Art Portfolio Requirements for Students

An art portfolio is a small, representative collection of an artist’s current or recent work. The art portfolio plays an important role in the art school admission review process by identifying the skills, abilities, and potential of the student.

Student portfolios intended for art school admission review are quite different from portfolios of working artists. Working artists’ portfolios are highly focused toward the type of job or client being sought, and they generally contain only highly polished works, in order to show a high level of artistic achievement. Prospective students’ portfolios, however, are intended to show the potential of the artist. To this effect, a wider selection of mediums and techniques may be required, as well as works showing the creative process of the artist (i.e. sketches, life drawings, etc.).

An art portfolio has two sets of requirements: content requirements and technical requirements. The content requirements deal with the type of artwork included, while the technical requirements apply to the physical aspects of the artwork.

Content Requirements
There is no formula for an acceptable portfolio, however, the artist should submit his best, most recent work that represents his personal interests and abilities. It should reflect the individual’s unique art background, experience, and abilities in the arts to date.

Specific content requirements for portfolios are determined by the program the student is applying for. For example, fine art or illustration portfolios (we’ll call this “traditional arts”) will differ greatly from photography or graphic design portfolios (we’ll call this “design”). A definitive list of requirements would be exhaustive and is beyond the scope of this article, so we will focus on traditional arts and design, generically.

Traditional arts
(Advertising Design, Computer Animation, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design, Illustration, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture)

For traditional art portfolios, emphasis is often placed on skill in drawing from direct observation of live 3-dimensional objects (i.e. life drawing).

• Include 10 to 20 works completed recently
• Drawing samples – Include self-portraits, figure drawings, object studies, still lifes and landscapes.
• At least half of the portfolio should consist of drawing from direct observation.
• Color theory – Demonstrate use of color in painting, printmaking, drawing, and/or collage work.
• Three-dimensions – Include strong examples of composition, light, form, and spatial relations.
• Digital work should be kept to a minimum.
• Past work can be included, but it is more important to submit work that represents current skills and experiences.
• Do not include such things as anime, tattoo designs, dragons, unicorns, etc.
• Never copy directly from another artist
• Submitting work simply to show a range of mediums (such as one charcoal, one pastel, one watercolor, etc) is not recommended if it sacrifices consistency of quality.

Most recent sketchbooks can be included to show your creativity and problem solving skills.

Design
(Digital Filmmaking, Graphic & Interactive Communication, Interior Design, Motion Design, Digital Imaging, Web Design)

• Include 10 to 20 works completed recently.
• Include samples of logotypes, lettering, and typography.
• Include layouts or comprehensives for projects, such as posters, brochures, editorial design, package design, motion graphics, web design and identity systems.
• Include relevant work in any media – including design projects, websites, photography, film, drafting, and multimedia.
• Drawing samples may or may not be required. Some schools require ALL students to submit portfolios showing strong life drawing skills.
• Work may be created by hand or digitally, but must be original.

Technical Requirements
The technical or physical requirements of a portfolio must be followed exactly. Portfolios not following the requirements may be rejected by the review board.

Digital submission

• CD/DVD format (labeled with your name, address, and phone number). Check PC/Mac compatibility requirements.
• Images should be 72 dpi (screen resolution) with a minimum height/width of 600-1,000 pixels. Each school will have it’s own size requirements.
• Include a work description sheet (also called index page or inventory sheet). This is a physical piece of paper with printed thumbnail images (numbered according to filenames) with title, medium, date completed, and dimensions. In the case of professional or group projects, applicants should indicate their personal responsibilities.
• Image filenames should follow the same naming convention and include a number corresponding to the work description sheet (i.e. LastnameFirstname_01.jpg, LastnameFirstname_02.jpg, etc.).
• Each image should be a separate .jpg file, and not combined into a slideshow or presentation format (i.e. Flash, PowerPoint). *Digital and multimedia programs may have different requirements.
• Animated or time-based work (film/video) should be included in QuickTime, mpeg, or Flash video format. Check school requirements.

Online portfolio services
Schools have begun to use online portfolio services to handle their portfolio reviews. These services allow students to upload portfolios (and associated info- title, medium, date completed, and dimensions) directly into the school’s portfolio pipeline for quicker review.

Most schools do allow submission of portfolios via personal websites.

Physical submission

• 35mm slides should be arranged in a plastic slide-holder page.
• Photo prints should be no larger than 8” x 10” or 20cm x 25cm each.
• Label each item with your name, address, and phone number.
• Do not send originals through the mail. When holding in-person portfolio reviews, original works may be required.

What about students with no formal art training?
Previous studio art experience is not always required for undergraduate admissions. Many art schools offer intro level courses to teach fundamental art and design skills, but they may still require drawing samples to show creative and technical potential.

Schools that don’t require formal studio training may require the student to complete a series of exercises to demonstrate their artistic skill level.

These are sample exercises:

1. Select three to five objects that are familiar to you. Arrange them together, then draw them using line and tone.
2. Make a free-hand drawing of one corner of a room in your home. Include at least three pieces of furniture.
3. Create a self-portrait in any medium. Do not refer to a photograph.
4. Using “nature” as a theme, create a collage by tearing images from a magazine and pasting them on a sheet of paper.
5. Visually interpret and express the word “connection” in a drawing of any medium.

artstudy.org

Remember when special effects in movies were real? When the stunt man actually jumped onto a moving car? When characters ran around a luscious green jungle in South America, not in front of a flat green screen in a warehouse in Los Angeles? Computer technology has become integral to the creative workflow. It definitely has benefits; but the problem is that the “should we” has crept into “we can, so we will.” Many shallow stories are built around amazing effects, as opposed to engaging stories being supported by technology. In design, the “story” is communication and problem-solving. We need good reasons to use the techniques and graphics that we use in our designs. I’ve seen posts in forums from designers looking for great paper textures or certain free graphics. What about finding a real piece of paper, scanning it and creating your own texture? Or sketching a graphic element and importing it to the computer to create your own unique piece of art? Sometimes we need to get our hands dirty. In the end, it will give us a new appreciation of the work, and we will be proud of the result. It doesn’t always work out because of time or budget constraints, but make sure the decision is based on those and not laziness.

Design began like any craft: people practiced it, studied it and challenged themselves. While modern design tools and resources certainly make our many tasks easier, they don’t always improve our work. Tools and shortcuts are temporary. Great design is timeless. The best tool available is sitting in our heads; we just need to upgrade it once in a while. Training and experience leads to solid solutions and happy clients who demand our expertise.

Design is powerful because of the way our brain processes visuals. We might think of vision working by our eyes pulling in images and projecting them in the back of our mind. If this were the case then there would no be design or art. There are in fact 30 areas in the back of your brain that process different aspects of the image. The various vision processing areas of the brain are individually recreating the design. So, in a way, the viewer is also an artist. In reality, design and art stimulate the mind more than a realistic image would do. Which is why it affects us differently. Randomly placing objects on a screen do not create the same reaction. There must be purpose to the visual distortion/arrangement for the mind to pick up.

It would be nearly impossible to lock down all the various styles of design that are out there. Sure, we can categorize them into bigger buckets and generalize with words like “clean,” or “grunge,” and designers certainly understand what kind of design to expect from those words. Although at the surface there is a difference between them, at their very core the brain is being stimulated by them in the same way.