How to Prepare Your College Portfolio

A portfolio is an arrangement of your art work. It is a collection of your visual creativity. You will be preparing this portfolio to submit to an admissions department in a college or university for review. Your academic record will also be reviewed to determine if you are prepared to handle the academic coursework while the portfolio is scrutinized to determine if you have what it takes to excel as an artist. Your portfolio is a representation of you and how you express yourself as an artist. Your acceptance in an art school is heavily determined by the creativity and the variety of art skills you have honed. Take this serious.

The school will usually require 8 to 15 pieces of original artwork. Digital portfolios may also be required at many schools. Drawings from observation are required. These drawings are not from photographs but from what you see. A word of warning: Professors CAN tell if you used a photograph because the drawing used from a photograph usually lacks depth. The school may ask you to submit slides or discs with your drawings for observation. It is vital that you show the school how creative you are and not copy the styles of other artists or photographers when interpreting a still life, landscape, or a figure on canvas, paper, or graphically. Also, keep a sketchbook. Draw in it everyday. You can submit a collection from your sketchbook at many schools.

ASSIGNMENTS

Each school may suggest different assignments to help you build your portfolio. When I was applying for art school the three suggested assignments went as follows:

1. Select 3 dishes of different styles. Use charcoal on 18" x 24" newsprint which you can find at an art store or sometimes get for free at the local newspress. Ask for the scrap newsprint they have.

2. Select a complex object with texture or an everyday object and make it bigger. A pine cone, a hair brush, or piece of popcorn work great for this.

3. Draw a self-portrait. Use a mirror and the school will determine what medium for you to use. Usually, the school will ask you to use oil pastels. Remember: This is not a picture of you but it is to be an image of you. In fact, it does not have to look like you.

4. Draw other people using ink, a Sharpee marker, or colored pencils. This is great practice for your sketchbook. My favorite place to draw people is a coffee shop or bookstore. It forces you to learn to sketch quickly and accurately.

PRESENTATION

It is important to present your art work in a professional manner. Place your most prized art work in your portfolio for presentation and to protect your precious art work from damage. Do not show more work than required. Spray all charcoal and pastel renderings with fixative. Place trace or tissue paper between your drawings to stop any transfer or bleeding color. 3-D work must be packaged carefully so it is not damaged. Photographs of 3-D work is sometimes acceptable.

If you need help preparing your portfolio take an art class at a local art center, a cultural center, an adult education class at a high school, a community college, an artist's workshop, or an artist's workshop held at a university.

I emphasize drawing in your sketchbook every day. Make this a habit. Buy a sturdy portfolio to present your original art work.

You will meet with an Admissions counsellor who will critique your work and give you the opportunity to talk about your creative process. This is a great time to find out how to better your work and you should find this constructive criticism vital to making you the best artist you can be. I wish you the best experience ever!