What is (or was) your college major? Does it help you with web comics?

[efdvorsky]

My university is not....very good.

I mean it is...if you study natural science, architecture, or law, then YOU'RE GONNA SHINE, SON. If not. Eh.

I first started out 2 years in Computer Science because it just...sounded fun??? I didn't know how to draw but I wanted to do animation and I was told to do Computer Science as it would "always guarantee a job". Our university has ties with NASA so that was another great opportunity for me and I was like "YEAH MARS MISSIONS. LET'S DO IT"

I did not.

I actually ended up almost dropping out of college with major depression and started working in some temp jobs but they never lasted too long as I mostly quit and would sulk for a while in my house.

Eventually I changed to the art school in the same university when I thought "well screw it, I mean, if I can't go to Mars I may as well just draw." And even then I wasn't nor am very satisfied with it, their focus was mostly performance and theory and only NOW is it really trying to expand in other areas. Most of the things I've learned on my own or outside sources, so a year later I changed ONCE AGAIN to another degree after experimenting in literature and sociology for a while, and eventually landed in Public Communications and Filmmaking, which is what I'm going to graduate in.

So really, my degree is still film making but, like I said, the school hasn't been all that helpful and I'm only thankful for outside courses or a good number of professors who've been downright amazing. My focus is mostly in the theoretical aspect of film making and story structure, at least.

Would I recommend you going down the same path as I did? UH, NO. tobequitehonest

No, if you live in the States it'll cost you an arm and a leg. It's taken me 6 years but here studying in universities are practically free (I only pay $144 a year since my mother is employed there) so I've been extremely privileged to take my time and squeeze in courses for comic researching like all my forensic electives. But because of it I've also been terrified of heading out to a grad school or a specialized school in fear of being in debt for the rest of my life.

What I recommend is: choose a good school, don't jump in on the debt train out of empty promises, you can learn most of it on your own. Thankfully in the art side of things, it's more talent and a good portfolio rather than a piece of paper (unless you're in CalArts)

But always be open to take extra courses to improve or get a second opinion.

[alakotila]

I am positive you could make anything help for comics; if you study it because it truly interests you, that interest will likely show up in your comics and other work. If you go for an arts degree, you really need to be a very self-motivated person. But I will be the last to recommend you pick up a degree you think is useful but you hate. Your call!

I have a degree in Fashion Design, but I also have a ton of interests and I knocked myself out getting hours packed into English and writing, Graphic Design, and Illustration. Liberal arts schools are good for that.

And dang, if my characters aren't stylish.

[AnnaLandin]

Well, I literally went to college for Comics and Visual Storytelling, so yeah, I'd say it helps! XD

ETA: I should probably mention that I'm Swedish, so going to college did not saddle me with the same kind of crushing debt an American college would have. In fact, my government actually gave me a monthly stipend to go to school.

I got to study all sorts of visual storytelling - from regular comics to children's picturebooks to illustrated instructions, so I got to experiment with most kinds of visual storytelling, including a very basic course in animation, both doing a 30 second finished animation and practising the very basics of storyboarding for animation.

My comics assignments included everything from gag strips to political cartoons to regular full-page comics of all genres, and we were tasked to experiment with dialogue vs silence, telling the same sequence of events from the perspective of two opposing characters (i.e: practising how to depict a character's subjectivity to what was happening in the story), we got to do a shorter version of the 24 Hour Comic Day - in 16 hours instead, because we weren't technically allowed to spend 24 hours straight in school, though I did have classmates who did that before deadlines.

Tips for artists getting into college - challenge yourself. Experiment with new techniques, give yourself specific challenges to complete, try new things. Don't just do the assignments - use the opportunity you have with the presence of so many other artists and art teachers and the available facilities to do things you otherwise couldn't. Learn from your classmates as well as from your teachers, and try everything.

I mean, I had a classmate who once painted a very elaborate portrait of one of her characters using every medium available to her in the same picture - including glitter-glue and the dregs of her cold coffee.

Another classmate did his 30 second animation 100% by hand, pencil on paper, and wrote his own soundtrack to it - while most of us were happy just learning the basics of flash and making something that didn't look completely awful, he decided that no, he should really do something that looks like a test-reel for Disney.

And he did.

[Chopythes]

My both universities has helped me a lot with learning how people works and I think that's a great thing to know.
I am however a university drop out, have attended two different universities and two different programs.
The first one was where I thought I'd become a pre-school teacher, but it turned out that they've changed all the courses into something else and it was something I didn't agree with. I wanted to be a TEACHER not an assistant for a teacher.
Then some really nasty stuff happened that made me feel violated and it ripped my dreams apart from becoming a teacher.
10 years later I still haven't studied it.

Then I jumped on to a Multimediakommunikationsvetenskap = Multi Media Communitcaton Science where we're to learn about how media tell us different things, it was awesome!
But... I had gone in to a severe state of depression and just couldn't handle the pressure. (Long story there as well, haven't studied ever since.)
But here we had to learn how to analyze different settings, what movies could tell us, who was the antagonist and protagonist, the angles to use to make you feel really gross inside (just watch anything by Alfred Hitchcock, oh man) and how to make a scene feel crowded and so on.
I still have usage for this yet today, and watching movies helps me a little when I feel stuck at panelling by thinking: How would someone panel this movie into a comic?
Movie Science was just the best (but I flunked it because the teacher didn't believe my essay about Chocolat... I still believe it's the chocolate that's both the protagonist and the antagonist in the movie but it does different things to different people).

@AnnaLandin
I mean, I had a classmate who once painted a very elaborate portrait of
one of her characters using every medium available to her in the same
picture - including glitter-glue and the dregs of her cold coffee.

... It's the one girl I'm thinking of, isn't it? Because she still does this, haha!

[AnnaLandin]

... It's the one girl I'm thinking of, isn't it? Because she still does this, haha!

It is, yeah! XD She's using plastic and paper-cutouts and who knows what else these days. Why limit your imagination, after all?

[Stellamari]

I graduated from med school a few months ago, which was one of the many reasons why I put off doing webcomic until graduation. In a way, it did helped me with web comic (or art, in general) because it helped me to realize how much I love doing it.

[HNLEE]

I'm a Fashion major ... I don't really think my course helps me in my comics since it takes up my time with plates. Being in an art department is the real reward though. I meet lots of people who are interested in comics too and having connections help a lot. My friends even published their own comics too, and if I ever want to animate my comics then I know who to go to.

[maripazvillar2004]

History major here. I totally wasted my time in college because I only studied to pass the exams. Fortunately I found a job in a small animation studio just in my last year of college and never had to look for a job related to my major. Being in college help to my career? I'd say... yes, because I used the long classes to draw in the margins of my paper sheets and the study time to draw stupid stories for my own. That's training after all, right? XD

Also education's not expensive in Spain, so I hadn't loans to pay.

I believe that no matter what you study, if your passion is drawing or writing or whatever you'll do it anyway, as a job or as a hobby.

[gateofselidor]

I studied Japanese. I don't think it really helped my art (although I got a year studying in Japan out of it, which gave me plenty of inspiration, access to a lot of comics, and a nice library of reference photos for Japanese architecture). It probably helped me as a writer, because learning a new language tends to teach you plenty about your own language as well.

[PotooGryphon]

What is/was your college major?

I majored in Media Arts and Animation, with a focus on 2D animation.

Does it help you in creating your web comics? Or getting noticed?

Help in creating? Sure, definitely. Animation enforces a determination to complete a project even if have have to draw the same character slightly moving 100+ times for 4 seconds of motion. :crazy grin:

Also drawing constantly and practicing art for all my years in college, learning proper technique, getting inspired, learning what about an art piece gets me inspired, being challenged and forming friendships with other art students, yeah it helps. However, it will not help you get noticed and you don't need a degree in art to be an artist.

(Getting noticed comes from building a presence online and there's no short cut for that, just time)

All those benefits can also be achieved without college through online tutorials, joining art communities, and drawing constantly.

What advice would you give an artist going into college?

You don't need a college degree in art to be a professional artist. You just need a strong portfolio. You can get a degree in literally anything else, and work on your art/portfolio on the side. Apply to job leads and send them your art portfolio. That's all you need.

However, if you have your heart set on an art college, I recommend trying for CalArts (if you want to go ALL OUT) or just apply to a community college art degree. The cost of a private school in America is not really worth it unless you go head long into a cream of the crop school. You'll get just as much from a community school as you would from a lesser private school like the Art Institute or Art Academy and be in less debt after graduating. Student loans are relentless.

Any other helpful tips would be appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

Look and apply to art jobs while in school. It's good to start gaining experience immediately and it'll keep you current in the job market.

[Kayke]

I have a BFA in Illustration and it definitely helped me! It helped me with my art, design, and typography skills obviously, but it's had other benefits as well.

When I was in school I interned with one of my professors who is a cartoonist and I got to work with her on some comics for Ape and Dark Horse. I spent a summer going to her studio with her a few times a week and learned... well, basically everything hahah. Most of my comic making techniques were learned from her.

I also tabeled at my first con with a few of my professors, They had a table at Wizard World Philly and let me tag along for free and sell my first mini comic at their table to see what it was like.

When it comes to college, you get out of it what you put in. So if you go there and work really hard it will pay off. Like I took a lot of creative writing courses along with my illustration course work because I knew I wanted to make comics and that it would be helpful. I took an internship with someone in the field I wanted to go into. I worked with my professors to fit comics and sequential art into my portfolio and thesis. I'm sure there are people who graduated the same program as I did who wouldn't know the first thing about comics because they didn't try to focus on that.

[okellymx]

I want the opportunity to study for animation but I can't afford that. I'll probably settle with fine arts.

[elixiadragmire]

Mine was General Illustration!

Did it help? Your probably thinking "Of course!" Well, your counting on the course being any good it wasn't. TBH the best life art lessons i learn were from College not Uni AND getting a full time in house design team job at 22. Nothing like a baptism of fire!

[igneriss]

I'm currently on my last, fifth year of chemistry ( : it doesn't help drawing comics at all, it only takes lots and lots of time CX but hey, it was fun, and I actually plan to draw a webcomic based on things that happened during this time- like accidents during labs, creative reports-writing, and so on C:

[DeadAccount]

Another ex-art student here.
I ended up studying Game Art - it helped me get a job. Doing 3D full time helped me realise just how much I prefer drawing, so maybe it did influence my passion for comics in this perverse way >_> Also, knowing 3D helps me with blockouts and environments sometimes, so that's kinda cool.
Before Game Art I actually attempted BA Sequential Illustration, but all it did is make me lsoe all hope in art education. The course I was doing was pretty sub-par and most students' work was just..primary school level. That kind of horrified me.
I think that even if you're studying art, a lot of what you put into comics is self-taught. At least here in the UK University is all about teaching yourself - I can see why it's important, but yeah..having lecturers that know what they're doing would still be nice.

[MarineHaddock]

I'm a radio broadcasting student, it doesn't help at all. Unless I write about working in radio. Sometimes people have tried to direct me to the art classes because apparently i look like an art student.

Though since the course is super easy I get more time to work on everything else that's thrown at me.

Advice: If youre an artist, do art. It'll help more than radio does.

[PixyByte]

@SethJH Wow, I saw your comic, and I like how everything looks so put together and detailed. The characters look like something straight out of a film!

@phenylketonurics I never knew professors would be so willing to help, every teacher I've had in the past were definitely not that involved. Maybe that's the difference between high school art vs college art, haha. I will have to look around at the local colleges here, because from what I've gotten from a lot of people here is that participation is key and they have learned a lot from a very supportive art community. I live kind of in the middle of nowhere, so I'm hoping there is still a college around with a decent community of artists.

@shazzbaa I am American, and part of the reason why I've been putting off college was the idea that I didn't need it. Why go through all the hoops of college and pay the money when I can already draw? Just to get a paper saying I can? A lot of jobs I've applied for pretty much go with the "associates/bachelors/masters degree, or experience equivalent" idea. That seems like that would be perfect for someone who doesn't have a degree, until you get the phone call/email back that basically says "Thanks for applying, but you need to have an actual degree". I've had that several times and it's getting old. From what I've seen of the other posters here, college is great for networking and learning from your peers. I don't hang out with any artists here, because I have yet to find them haha. I will definitely explore my options before I choose! I just like hearing the journeys that others have gone through for their art, helps give me a sense of direction.

@Luie I've done the self-taught route, because I thought I would outsmart everyone by learning as much as I would in college and save money in the process. That didn't work too well, haha. I can see a lot of good it would do to be around an art community, networking would be amazing. I have no idea how to go about marketing, so I definitely plan on studying up on that. I'm in America, but the state and town I am in is pretty much the middle of nowhere, and I don't see a huge art community thriving anywhere here. Although to be fair, I haven't done much searching yet. So, who knows lol. I plan on going to the closest colleges and just having a chat with them about what they offer. Couldn't hurt.

@avimHarZ I've had my share of programming, haha. It was fun, but way too technical for me. I'm in America, where are you? Because your description of the art education seems pretty spot on. That's kind of why I didn't jump on the college ship immediately. My thought was, I can already draw, why do I need to major in something I've taken dozens of classes on in high school? Not the best mindset, and I do understand that there's other fields to gain knowledge from, I just didn't want to dish out money for it. Now I'm starting to think it wouldn't hurt to at least take a class or two and go from there. I'm going to see if there's something on Marketing, because I am very much clueless on it.

@heterodont We should start a club lol. My social anxiety has been linked to my depression and ADHD, which creates a fun loop. I totally get where you're coming from. It's terrifying to think about breaking out of my comfort zone, but ultimately, it's necessary.

@quietsnooze Yes! You worded that perfectly! I have the hardest time drawing the same characters over and over again. I didn't know if there was anything specific to help me with my comics, every major seems to focus on some aspect that would be necessary for comics like coloring, attention-grabbing, detailing, etc. All very good stuff. I will keep an eye out for classes on storyboards if I decide to go the Animation route.

[PixyByte]

@AnnaLandin I'm surprised by how many people posting here have been in a country that provides a monthly stipend to go to school. I'm in America. I think I should move. The thought of massive amounts of debt scares me, and I have enough anxiety as it is. If I can find a specific degree for Comics and Visual Storytelling I will definitely go for it, but I haven't seen anything like that here so far. I hope I can find a good art community here, but I am kind of in the middle of nowhere. We are big on farming and agriculture, and sports, here. I will do my best to look for the artists! If nothing else, I can probably find an artist who specializes in drawing farm equipment and cows. XD

@maripazvillar2004 That's so funny Hey, practice is practice, after all. I very much agree with you, passion for creative works will always shine through in some way.

@igneriss Life experiences make the best stories! lol that's what I plan to do with my comic. I have a lot of bad luck, but the ability to laugh about it later makes it worth it.

[ranka]

What is/was your college major?

I originally wanted to go to film/animation school in Cali, but settled on an in-state public college to save my parents some money. Got a degree in Computational Media, which is half computer science, half design/liberal arts. I currently feed myself doing UI/UX Design.

Does it help you in creating your web comics? Or getting noticed?

I learned a few things, like using the Adobe suite, but never really took any classes that were purely art based. I'm basically self-taught, copying things I like and relying on the benevolence of amazing artists on the web who make tutorials. I've thought about going back to school for a MFA or something, but concluded that I'd rather just take night classes pinpointed toward specific things that I feel like I'm lacking, like background art for example.

Skills can be attained even without the formal education (albeit a bit slower), it's the people that matter I think. Talking to like-minded artists and professionals IRL is probably the best part of going to college. That, and having industry contacts.

[Mharz]

where are you?

I'm from Philippines.

I've encountered lots of animation students who wanted to apply to our studio but they have no idea what the 12 principles of animation are. Makes me wonder what the kids here are learning for $1000-3000 per semester. Most artist here in our country just do self-study.

I have to admit though that self-studying can be a struggle if no one's checking on you. Which is why it's better to have a mentor of some sort.

rather than a diploma, it's the portfolio that matters.

This is what is amazing in Art industry. Unlike other careers where they check your degree, records, and grades, if people from art industry see you have a potential you can get a work regardless of your education attainment. Plus you don't need to go to an office to have a job.