Why do I need an art portfolio?
•Represents the type of artist you are
•Highlights your artistic strengths
•It is your ticket into the school of your choosing.
•You can submit to earn scholarships for school!
What kind of work
should I include?
 Yes!
•Original work from direct
observation
No drawings of other people’s drawings!
(No well known characters, no copies of
well known art, absolutely nothing from
another artist’s work)
Admissions officers are well trained to
quickly spot artworks that have been copied
from photographs or that have been lifted
from other resources.
•You need to prove that you can
translate 3D concepts into a 2D
space, that you can rotate a
subject and keep the correct
proportions and perspective.
•Choose your best and most
recent work
(within the last 12 months)
No 
Have a variety of
subject matter
•This demonstrates your
willingness and interest to work
with different topics.
Include: Figures, self-portraits, still-lifes,
landscapes, interiors, etc.
•Admissions officers don’t want
to see a portfolio of twenty selfportraits.
•A portfolio with only one topic
comes across as narrow minded
and limited.
(Typically) Every piece
should be a finished
work and presented
neatly
•Be sure that everything in your
portfolio is a work that has
been 100% fully realized.
•Unless the
school specifically requests to
see images from a sketchbook,
assume that they want to see
finished works.
This means no white backgrounds, no
dirty fingerprints, no ripped edges, no half
finished figures, etc.
•Some art schools will require
that you submit your
sketchbook along with your
portfolio to help them
understand how you developed
your ideas.
Dirty pages!

Demonstrate
versatility in a range
of different media.
•This shows you have taken
the initiative to learn and
develop skills in contrasting
media.
•It shows that you have more
than one skill set, and can
move fluidly from one media
into the next.
Include drawings, paintings,
sculptures, mixed media, digital media,
printmaking, or anything else that
you’ve had experience with.
Demonstrate good
technical skills.
 Yes!
•Accomplished drawings are
the heart of a successful
portfolio when applying at the
undergraduate level.
•Make sure that you have the
basics down: anatomy, color,
lighting, etc. A creative art
piece without proper
proportions is not going to
impress.
Drawing is like the foundational skill –
you need to know how to do it to
succeed in all other mediums
Proportion of neck is
off and the first
thing you notice 
Ask an art teacher for help before you submit!
•Typically, the college will ask for a certain number of works.
An art teacher or someone in the art world can help you edit and choose your strongest
pieces.
Before
The images below are a former 2D Art student’s.
* She is applying for a scholarship and needs to submit work. *
Look at how much just simple cropping does!
After
What is National Portfolio Day?
•FREE event specifically for visual artists and designers.
•An opportunity for anyone who wishes to pursue an education in the visual and related arts to meet
with representatives from colleges accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
•Representatives will be available to review your artwork, discuss their programs and answer questions
about professional careers in art.
•High school students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors and college transfer students are
encouraged to attend.
National Portfolio Day
Top Ranking Art Schools in the U.S.
Rhode Island School of Design
Freshman Application
Resources for art scholarships:
•
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Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Young Arts Program
National Sculpture Society
Find College Scholarships
Design Sponge Scholarships
Photographing work • Photograph outdoors or using natural
light where possible.
• For three-dimensional work, make
sure you have additional lighting to
avoid creating shadows. Turn the
piece on an angle that is most
interesting.
• For 2D work, crop the image to get
rid of distracting backgrounds
• Make sure the image is level with an
even amount of border or white
space around the edges – use a
tripod!
2D Art: Digital Art Portfolio Presentation
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Name:____________________________________________ Hour:____
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1
Score
Yourself
Teacher
Score
/18
/18
The submitted Digital Portfolio shows:
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Images
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Presentation
Total Project
Score
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All project photos are included
All photos show completed art
work
Photos are cropped evenly and
show even negative space around
the edge of the object
All photos have been taken using
ample light (all details can be
seen)

Student could be heard clearly
from all areas of the room
Student made eye contact with
audience
All photos included an accurate
credit line
Student followed presentation
outline accurately
Student elaborated on information
written on slides (did not read
directly from slides)
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Majority of project photos are
included (missing 1-2)
Majority of photos show completed
art work
Majority of cropping is done
accurately
Majority of photos have been taken
using ample light (some details are
hard to see)

Student could be heard clearly the
majority of his/her presentation
(asked to repeat/speak louder 1-2
times)
Student made eye contact with the
audience most of the time
Most photos included an accurate
credit line (1-2 were incomplete)
Presentation outline was followed
somewhat accurately
Student elaborated on some
information (sometimes read
directly from slides)
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Many of project photos are
missing
Many photos show art work that
in unfinished
Many of photos show uneven
cropping/ portions of the work
have been inadvertently cropped
out
Many photos lack ample light
(details are very hard to see)
Student was very hard to hear
(asked to repeat/speak louder
several times)
Student did not make eye contact
with audience
Many photos did not include an
accurate credit line
Presentation outline was not
followed accurately
Student read directly from slides
and did not elaborate
Comments:
Presentation Outline:
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Arrange your photos in order of your most successful (first) to your least successful/most challenging (last)
Use a black or white background for your PowerPoint presentation and legible font of contrasting color with the background
Every photo needs a credit line below it, like the following:
Artist’s name, Title (name of artwork), Year the work was completed, Media (material) Type of work (project), Approximate Size
(height, length), Location
Joe Shmoe, “Not a Canoe” 2013, Acrylic Painting, 22” x 10”, Shakopee West Jr. High
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On your first (most successful) and last (most challenging) slides with pictures of your work, copy/paste the following questions and
include your response to each question (USE BULLET POINTS! You will be explaining your answers to the class – you don’t need to write a
paragraph for each answer. Just write enough to help you remember what you’d like to say):
 Do you have previous experience doing a project like this, (if so, when, how often?) or was it your first time
working in this medium?
 What did you enjoy most about this?
 What was the most challenging part about this project?
 Did you revise any areas of this work? (If yes, why? Was it after critique or handing it in?)
 What is your best advice for a student who will do this project next year?
 If you could start it over again (or do another one) what would you change and what would you keep the same?
On the last slide of your presentation (does not include a picture of your work) , Copy/paste the following questions and include short
bullet points to explain your answers below the question:
 Do you feel your skills improved during this class? Why/Why not?
 What were the 3 most interesting things you learned during this class?
 How was this class different from your previous art classes?
Your presentation should include photos of each project completely finished.
*If your work is unfinished, still include a photo, but know that your presentation score will be affected*
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Grid Drawing
Watercolor Landscape Painting
Acrylic Expressionist Painting
Linoleum Reduction Print
Figure Drawing
3pt Perspective Drawing
Collage Inspiration Pages
Makayla Menge
2D Art Digital Portfolio Presentation
2014
Do you have previous experience doing a
project like this, (if so, when, how often?)
or was it your first time working in this
medium?
What did you enjoy most about this?
What was the most challenging part
about this project?
Did you revise any areas of this work? (If
yes, why? Was it after critique or handing
it in?)
What is your best advice for a student
who will do this project next year?
If you could start it over again (or do
another one) what would you change and
what would you keep the same?
Makayla Menge, Room Décor, 2014, Graphite Pencil, Still Life Drawing,12” x 16”, Shakopee West
Junior High
(My most successful work of art this semester)
Makayla Menge, Lies Behind the Truth, 2014, Acrylic Paint Painting, 12” x 16”,
Shakopee West Junior High
(My 2nd most successful work of art this semester)
Makayla Menge, Dream, 2014, Color Pencil and Sharpie Inspiration Page,
10” x 16”, Shakopee West Junior High
(My 3rd most successful work of art this semester)
Makayla Menge, Downtown, 2014, Sharpie 3 point perspective,
12” x 12”, Location
(My 4th most successful work of art this semester)
Makayla Menge, Mark
McMorris, 2014, Watercolor
Portrait, 12” x 16”Shakopee
West Junior High
(My 5th most successful work of art this semester)
Do you have previous experience doing a
project like this, (if so, when, how often?)
or was it your first time working in this
medium?
What did you enjoy most about this?
What was the most challenging part
about this project?
Did you revise any areas of this work? (If
yes, why? Was it after critique or handing
it in?)
What is your best advice for a student
who will do this project next year?
If you could start it over again (or do
another one) what would you change and
what would you keep the same?
Makayla Menge, Old Yeller, 2014, Screen Ink Printing, 4” x 6”, Shakopee West Junior High
(My least successful/most challenging work of art this semester)
Final Class Reflection
• Do you feel your skills improved during this
class? Why/Why not?
• What were the 3 most interesting things you
learned during this class?
• How was this class different from your
previous art classes?