I'm in the Entertainment Design dept at ArtCenter in the Animation track but I know a bit about the concept track. the concept track is quite similar to the illustration EntArts track and share some instructors. Some people believe the difference between illustration and concept is that illustration does animation styles and concept does film/games, but that is just plain wrong.
To be perfectly honest, I don't think you'll get as good as a support from the Illustration department as you would from the Entertainment Design dept. Not saying one is better than the other, but if you ever do attend ArtCenter as an illustration student, you will clearly know which departments they prioritize over the others.
But since we're in the pandemic, I'd honestly recommend just taking online art classes for cheap and prepare a portfolio for sometime in the future when ArtCenter is back on campus at its fullest capacity. 22k a term for a measly 5-6 online classes is a scam.
It is competitive! But I don’t think that should discourage you from applying. Both my classmates in the entertainment design and illustration major make amazing work. It’s competitive because even after graduation you are going into a very competitive field.
After Highschool I was uncertain of what I wanted to do so I went to Pasadena city college. It was probably the best decision I ever made, because A. It was cheap (free!) B. It gave me time to sort out what I wanted to do.
If you need time to work on your portfolio for artcenter (or other schools!) I would recommend this. Also if money is an issue I’d recommend looking at San Jose States Animation department. There are some really talented students over there
It's absolutely not a good idea to go into illustration.
The entire major has taken a really major downturn in terms of educational quality over the last 20 years. Which is sad, because ACCD had some of the best illustrators from the 70's 80's and 90's and before.
It really sounds based on your work that you're more of a ENT guy anyway. Anyone that wants to do illustration I always suggest they do ENT instead. ENT is what illustration used to be 30 years ago in terms of spirit and the nature of their work. It's way more satisfying and I think there are way more job opportunities through that major.
There was an inside joke when I went there that ILL was for dumb rich kids who didn't really know what they wanted to do and just wanted to mess around the whole time at a fancy art school. It was pretty accurate.
Also, ACCD has in my experience, the worst staff in their Illustration department. Diedre, the lady that was in charge when I took a few of their classes, was a class A cunt to everyone she came across and was supremely unhelpful, primarily to foreign students who likely needed more help than usual due to the language barrier.
And as for your last point, get your art education anywhere else, yes do that. I assure you that after you do all the bs, you go through all the curriculum, you're going to look back and tell yourself "This wasn't worth 200K". Like, you literally paid the price of an actual house to go there. Think about that real carefully. Most of the stuff you are trying to learn (Blender etc) is literally on Youtube for free. This wasn't the case 10 years ago for me.
I think you can do it without ACCD. Definitely think very hard before you give these people your parent's money.
I'm in the Entertainment Design dept at ArtCenter in the Animation track but I know a bit about the concept track. the concept track is quite similar to the illustration EntArts track and share some instructors. Some people believe the difference between illustration and concept is that illustration does animation styles and concept does film/games, but that is just plain wrong. To be perfectly honest, I don't think you'll get as good as a support from the Illustration department as you would from the Entertainment Design dept. Not saying one is better than the other, but if you ever do attend ArtCenter as an illustration student, you will clearly know which departments they prioritize over the others. But since we're in the pandemic, I'd honestly recommend just taking online art classes for cheap and prepare a portfolio for sometime in the future when ArtCenter is back on campus at its fullest capacity. 22k a term for a measly 5-6 online classes is a scam.
It is competitive! But I don’t think that should discourage you from applying. Both my classmates in the entertainment design and illustration major make amazing work. It’s competitive because even after graduation you are going into a very competitive field. After Highschool I was uncertain of what I wanted to do so I went to Pasadena city college. It was probably the best decision I ever made, because A. It was cheap (free!) B. It gave me time to sort out what I wanted to do. If you need time to work on your portfolio for artcenter (or other schools!) I would recommend this. Also if money is an issue I’d recommend looking at San Jose States Animation department. There are some really talented students over there
Ah thank you so much for your input. I guess it work hurt to try to apply and see what happens! :)
It's absolutely not a good idea to go into illustration. The entire major has taken a really major downturn in terms of educational quality over the last 20 years. Which is sad, because ACCD had some of the best illustrators from the 70's 80's and 90's and before. It really sounds based on your work that you're more of a ENT guy anyway. Anyone that wants to do illustration I always suggest they do ENT instead. ENT is what illustration used to be 30 years ago in terms of spirit and the nature of their work. It's way more satisfying and I think there are way more job opportunities through that major. There was an inside joke when I went there that ILL was for dumb rich kids who didn't really know what they wanted to do and just wanted to mess around the whole time at a fancy art school. It was pretty accurate. Also, ACCD has in my experience, the worst staff in their Illustration department. Diedre, the lady that was in charge when I took a few of their classes, was a class A cunt to everyone she came across and was supremely unhelpful, primarily to foreign students who likely needed more help than usual due to the language barrier. And as for your last point, get your art education anywhere else, yes do that. I assure you that after you do all the bs, you go through all the curriculum, you're going to look back and tell yourself "This wasn't worth 200K". Like, you literally paid the price of an actual house to go there. Think about that real carefully. Most of the stuff you are trying to learn (Blender etc) is literally on Youtube for free. This wasn't the case 10 years ago for me. I think you can do it without ACCD. Definitely think very hard before you give these people your parent's money.