Why art school is totally rad!

So a few weeks ago, I finally got my Diploma of Arts: Illustration. I'm now a certified illustrator! Woohoo!

Now, I can't think of why anyone would be hesitant about going to art school. With the exception of things like time and money, there's no reason not to do it if you want to become an illustrator (or anything really), no matter how old you are or your level of skills. I'd like to talk about some of the things that I appreciated about art school and what I got out of it.

Working in a studio environment
The first great thing that I can think of about going to art school is, of course, working with other art students! I shared my classrooms (it was two rooms joint together by a corridor) with 15-20 fellow artists and creatives, all with different styles, tastes and ways of seeing. We had the anime guy, the extremely cool dark fantasy/gothic chick, the photo-realism lady, the tattoo guy, the comics girl, you name it, someone in our class did it.

Even though we all had different ways of working and our art was totally different, being able to bounce ideas around, learn new techniques and voice different opinions about our own work or other artist's work was invaluable. It's rare to find such camaraderie anywhere else. And with 15-20 different points of view, you can get so much valuable feedback about your work that you probably wouldn't get from a community website such as DeviantArt, where people follow your work because it's the type of work they like.

And finally, 15-20 fellow artists means 15-20 different tastes in art, which leads to new and interesting artists and genres that you might not have ever known about before. Which is awesome!

The facilities
At school, you probably won't get access to the best facilities (your own studio space, computer, fancy art materials and goodies) until later. But even then, having easy access to photocopiers, scanners, books in the library, and a comfortable space to work just can't be beat.

I really miss having my own little studio area, though. It was great having my own big desk and my own wall for pinning up inspirational images and works in progress. Now that I am working on art mostly at home, it's been suprisingly difficult to adapt without having that nice big desk that you can tilt up at an angle, the photocopier just in the next room, and the library only a 30 second walk away. So when you're at art school, seriously, take advantage of all that stuff while you can.

Meeting local artists and illustrators
This year, I was extremely fortunate to have class meetings every fortnight with a working Melbourne artist. They talked about lots of different things - their work and process, what it's like working in the industry today, tips on how to get your work noticed. Something special that I gained from these meetings was learning about how many different roads one could take to becoming a professional illustrator, and the amount of possibilities there are for artists. Because really, anything that has type or an illustration on it - that was designed by somebody. That was illustrated by someone. This advertisement was the result of the work of lots of illustrators. I could go on and on!

The absolute best thing, however, was being able to see rough work and sketches, and hearing each artist talk about the steps that they take when creating a piece of work for a client. Ann James, a children's book illustrator, showed us tons of sketches and studies that she did while working on her latest illustrated book, Chester and Gil. The amount of research and drawing behind it was stunning.

Life drawing, and trying new things
Finally, being at art school means regular classes in life drawing and observational drawing. You're also sometimes forced to use unfamiliar mediums and methods of working, which is a good thing. These things are exercises that you would probably shy away from if you are at home teaching yourself.

Suprisingly, these classes are a great way to boost your creativity and spontineity. You can approach drawings in different ways, develop new ways of seeing, learn new techniques and try out new mediums. I mean, sure observational drawing sounds pretty boring, but it's so good for stretching those creative muscles.

Making the most of it
All of the above means nothing if you don't make the most of your time at art school. Prior to studying illustration, I did a course in Fine Art. But during that time, I didn't make the most of my time there. I was lazy, close-minded, stubborn and unproductive. So naturally, I didn't get much out of that course. Back then though, I didn't think that it was my fault.

When I look back, I can see that it was indeed my fault. You are responsible for your own experience. So, work hard, draw lots, ask lots of questions and have fun!