<p>Sarahba, frankly, I don’t know much about their fine arts offerings. However, I do know that they have a number of interesting, varied courses. For example, you can take a number of animation courses in the fine arts department. I guess you will have to call the school and do some independent research.</p>
<p>I would bet that each school has its strengths and foibles. You just need to investigate UC/MICA et. al. with a finer brush so to speak. I do think that if your son was interested in more interdisciplinary types of stuff such as art and computers or animation, UC might not be a bad choice. Whether I would pick DAAP for painting or ceramics would require more research. Good luck. </p>
<p>By the way, I live in Maryland and am familiar with MICA. They have some very good combination BFA and MFA packages. They also are well known for their painting and MFA in education. MICA is a lot more akin to RISD then probably most other art schools are to RISD. They have similar philosophies in many ways.</p>
Wow… that’s not the graduate program, is it? I guess it is…</p>
<p>I’m really surprised by how bad art students at harvard and even brown are. These ivy league kids are supposed to be smart, but the brown senior often can’t match a risd freshman on the first day of class. And I can’t even describe the stuff at harvard. [the</a> harvard advocate | commencement 2007 | table of contents](<a href=“The Harvard Advocate”>The Harvard Advocate)</p>
<p>I assumed yale would be good though, some people call it the best art school in the world. Oh well.</p>
<p>yeah thats cause schools like yale brown and risd dont put as much of an emphasis on the portfolio but for grades(for undergrad) but yales grad program is top notch.</p>
<p>Man, I am really sorry I just found this thread. I seeCaligirl hasn’t been back in awhile, so assume she’s made her choices. As a 20+ year veteran of the major animation studios in Hollywood, and a current animation and film studies instructor, I can give a definitive list for those who may be interested in animation/illustration in order of professional recruitment. Go to their websites and look at their student work galleries to see where you want to go.
1)Cal Arts
2)Laguna College of Art and Design
3)Art Center
4)Ringling School of Art
5)Loyola Marymount U
6)Sheridan School (Canada)</p>
<p>I actually graduated from UCLA (BA in graphic design but took elective animation courses). It was a good foundation, but the instructors were mostly career academics who had once been in the art field. With the exception of some distinguished visiting artist seminars, there was little emphasis on portfolio or professional development. I went to Art Center post grad to learn the skills necessary to get a job. That being said, I thought the Art History and Literature classes I took were excellent. USC animation kind of suffers from the same structure. For the student who is interested in art but doesn’t know what to focus on yet, this is fine, but expect to do spend a bit more time and money in professional training afterwards. I am not familiar with RIT. My list is based upon the schools I know the studios actively watch for talent because of the training.</p>
<p>taxguy, I just went back and read your recent posts. Since my D is CMU Drama student, I was glad to see your point that, for some programs, a specific university program is a better bet. I have been very impressed with the professional training, but it is a BFA conservatory program which by definition is a very narrowly focused curriculum. Believe me, these theater art students work as hard as any engineering students on the campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight. S is very interested in MICA and RISD for their strong liberal arts - He’s been in an IB program and doesn’t want to give up that aspect. We were very impressed with MICA when we visited - and I like the fact it’s not to far. We’re in Delaware. But now it’s really a waiting game to see how the acceptances, and if we’re lucky, scholarships (fingers and toes crossed) come out, and probably some return visits to see where he feels the “fit.”</p>
<p>I would like to read more advice from professional artists, such as kitty mom. They could provide some real world insight to the working world for our students. How could we get this started? Taxguy, your pretty darn witty. what do you think? Kittymom any suggestions on how we could marry professional artists with suggestions for our students to this site?</p>
<p>Osage has raised some good points. Kittymom, Do you know anything about SVA? Is Calarts really that good for animation? Frankly, my daughter, who is majoring in digital design at Cincinnati, might want to get a grad degree in animation. At least that is her leanings so far. Do you recommend any good schools that are both strong in animation and have an MFA? In the east coast SVA and RIT tend to stand out,but I really don’t know much about any of them.</p>
<p>I am a bit surprised to read what you said about UCLA and USC considering how how their endowment is for film studies, especially USC.</p>
<p>I need some advice. I’m having a hard time choosing between NY or LA after graduation. I’ve always wanted to live and go to fashion design school in Los Angeles. I know that I was thinking about Otis College Of Art And Design (I live in Virginia right now, still in high school) and start my fashion design career there but I know that New York City is the fashion capital. I want to be able to get the best education for fashion design, work for some big companies, have clothing lines, have fashion shows at both NY and LA fashion weeks, and one day be able to see celebrites wore my dresses/tuxedos at the award shows. My dream has always wanted to be living in Los Angeles. I know that I talked to one of Parsons teacher who graduated from there getting her BFA in Fashion Design. She said that it would be OK if I went to Parsons and then move to LA after graduation. I know that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in New York even though it’s a great city. My questions are: </p>
<p>Which school should I choose Otis OR Parsons?
If I do attend Parsons, should I really move to LA after graduation?
What are some great companies I could work for in Los Angeles?</p>
<p>I met a fashion designer on the plane. I don’t know how knowledgable or successful this person was, but I will relate what she said.</p>
<p>Although you can get a good fashion education at a number of good schools,Parsons or FIT are the main schools for fashion …period! She said, “NY is the center for the fashion industry, and thus, NY based schools have generally more contacts.”</p>
<p>She thinks of Otis for costume design, if that is your interest. They do have good contacts for that area, although she felt Otis was a good school for fasion overall.</p>
<p>I also asked her about University of Cincinnati,who has a good coop program. She knew little about the their program but liked the idea of coops in fashion design as industry experience should help with job interviews.</p>
<p>Thanks Taxguy! I was thinking maybe I could go to Parsons and then move to LA for my career and personal life. Could Parsons help me find a job on the west coast?</p>
<p>Osage, I’m not an expert how these sites are structured, but it seems like a category for students to connect with people who can give professional advice is a great idea. It would probably be mostly parents, since we are the only adults who have a reason to come here. I am always happy to help out young artists. I’m sure there are parents who have careers in many interesting professions. Pay It Forward!</p>
<p>Ashlae, Not everyone wants to live and work in New York, but because it’s still the center of the fashion universe most people who have goals like yours end up there sooner or later. The advantage of studying and starting out in New York is that you’ll have more choices and will accelerate faster.</p>
<p>There certainly IS a design/apparel industry in Los Angeles and many talented professionals wouldn’t live anywhere else. Plus there are many brands and retail organizations that are based in unexpected places – St. Louis, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle for example. So I wouldn’t say that living in New York is absolutely necessary for success but I would say that it’s the easiest and fastest place to find internships and summer jobs and to make the industry connections that will jumpstart your career.</p>
<p>I am looking for a school to go to for animation/motion graphics visual effects and I’ve heard a lot of things about SCAD and RISD also Calarts but I am a NY native and was just wondering if there were any schools worth going to around here. I am very driven so I do want to go to the best school possible that will get me the best career options out of college. I am looking into Pratt, SVA, and Parsons. Are those worth it??</p>
<p>cbstylist–I know Ringling is pretty darn good for animation/motion graphics. They seem to have plenty of movies openings and meeting with the artists.</p>