MY OCAD VS SHERIDAN EXPERIENCE (PART 2)

OCAD DESIGN STRESSES DESIGN PRINCIPLES WHERE AS SHERIDAN ANIMATION STRESSES DRAWING TECHNIQUES

When comparing two institutions one must recognize that they are two different education centres with two entirely different approaches to education and learning. I wanted to stress this point because maintaining neutrality in my evaluation is paramount. I also do not want to misrepresent OCAD as a bad place for an fine art education.

I'm concerned with providing prospective fine art students with a very logical, supported, and reasonable argument when applying to art schools. However, please use your discretion when reading my material and take everything I say with a grain of salt because in no way am I a professional writer or artist but I am someone who believes in constant learning, taking chances, and helping others. I've spent time outside school working and I understand the real benefits of being in school.

OCAD and Sheridan College are both businesses--they won't give you what you want unless you give them money in return. So remember, you want to get the most 'bang for your buck' and that means picking a institution that has a good reputation and a good track record of students. I chose Sheridan because they had a good track record for a good education and getting a job. In this day-and-age you  want to feel good about the education you receive and above all gain confidence in your skills.

OCAD--MY PERSPECTIVE/OPINION

Honestly, OCAD can be really challenging and beneficial for a lot of people. Illustration Design and all the Design programs function as all-together one foundation year. Meaning everyone is essentially learning the same thing. It makes sure everyone is on the same track and gives everyone a good start within colour theory and design knowledge. Essentially, my problems with this is the fact that drawing practice and drawing technique isn't stressed in any of this, only design, colour theory, and some other stuff. I reiterate, we're comparing apples to oranges meaning we're comparing an institution that will stress DESIGN principles next to an institution that will stress DRAWING principles and highly skilled computer/technology techniques.

What did I not like about OCAD? I didn't find it very challenging and I wasn't learning a lot in my first year. I went to an art high school before hand so a lot of the courses I was taking was repeat. I didn't move into 2nd year OCAD because I didn't want to attain the Illustration Design degree they were offering. Honestly, even when I look back on it, its hard to specifically say what I didn't enjoy about but my experience as a whole wasn't what I was looking for. In terms of art, I realize now that drawing techniques interest me be more because I find it more practical where as design theory didn't interest me at all.

>COMPARISON/IDEAS/OPINIONS

I will provide a short comparison of what to expect at Sheridan Animation vs OCAD (First Year) and I'm going to focus on one course to keep things simple and I've chosen painting as my example:

Sheridan Animation Painting 1 is very similar to Design Stream Painting 1 in that you explore colour theory and colour harmony all the same. It's basic 1-2-3, ABC's of colour and painting. I found Sheridan Animation instructors and assignments more "to-the-point" in terms of colour theory and also the assignments a lot more challenging.  At OCAD, you have 1 month/ 3-4 assignments of doing gradient bars, colour tests and such. At Sheridan Animation, its one week to do your first assignment which is essentially all the color tests and gradient bars.

Year One - First Painting Assignment

OCAD Design Painting 1 (All Design Majors)

- Greyscale, 1 week to finish;
- next week Color scale, 1 week to finish
- next week Grey/Black and Color assignment, 1 week to finish
- Rough sketches
- Layout Outline
- Reference material

WHERE AS:

Sheridan Animation Painting 1

- One week to do all colour theory tests in one assignment;
- first major painting assignment the next class, due in 2 weeks
- One final painting 8x10"
- Rough sketches, Final Sketches
- Reference material

Sheridan Animation doesn't exactly assume you everything about colour theory but like most programs if you want to really learn more you must do some extra work on the side. Moreover,  you must do the work fast and learn it very quickly. So focusing on learning more color theory is important in the long-run but simply getting assignments done fast and doing it correctly are also important. This is similar to OCAD but I found in Sheridan Animation there is more work to be done in less time. Sheridan Animation doesn't want to waste your time and vice versa. These types of programs force students to get organized and really manage their time. Arguably, time-management is one of the most important skills coming out of first-year animation.

Year One - Mid-term Painting Assignment

OCAD Painting 1 hand-in

- Two final paintings 6x8"
- 6 design thumbnails
- 4 final sketches
- Line layout, overlay
- Reference materials

WHERE AS:

Sheridan Animation Painting 1 hand in: 

- Two final paintings 8x10"
- Two tonal paintings 6x8"
- 4 tonal sketches
- 6 design thumbnails
- Reference materials

With Sheridan (Animation), they hit you hard with projects and you gotta "learn-on-the-go". Sheridan Animation is all about actually getting out professional-looking material and lots of it. They have a much higher standard for a first year student. I will admit, sometimes the projects seem unfair because of the workload. In terms of the amount, I found Sheridan Animation more work compared to OCAD Design.

Honestly, I enjoy Sheridan a lot more. There's a much more genuine creative process happening that involves more dialogue with you and the teacher. Plan to do a lot of research. You must read up on stuff for your next painting, sketch out ideas, write down ideas, talk to other students about it, 10X the amount compared to OCAD. I didn't get the same vibe when I attended OCAD but then again, it could have changed since I had gone there.