申请艺术院校的10个建议-By Lucy Xue

这是大女儿给世界日报写的一篇约稿. 希望对申请美国艺术学院的学生家长有点用.

TEN TIPS FOR APPLYING TO ART SCHOOLS

1.Don’t ask “What is the best art school?” Ask “What is the best art school for what I want to do and the kind of person I am?” 不要问哪个艺术学校是最好, 要问哪个学校最适合我未来发展的方向?

2. Every art school looks for something different—some look for technical skills, some look for abstract, conceptual ideas. Do your research ahead of time. 每个学校招收的学生都不一样, 有些喜欢招有技巧的学生, 有些看中有抽象思维能力的学生. 先做好你的案头工作.

3. Visit National Portfolio Day, a nation-wide event where representatives from most major art schools will review your portfolio and give you advice on how to tailor your work to fit their tastes. 参加全国作品日活动, 全美重要的艺术学院在那一天都会排老师审阅学生的作品集, 他们会为你的作品怎样更符合其学校的要求提出很好的建议.

4. Your portfolio should have 10-20 pictures in it, although the exact number varies from school-to-school. Remember to only show your BEST work. It is better to show less than more. 你的作品集应该有10-20张作品, 尽管每个学校的要求不尽相同. 记住只拿出你 最好最棒的作品, 宁缺勿滥.

5. There are mostly 2 types of art schools: one is more oriented towards generating creative students (better suited for fine-artists and those who want more creative freedom) and one is more industry-oriented (well suited for getting into mainstream industries, such as animation or video games). 大致说来有两大类艺术学院, 一类是产生艺术家的(主要适合画家等需要更多创作自由的纯艺术类人才), 另一类是比较商业化的 (主要培养主流商业化设计师, 比如动漫或者游戏设计)

6. Draw from life. Try to take a figure-drawing course, if possible. Other good exercises include sketching at cafes and zoos, doing still life studies, and plain air paintings. The skills here will benefit you no matter what field of art you go into. The key is that you are training your ability to OBSERVE, not necessarily your technique. 尽量画写生. 如果有可能,最好上一些人体写生课程. 其他有益的练习包括在咖啡馆和动物园画速写, 静物写生. 这些技巧不管你以后学什么专业都会受益. 最重要的是训练你的 观察能力, 不一定就是你的技巧.

7. Join online forums, such as conceptart.org. Many schools also have Facebook groups created specifically for incoming freshman. These are great places to interact with current students, make friends, ask questions, and see how well you will fit in with the community. 参加网上艺术论坛, 比如conceptart.org. 很多学校为新生设有有脸书页面. 这是和被录取学生交流的最好场合, 和他们交朋友, 问问题, 感觉一下自己和他们是否合得来.

8. Many art schools have pre-college programs, where you can enroll in summer courses as a high school student. These are great opportunities to get familiar with the school campus, surrounding geographical location, and the professors.

很多艺术学院有针对备考生的夏令营, 高中阶段不妨去修一些课. 这也是一个对学校校园, 地理位置和环境, 甚至教授全面熟悉的好机会.

9. Contact current students and alumni and ask them about their experiences and if they have tips on getting accepted. If they are alumni, ask them about how well they have been after graduating and if they thought their education was worth it. Most artists nowadays keep blogs and are easy to find if you know where to look. 和在校学生以及毕业生联系, 看看他们有没有什么录取方面的经验和建议. 如果是校友, 询问他们毕业以后的发展怎么样, 是否觉得他们在该校所受的教育物有所值. 现在大多数的艺术家都有博客, 多搜索一下就很容易找到他们的下落.

10. On the flip side, try contacting employers as well, and asking them what kind of schools they recruit from and what schools they recommend for specific fields. 另外一方面也和雇主接触一下, 询问他们一般从哪些学校招人, 在某个专业里他们会推荐哪些学校.