PORTFOLIO REFLECTION
Sheridan Animation Portfolio 2013 is coming to an end and I hope everyone who applied feels good about the work they've achieved and more or less takes time to relax and stay positive over the next waiting period. Reflecting on my portfolio experience with fellow Sheridan colleagues--we agreed how long and anti-climatic the entire process can be. Personally, I found it very tough at times just coming home and checking my Sheridan email for any acceptance or rejection messages. My advice is to stay patient, focused on other tasks at hand, but most of all--stay positive.
IT TOOK ME TWO YEARS TO GET IN
It takes some people four years to get into Sheridan Animation. When I got into Sheridan Animation I realized how many people people from a diverse set of programs enter into Sheridan Animation. Not to mention there are a multitude of people from different walks of life that come to Sheridan Animation to learn. This isn't a basic post-secondary education so stop thinking this is a normal thing to do. You must think abnormally, think out of the box, and think abstractly. People say I'm crazy to do something like this and the truth is you'd have to be a bit crazy to spend hours and hours on work. But take what I'm saying with a 'grain of salt' because anyone can get in and still be a hard worker (still be successful), however, I like to think that you need to bring something special to the table. With all the students applying into Sheridan Animation there is a ongoing problem of students producing the same thing. So think about not only being talented but being unique.
It takes time to build a portfolio and learn the necessary skills to enter into Sheridan Animation. For some individuals, they've spent years drawing so it's less challenging for them to create a portfolio with no professional help and get accepted on their first try. There are plenty of people like that in Sheridan Animation and some of those people are arrogant students while some are very open-minded people. Again, we can simply compare one person who has spent years on training to someone who has not. Indeed, some people have no education in animation/art so spending time, building a proper portfolio, takes years of understanding and learning. Personally, when I first applied I was not aware of how competitive it was. I was naive to think that I could get in with my work that I had spent so little time on. Eventually I enrolled in a preparation program to help me with getting into Sheridan Animation.
For individuals that don't get into Sheridan Animation, you may have the choice of either entering into Visual Creative Arts (VCA) and Art Fundamentals (Fundies). These program are available for prospective students to build their art portfolio but not to specifically help them create a Sheridan Animation Portfolio. However, those individuals have an opportunity to put time into basic foundational learning just to prepare themselves for Sheridan Animation. It depends on the individual if they believe they need some foundational learning or an after-school program for specific portfolio evaluation/ preparation. I chose the ladder and I believe that was far more beneficial to me, however, I will discuss this later. On the other hand, some prospective students believe it's beneficial to do VCA or Art Fundies but truth-be-told, not everyone from those programs get into Sheridan Animation. Meaning, at the end of the day it all comes down to portfolio evaluation.
The ones that do excel are the types of students who network with the proper animation teachers and students. They also begin to work on their portfolios early.
So remember--it's a process. You reach one level then you reach for the next. You do it with passion. You do it with patience.
It takes time to build a portfolio and learn the necessary skills to enter into Sheridan Animation. For some individuals, they've spent years drawing so it's less challenging for them to create a portfolio with no professional help and get accepted on their first try. There are plenty of people like that in Sheridan Animation and some of those people are arrogant students while some are very open-minded people. Again, we can simply compare one person who has spent years on training to someone who has not. Indeed, some people have no education in animation/art so spending time, building a proper portfolio, takes years of understanding and learning. Personally, when I first applied I was not aware of how competitive it was. I was naive to think that I could get in with my work that I had spent so little time on. Eventually I enrolled in a preparation program to help me with getting into Sheridan Animation.
For individuals that don't get into Sheridan Animation, you may have the choice of either entering into Visual Creative Arts (VCA) and Art Fundamentals (Fundies). These program are available for prospective students to build their art portfolio but not to specifically help them create a Sheridan Animation Portfolio. However, those individuals have an opportunity to put time into basic foundational learning just to prepare themselves for Sheridan Animation. It depends on the individual if they believe they need some foundational learning or an after-school program for specific portfolio evaluation/ preparation. I chose the ladder and I believe that was far more beneficial to me, however, I will discuss this later. On the other hand, some prospective students believe it's beneficial to do VCA or Art Fundies but truth-be-told, not everyone from those programs get into Sheridan Animation. Meaning, at the end of the day it all comes down to portfolio evaluation.
The ones that do excel are the types of students who network with the proper animation teachers and students. They also begin to work on their portfolios early.
So remember--it's a process. You reach one level then you reach for the next. You do it with passion. You do it with patience.
KNOWING HOW TO BUILD CHARACTERS// BUILD A DRAWING
The school I had attended was Mississauga Valley School of Art (MVSA http://www.facebook.com/MVSAOfficial) and there I learned animation skills from a 4th year Sheridan student. However, there are many Sheridan Animation prep-programs in the GTA and I've only heard of about three to four. Two in Mississauga and two in Toronto. I found prep-programs beneficial because it kept me focused on learning new techniques and above all finishing the portfolio on time. With a prep-program my work excelled to Sheridan Animation standards to a degree. Looking back, it could have been way better. Creativity for one thing is something I scored low on. But in trying to develop a portfolio, an animation student can show you one of two things; one is how to push your work above and beyond, two is to help you understand how to structurally build and develop drawings/characters. Nothing is more important than these fundamental steps toward learning. On any level, as I've mentioned before, you're not just trying to make a good portfolio to get you into the school but make a portfolio that sets you far above everyone else to ensure that you will get in.
Students who do well in the animation portfolio don't just set the bar high for people in that year but in all years. Making a good portfolio shows that you've accomplished a lot for you as an individual and doing a good job makes you feel confident when entering Sheridan Animation. Those people who do set the bar high are the ones that are pushing the standards. It's simple. Do it right. So many people put together very weak portfolios and don't have a clue when they get their rejection letter. If you're confused then that means you just didn't do your homework. If you just do the "bare-minimum" then you aren't going to get anywhere in terms of your evaluation. Set the bar high, come up with something amazing. Really 'say' something with your portfolio. Do your very best.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL// DON'T BE AFRAID OF MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS
A lot of my colleagues agree that the worst thing a prospective student can do is get discouraged or feel you're not good enough. It's natural to feel that way but there are many things you can do in the mean time while preparing for the next portfolio. Get your spirits up. At the point you might receive a rejection letter you might say to yourself, "I can't wait another year for this." But the truth is, you can wait another year and you can work on the real fundamentals of learning that can help you get in next year. There are many ways you can push yourself to continue that learning process and most of you are probably doing that regardless. For me, when I took several months off before working on the next portfolio I really wish I had spent more time on two things: Life Drawing and copying from comic books. Those have always been two learning avenues for me and they continue to provide me with more practice and creativity. For some, you can begin to work on the next portfolio. Just don't sit around. Get inspired. Be creative. Get working.
Regardless of the outcome, I'd say now you have a great opportunity to take big steps in planning how you want to learn more about animation and art.
So there are a couple of things to consider: What's your next step? Is it Sheridan Animation? Is it another post-secondary school? You have to make that decision for yourself because at the end of the day, you need to be the one who's happy with that choice. Luckily, at Sheridan Animation you have the benefit of being around other artists, starting new projects, and constantly learning. So if you're worried about not having a community of artists the trick is to either find one or just learn to be super disciplined.
What am I going to finish off on? No pain. No gain. Keep with it. Stay positive.
PROCESS WORK// PERSONAL WORK
As an added bonus I wanted to show some of my process work for a painting I'm working on. Since I don't have my personal art blog up yet I will post some work. However, I'm weary about posting too much art work because I want to keep this blog-space separate from my personal artwork unless it's connected to technique and methods about animation/art.
