what kind of work you can do, they'll probalby give you some leniency (sp?) and accept you anyway.















oh, and thanx for the note. you're such a dork. ;)

[Akira X]

I recommend the Art Institute of Boston. It's a damn snazzy place. It's where I'm going.

All you need is a nice leveled out portfolio and maybe to explain to them your records. Its not a hard school to get into, but its still a good one.

[Paul M.]

Thanks everyone

I think I will stay in Boston. I just need to find a good school here.

I really have just given up on my grades. I don't really want to go to school to get a piece of paper either. Only reason I want to go is to learn and be around other artists. I already know I can't work a design job. That kind of work drives me up the wall.:(

I am definitely going to start getting a portfiolio together.

Again thanks!

And yes i know i'm a dork.

[DEVin]

Originally posted by Akira X
I recommend the Art Institute of Boston. It's a damn snazzy place. It's where I'm going.

All you need is a nice leveled out portfolio and maybe to explain to them your records. Its not a hard school to get into, but its still a good one.

Hey Nate, Can you PM me some shiz about this place?

Ill find a site. I have to look for colleges in stuff for Career Investigations class.

I might possibly go here if it's all good.

((DEVin!))

[Chris Piers]

I like the Art Institute of Boston and Mass College of Art. You can take classes at either without being a student and get the credit and then re-apply after a semester or two and they may be more willing to accept you and your credits since you elected to take classes there. It's called the continuing education program. I've taken an evening class at Mass Art just to brush up on my skills and thought it was great. I think I will take another next semester to improve my figurework further.

[Kaligula]

I've taken classes at the Art Institute of Boston & Mass College of Art, and I'm pretty sure that any classes you take there count towards college credits. I was considering both of these schools for college (I actually got accepted to both too), but I had to get the hell out of Boston, so I wound up at School of Visual Arts. MCA gave me a hard time too because of my grades, but AIB really could care less. College is good to help refine your talent and for connections, but a degree certainly doesn't guarantee a job. Many of the people I graduated w/ are barely getting by right now. Clients are going to give you work based on your skill, not a piece of paper. So, you could go to college. Or, you could just take classes on the side and maybe get an internship at some kind of art studio, which would be just as good. College was the right decision for me, but it's not neccessary the best for everyone. Just depends what you really want to do w/ your life/art.

[Paul M.]

Kali what do you have against my beloved city again?

[Akira X]

w00t on what Chris said.
I took 4 classes (figure drawing, animation, comic book illustration, and storybook illustration) during 2 summers while I was in high school. They rocked hardcore.

The site is
www.aib.edu

I never thought school could be this cool. I mean, I have figure drawing first thing in the morning at 8:00 and I love it. I go in feeling dead and come out all hyped up and sorry to leave.

[Paul M.]

Dang it!

Akira you are tempting me to go check it out.