Do I even have a chance?

turbo93
Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:10:04 +0000

For portfolios, different schools have different rules. Some require you mail in actual - not copy - of 3 or 4 specific pieces. The RISD bicycle comes to mind, several schools asked for self-portraits, or and the like. These can be sent as originals to one school but included with others. Schools usually fret on 3D CAD renderings and the like - if you have a couple of awesome ones, send them in, but send drawings as well (good ole’ graphite).

DD1’s portfolio included about 8 pieces done for two schools that wanted originals. These were all pencil drawings, more artsy than Mayline and triangle type. Then about 5-6 of what I’d call ‘mixed media’ types (90% graphite pencil with highlights in other media); 2 acrylic on canvas paintings; 2 or 3 colored ink on ‘hard’ canvas (can’t remember the name, I just buy the stuff), 1 or 2 photographs, a few sketches on paper of architecture related stuff, a couple of selections of some pretty elaborate balsawood models of buildings she did, and a couple of AutoCAD and Inventor renderings. From these, maybe one in five was school work (AutoCAD and balsa).

The entire sequence was painstakingly photographed using my Nikon D90 and higher end stuff, then hi-res digital images were created for each. We used bracketing and lots of exposure combinations and bounce flash to capture the best image possible - not easy to do even then, and virtually impossible to do with a $300 point and shoot camera.

In terms of what to show and what to avoid, talk to schools or school reps. Many send reps around the country or hold portfolio review days. We attended a few and talked to reps. College visits are another good way to find out. Googling on sites like ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ also helps.

A few schools that did the test send it to you on paper or electronically. The format varies from “why is the sky blue” abstract stuff from Cooper Union to practical “draw an image that represents such-and-such” or “interpret this image in a couple of paragraphs”.

The whole process of putting the portfolio together took about a year for DD1.