How to create an art portfolio for college admission What is a portfolio? An art portfolio is a collection of your work, whether that’s paintings, poetry, sculpture, or another art form. It gives you the opportunity to show off your artistic skills, experiences and interests, and it helps admissions officers decide if you'd be a good fit for their school. Your portfolio is usually the most important part of your application because it lets schools see firsthand the work you have created. Who needs a portfolio? Art portfolios are often needed to apply to art school or to an art program at a traditional college. Check your school’s requirements! There are a number of programs that may require applicants to submit a portfolio, some of which include: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Apparel Design Architecture Art Education Art History Ceramics Film Fine Arts Graphic Design Interior Design Painting Photography Printmaking Sculpture Writing (usually for programs focused on poetry, fiction writing, screenwriting) What are they looking for? Technical Master Perhaps the most obvious component colleges look for in your portfolio is how skilled an artist you are. Technical mastery includes being able to apply basic and advanced art principals to your work, create work that shows a high level of attention and detail, and complete projects that are free of sloppiness and mistakes. Schools are also often particularly interested in your drawing skills because many art forms require the ability to draw well. Most art programs recommend applicants submit at least drawing in their portfolio, even if that is not their preferred art form, and some schools, such as the Rhode Island School of Design, require a drawing sample. Variety and Versatility While it is expected for students to have an art form they create most frequently and are most comfortable with, art schools want applicants who are strong artists across a variety of media and art forms. One reason versatility is important is because the ability to create multiple art forms, from drawing, to painting, to graphic design, and more, is a sign of a talented artist and one who can apply their skills in multiple ways. It is also rare for an artist to stick exclusively to one art form. For example, artists who work with ceramics or in fashion design often need to be able to draw accurate designs before they begin their work. Having a portfolio that shows variety also shows an ability to think creatively and a willingness to try new things. Montserrat College of Art states on its admissions page that "Media exploration and experimentation are integral parts of your experience... Include work in your college art portfolio that shows your area of interest as well as both realistic and abstract work using a variety of materials." Unique Style and Personality The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) states on its admissions page that the most important thing they look for in an art portfolio is "[W]ork that will give us a sense of you, your interests, and your willingness to explore, experiment, and think beyond technical art and design skills." Your art portfolio should show your personality and your own way of looking at the world. You want to show art schools that there is a reason they should admit you specifically, and one of the best ways to do this is by creating art that you are passionate about and that is different from what other people are creating. Technical skill is not enough if you can only copy what others have already created. Getting started First of all, you want to make sure that you give yourself enough time to put your art portfolio together. Many art students take at least a year to create the pieces they use in their portfolio, so start thinking about your portfolio and preparing pieces well in advance of the deadlines. If you know what schools you want to apply to, research their portfolio requirements carefully and early. While researching the portfolio requirements of each school, pay particular attention to the following information: ● ● ● ● ● ● Application and portfolio deadlines How you need to submit your portfolio (online, snail mail, or in-person) If there are open days or portfolio days when you can present your portfolio in person Number of pieces you should submit Any size requirements for the pieces If there are any special required pieces you must submit (for example, the Rhode Island School of Design requires all applicants to submit a drawing of a bicycle) Choosing pieces You will need about a dozen pieces of work for your portfolio. The number varies by school, but most request 10-20 examples of your work. These can be pieces you created for a class or outside of school. You should aim to create more pieces than you need, so that when it comes time to create your portfolio, you can choose your strongest pieces to include. The pieces you include in your portfolio should also have been created fairly recently. Most schools request that your submissions be work you recently completed, and some require the pieces to have been completed within the past year or past few years. Hopefully your most recent work will be your best anyway, since you have been learning more and improving. Ask for feedback One of the first people you should ask for their opinion on the pieces you should include in your portfolio is your art teacher. They often have a lot of experience developing portfolios, and they can help you choose the pieces that will best impress admissions committees. The questions you ask can range from having them look over the pieces you’ve chosen for your portfolio to having them make suggestions on the type of work you should create in order to finish your portfolio. National Portfolio Days are events held around the country where art students can learn about different art programs as well as bring their work to receive feedback on it from representatives of top art schools and colleges. No admissions decisions are offered on National Portfolio Days; instead, they are a way for schools to look at your portfolio-in-progress and give advice. They are an excellent opportunity to get feedback from schools you are considering applying to and to ask them specific questions about their portfolio requirements. Final steps Before you submit your portfolio, you want to be sure that all your pieces are finished. Each piece should appear neat with no smudges, rips, or wrinkles. The piece should also go all the way to the border of the canvas or paper it is on. You generally do not want to include a lot of white background unless you are submitting a rough sketch. Also be sure to include your name, school, date of completion, and title of the piece on the back, as well as any other information the school requests, such as a short description of each piece. Once all the pieces are ready, prepare them for presentation. Most art schools require you to submit images or videos of your work online, but some schools require applicants to mail slides with images of the pieces or present their work in-person. The quality of your photos reflects your work as well, so be sure the images are not blurry or low resolution. Helpful websites https://artprof.org/emerging-artists/art-school-portfolios/ https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-make-an-art-portfolio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZhr5Kpky4 https://artsbridge.com/10-tips-for-your-best-art-school-portfolio/ https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-4-expert-tips-making-winning-art-school-portfolio
