Dissatisfaction with your art school?

I've been out of college for a while at this point, but I saw a lot of this my first year as well.... because our first year was almost entirely fundamentals. I didn't really learn anything new, it was just a bunch of additional practice, and one of my classmates who'd been an AP art student was immensely frustrated that she felt like she was going through the same motions over again that she'd already done in highschool. I also remember one of my friends bringing huge stacks of anatomy studies into the counsellor's office to try to make a case that he could skip Life Drawing I. But like..... we all have to start at the beginning. Some people are coming into art school from fancy art programs, some people are coming into art school as extremely talented self-taught folks who've been pouring themselves into improvement, and some are coming into art school as folks who maybe took an art class and enjoy drawing and just think they'd really like to do something with art. Somehow you have to get all those folks on the same page.

So you start with basic stuff that everyone should know. Some of the teachers of those classes are good, and some of them are pretty terrible because they're just not as passionate about these subjects. (My 2-D design class felt a lot like what you describe here -- the professor just sort of threw projects at us that technically had something to do with a fundamental concept and we could just sort of do what we liked with them, and her assessment of our work felt sort of hit-or-miss and whimsical. It felt very remedial). Even my first comicking class felt like I wasn't really receiving instruction so much as being given very basic practice exercises. My art school challenged me tremendously, but it definitely didn't challenge me my first year.

THAT SAID, I would definitely talk to folks who are further along in their major, if you can, and ask how they feel about it, and look at the kind of work higher level classes are doing, and see if it looks like it's worth your time and money. At my school, there were some majors you could graduate from/classes you could pass feeling like you'd never been pushed, artistically, and others you could complete feeling like you'd really been pushed to your limit, and I learned most of that by talking to other students. Art school is a huge investment that often isn't worth it just because of how much it costs, and I say that as someone who loved my time at SCAD and wishes that everyone could have that experience. I don't think it's bad at all to really carefully consider whether it's worth it to you -- especially if art isn't what you really want to do.

From my experience, art school gives you what you put into it. I'm kind of a Hermione Granger type so I would give myself extra assignments (Oh, both of these sketch ideas are good? I'll just take BOTH to finish even though the assignment only called for one finished piece) and eventually started making up my own independent study classes with professors I liked and doing internships with professional artists. I left art school feeling satisfied, but there were definitely classes that I didn't feel were worth it, especially early on. As Shazz said, a lot of first year classes aren't challenging, because they're just the basics.

At the university I went to you weren't even allowed to declare a major until after your foundation year so everyone was lumped together and we focused on concepts of design rather than skills most of the time. It was so boring and tedious. It wasn't until our second year when we entered our departments that we started to focus more on different techniques... which was also pretty tedious because I'm a digital artist and pretty much always have been, but that year I had to learn how to use pretty much every medium under the sun. It was really the junior and senior years where people found their voices and hit their strides. And even then it was only the people who were fully committed and pushing themselves that graduated satisfied. There were plenty of people talented and untalented alike who left unhappy because something didn't click with them. It's hard to say what didn't click, because there are so many factors... but sometimes talent isn't enough and sometimes drive isn't enough and sometimes both of them together isn't even enough.

I would say, if you don't want to do art as a profession then I don't know if art school is for you. I can't imagine spending that much time and money studying something that I didn't plan to do for the rest of my life. Even as someone who DOES want to do this and LOVED my time at art school I've doubted my decision to go to art school because it was such a huge investment that wasn't really paying off at all when I first graduated.

Yeah, I'm frustrated with my school however I love my professors and classmates.

I went to a for profit college, AIFL, and the admission side of it is very shameful and cutthroat in a sense of getting as much money from each student as possible. They advertise 99% job placement in your industry, however they include jobs at game/movie rental stores and other meager vaguely relevant jobs in that percentage. Also once graduated, they refuse to help alumni with job leads or get their feet in the doors at studios. Not to mention their dorms are old Holiday Inn hotel buildings with super small rooms, 1 small bathroom, a vanity sink/mirror that also serves as a kitchen, that they cram two people into.

Even though I have my own personal horror stories with AiFL, they pale in comparison to the experiences of other students and what my friends went through. I'm one of the lucky ones, honestly.

HOWEVER, all of us agree that the school itself sucks but most of the teachers, classes, and classmates were amazing. I personally needed the structure and guidance of college to get me on an art career path. And to echo what others have said, school requires students to push themselves above and beyond assignments. Odd that teachers don't really stress this more in their classes.

For me personally, I spent every spare moments in the school's 2D Animation lab to the point I was called the 2D Queen. I started the school's first animation club, Student Animation Production Club, and I went to Washington, DC to represent my class' student film entry in the National Fish and Wildlife's Film Festival called the Teddy Project. ON TOP of all that, I held an internship at a local 2D studio during most of my time in college. I didn't have a class requiring it, I just did that on my own inorder to further learn animation and work on professional projects. A good internship where the employer is actually training the intern in the field is GOLDEN!

And to further combat school woes it's important to remember that we live in a time where you can learn literally EVERYTHING online. If the teacher isn't explaining things right or you're not understanding their lessons, you have the ability to look up video tutorials or read through forums that can aide you.

Honestly, if the student is willing and dedicated enough college/art school isn't required. A student can learn completely online and build their own portfolio.

If your school has a career service department, try seeing if they have any internships available. Some schools have partnerships with local studios, or perhaps even ask your mentor for more guidance. Most internships, atleast when I was in school, are unpaid. I know that recently in America, there are more laws and rules for internships since so many employers abused it. You can always look into Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Networks' internship opportunities and try out for that.

I also have a Media Arts degree.

I would say for the most part- I was dissatisfied with my school, but then again my circumstances were different. I took evening courses; all I knew is that I wanted to do something art related, but I wasnt as focused on my career path. I had 2 classes- one was an art fundamentals type course where you learned stuff like charcoal drawing, pencil drawing, marker rendering(using design markers; similar to coloring with copics), drawing with technical pens/inks, and rendering with prismacolor pencils. The class was okay, but it barely held my interest.

My 2nd class was graphics & design- there I learned about type fonts(which turned me into the font junkie that I am today), design/arrangement, graphics, and lightly touched on Photoshop/Illustrator/Corel Draw(this was the early 90s, so computers werent an every household item). My issue for me wasnt that I was lazy- moreso that I was probably the youngest person in my classes; everyone else in my classes were older, more focused, and at one time or another dabbled in some sort of art gig- so they knew what they wanted to do, and how to go about doing it. I was WAAAAY more introverted than I am now, so it was an uphill battle trying to get projects done, and trying to pick these instructors' brains about how to get things done.

I got through my classes, but I had an EXTREME lack of confidence in my abilities. It took some yrs for me doing the odds & ends(working at an art store, learning stuff from comic artists, submitting pages & portfolio reviews at conventions, and finally- starting my own comic) before I got the confidence in my abilities. So yeah, I can say I was dissatisfied with my art school- but if it werent for going through that experience and learning what I learned, I dont think I would be where I am today.

Can I just say right out of the gate, that if you're currently attending a for profit-- Art Institute for example-- school, to drop out now while you can?

(erased my rant-- I won't push that on you fine folk!)

I am actually part of a movement that is trying to fight student debt (more specifically for-profits).
We've protested the open houses, we try to get as much information to young students and their parents-- we are very much against this school and we try to give alternatives before signing in to a life time of debt under false statements, mediocre training and reputation.

Graduated from AI, have pretty much the same experience at @CyndiFoster had-- I was one of the more talented students, got to do a lot of fine things, but I regret my time going to that art school. When people ask, do you need to go to school? I say no. There are other ways...

I loved animation growing up, but mostly, I loved the story telling aspect of it. I loved creating stories, acting out scenes, world building etc-- I probably would have been a good fit as a story artist or story board artist, but with comics, I can do all of that and more. I wish I introduced to the medium properly when I was younger.

You're on this forum, so you must be into comics. Storytelling? You don't need to go to art school to learn those things! A college course here and there, a book on story telling, themes, comic book making, etc-- Where can you find like minded people? Clubs, groups, LCS's, conventions... bam, there's your networking.

Um, so yeah, I am really/was dissatisfied with my school.

I can understand how it could get very frustrating when your professors offer little to no advice that can help you in your class despite that is the whole purpose of you going to class in the beginning. I get it, college is not like middle school or high school where the teachers will take your hands and show you what to do and how to get there. But sometimes I wonder why do I have to pay such insanely large amount of money for something I can just sit at home, look up on the computer and study myself? (As an international student and having to pay international tuition fee, I pay at least triple the normal price for a class a normal student take) I guess in the end, we are all just paying for that college degree at the end of our college life, not quite the knowledge that the professors can offer us.

(I went on a tiny rant about college there, gomen)

@agentfink I totally think if I would have had availability to more resources as kids do now, I def wouldve figured something out...all I knew was that I wanted to do a higher ed after high school... still today I would be open to learning storyboards- if it could get me some work.

I've never had a good experience in many art schools out of a hand full of good teachers. I took cartooning in highschool and as a precollege course and I barely learned anything. All my comic stuff/anatomy was self taught. Then for college I took 3D and I had a few good teachers and some that did not give a shit. They messed up my schedule multiple times leading to me missing out on getting a teacher I majored in . 3D was cliquey as all fuck, if you were a 3D generalist, worked in either the typical hyperrealistic style or pixar/disney/dreamworks style and dormed/worked in the labs 24/7 they worshipped you. I worked on my projects from home and wasn't a generalist so they did not give a shit about me. I finished my final thesis 3 months prior to delivery, in professional high quality for a solo piece and in those 3 months I helped people animate their thesis as participation and in return I had the main director treat me like shit because I didn't spend enough of my free time working in the labs.

My friend found it funny he treated me like that because usually the main director kisses the ass of the female students and has them as favorites. He's the same with the asian students as well, giving them favors. Not to mention teachers and staff in the department have gotten fired over sexual harassment charges and are well known to harass the students. Cartooning was the same if not worse with it's sexist and bizarre atmosphere, teachers giving uncomfortable sexual remarks. I had a cartooning teacher yell at me that my female characters didn't have big enough tits and ass. Jesus christ

I don't regret going to art school; I learned a lot of valuable stuff in a much shorter span of time compared to if I was self-taught. I liked having the opportunity to learn new approaches to drawing from different instructors and building up a network of art peers.

BUT-- I would never advise anyone go to a for-profit art school today. I started college in '08, and it was expensive then-- but by the time I graduated in 2013, it was STUPID expensive-- and the prices only go up every year. I consider myself fortunate that I graduated with under 50k in debt, while these days it seems impossible to get a degree for less than 80-100k. @_@ Is an art degree worth that much? Absolutely not. No way.

Still, I don't 100% agree with people who say "You don't need school, you can learn everything on the internet!" That might work for some, but there are artists who strongly benefit from having the kind of structure and mentorship that a classroom (physical or virtual) provides. That doesn't make them stupid or lazy, and I think we can agree that different learning methods work for different people. That said, there are many more affordable alternatives to expensive private schools, inlcuding online mentorships and classes that come at a fraction of the cost.

Also, it's totally reasonable to be upset with your instructors if they're crap at their job. You're paying for a service with the expectation of having a knowledgeable instructor-- it would be really weird to willingly pay for poor instruction. If I go to a restaurant and they serve me really shitty food I don't shrug and go "Oh well, that's life! I'll just cook something myself :u" It's not the teacher's job to make you do the work and achieve a specific skill level, but it is their job to at least know what they're talking about and offer you guidance.