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I love my art class!
Jun. 20th, 2012 10:28 pmI don't know how long they've been there or if they've been doing classes all along, but this spring the local Art Guild sent home flyers with the school kids about art camp. And when I went to sign up, I also signed up for a paid, longer class. They had a lot that I wanted to take, but in the end I chose illustration. I've only been three times, but it is So. Good.
I actually started college as an art major. I wanted to do illustration, but the art and design departments had recently split, and it was NOT amicable. The people I tried to ask about it (illustration) were very vague and seemed to have rather distasteful feelings regarding illustration. So I ended up in studio art, which should have been nice, too, only it seemed that most of the professors were more interested in painting their own stuff than actually teaching class. I mean, I had one class where the professor didn't say anything. Like, one day (for a three-hour class), he didn't even open his mouth to say hello. We waited, nothing. We drew the stuff set up in the middle of the room, and three hours later, waited to be dismissed. Nothing. So we left. Needless to say, I can do all of that in my own kitchen, and I don't really need to be PAYING TUITION to do it. So I switched majors.
Anyway. Fast forward. What do I love about this class? Well, even though the teacher is an undergrad himself, he actually knows specifically about illustration. He loves it, and he doesn't think it's dumb or lesser--just different from studio art. He can communicate in verbal language. He has a clear plan for the class--to teach us something. By the end of the class, we'll have one page of finished illustration, and each class period tackles another element of how to do this, from thumbnails to shape and composition planning, to line quality, to color values and hues. But the very best thing about it is FEEDBACK. In my college art classes, we would get these assignments (or not, see above), and then get some kind of grade back on them, but not ever explained. Just--did you measure up to their unstated standard, or not? And at the end you'd get this sort of nebulous grade. In this class, first of all, there is no grade, so you have to give something more concrete as feedback. Secondly, we show our stuff to the teacher and he basically critiques it--what's working, what could make it stronger, other ideas we might want to try, etc. And the other class members comment, too. I LOVE it. It's a small class, which makes it easier, but still. I'm learning so much, even from just watching someone else get feedback. So much of it feels like the best writing experiences, the kind that make you learn and open your eyes to even just the questions you should be asking. Craft instruction, feedback, even examples of already published art that is well done. Just as you should be well read in the genre you write in, you should learn to "read" illustrations and be familiar with what's out there. Just looking at other people's stuff can spark ideas and give you more of an idea of what's possible.
LOVE it. :)
I actually started college as an art major. I wanted to do illustration, but the art and design departments had recently split, and it was NOT amicable. The people I tried to ask about it (illustration) were very vague and seemed to have rather distasteful feelings regarding illustration. So I ended up in studio art, which should have been nice, too, only it seemed that most of the professors were more interested in painting their own stuff than actually teaching class. I mean, I had one class where the professor didn't say anything. Like, one day (for a three-hour class), he didn't even open his mouth to say hello. We waited, nothing. We drew the stuff set up in the middle of the room, and three hours later, waited to be dismissed. Nothing. So we left. Needless to say, I can do all of that in my own kitchen, and I don't really need to be PAYING TUITION to do it. So I switched majors.
Anyway. Fast forward. What do I love about this class? Well, even though the teacher is an undergrad himself, he actually knows specifically about illustration. He loves it, and he doesn't think it's dumb or lesser--just different from studio art. He can communicate in verbal language. He has a clear plan for the class--to teach us something. By the end of the class, we'll have one page of finished illustration, and each class period tackles another element of how to do this, from thumbnails to shape and composition planning, to line quality, to color values and hues. But the very best thing about it is FEEDBACK. In my college art classes, we would get these assignments (or not, see above), and then get some kind of grade back on them, but not ever explained. Just--did you measure up to their unstated standard, or not? And at the end you'd get this sort of nebulous grade. In this class, first of all, there is no grade, so you have to give something more concrete as feedback. Secondly, we show our stuff to the teacher and he basically critiques it--what's working, what could make it stronger, other ideas we might want to try, etc. And the other class members comment, too. I LOVE it. It's a small class, which makes it easier, but still. I'm learning so much, even from just watching someone else get feedback. So much of it feels like the best writing experiences, the kind that make you learn and open your eyes to even just the questions you should be asking. Craft instruction, feedback, even examples of already published art that is well done. Just as you should be well read in the genre you write in, you should learn to "read" illustrations and be familiar with what's out there. Just looking at other people's stuff can spark ideas and give you more of an idea of what's possible.
LOVE it. :)
