Portfolio HELP!

HouseHippo

So I'ts my last summer before the leaving cert and I'm using it to work on my portfolio. I'm looking to apply to N.C.A.D Core year.

However...
My art teacher is absolutely awful,always absent and refuses to offer me any help.We haven't opened our Art History books yet but thats a whole different thread.
Anyway if anyone has any advice for me concerning portfolio's especially if they have done one themselves I would be so greatful cause i'm having alot of trouble organizing it all etc.

cursive

do a summer portfolio course in NCAD, it's the best. then do a saturday course there for the school year. you'll have super high chances of getting in. but be warned, doing a portfolio seriously affects 6th year n u cud end up like me having split ur efforts between the two n not getting anywhere really. i got low down on the waitin list for ncad and i presume i could've done better in my mocks if id shown up for them instead of adding the finishing touches to the yoke. sayin that tho, i'd do it all over again.... i think it is worth it. you learn so much, especially how to be self motivated.

PurpleFistMixer

Find the brief that NCAD issued for the portfolio applications for next year, if you don't have it already. It's very specific which could help you if you're not sure what to concentrate on. NCAD are all quite big on seeing the development of your ideas, so make sure you thoroughly explore your ideas and show the progression.

I did a portfolio during sixth year... I didn't do any work for it during the summer (well I did loads of art but none of it was suitable...), so I had to do it all during sixth year which was a bad idea. I didn't have enough time to dedicate to the portfolio, but school work also suffered.. But hey it's great if you like stress! The portfolio for NCAD was due during my mocks too, which didn't help.

So my advice would be to get a lot done this summer, while you have the time.
And start a sketchbook if you don't already have one, illustrating ideas, doing life sketches, etc. Some of my friends who were doing portfolios too ended up spending too long trying to fill up their sketchbook just before the due date because they'd neglected it beforehand. I started off with an empty sketchbook, did at least a page a day when I was in sixth year. Got it.. a little over half-way finished.
(That said, I spent more time on my sketchbook than anything else, which may have been my downfall, as most of my proper pieces were quickies, and I didn't get in. : p)

aaaart

Ye I agree I got in this year and my schoolwork just went terribly and my mocks were shocking, no doubt the LC will be the same! Be warned what your getting yourself in for! But it really is worth it in the end, dont give up!

I started last summer aswell and i did 2 weeks of portfolio courses with this AMAZING portfolio teacher but they were quite expensive and always book out months in advance.

I dont really know what the portfolio requirements are this year but for me anyway i just focused on things that really interested me like plants and clothes(never EVER draw from photographs when you dont need to), be sure to draw everything really big and use lots of different media to show diversity(ie. inks, collage, gel pen, watercolour pencils etc.)

Dont get really bogged down on your finished pieces either, I had 2 until the week before! Just focus entirely on notebooks and then in the end u may find you have something good enough for a finished piece or you can mix a few together to make one.

Lastly il say that NCAD isnt the end of the world, LIT IATD and DIT also have really good courses you should consider. You never know wether your going to get in or not, i know about 6 people that got in this year and a few that didnt aswell and the person with the lowest score had the best portfolio ive ever seen! Also the ones that didnt get in were far better than some of the ones who did, its basically luck of the draw.

Best of luck!

cursive

aaaart wrote: »

Y
Lastly il say that NCAD isnt the end of the world, LIT IATD and DIT also have really good courses you should consider. You never know wether your going to get in or not, i know about 6 people that got in this year and a few that didnt aswell and the person with the lowest score had the best portfolio ive ever seen! Also the ones that didnt get in were far better than some of the ones who did, its basically luck of the draw.

that's great advice because i really did think ncad was the end all and due to a lack of a career guidance teacher who had a know in art college, i really felt like it was THE only place to go.
The exact same course is in Limerick and you come out with just a good degree. you could even do core year there and then try for ncad for whatever department you want to go into. I'm kicking myself I didn't apply.
Also, vis com is a great course and there's a myriad of commercial jobs (i.e. REGULAR MONEY!!) that could come out of it, as well as being an artist.


also the amount of effort i put into my portfolio really did leave me in an utter state of depression when i didn't get in. it's not as if i thought i was amazing, it just became my whole life for months and when you don't get accepted its almost as though they belittle your efforts. i guess it can also teach you a lot about rejection and how to deal with it. haha, i know that sounds pessimistic but don't be. I really think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. In fact i'm starting a deadly PLC in september and really really happy to have a whole year to work intensively on a portfolio.:)

artstudent

Well my teacher was actually out of leave for the whole of 6th year and a h.dip was no use at all so I basically did the portfolio at home on my own and ended up with 500 points so it is possible to do it on your own,so dont freak out! .1st off, start in the summer because 6th year will actually fly by and you need to be on top of your homework aswell.Think about a theme for your portfolio,it has to be observational based so pick a group of objects that mean something to you,something that sparks an intrest in you.Your sketchbook should be a visual journey of your observational intrests and studies.With the portfolio,of your it has to be observational but you can try push boundaries with how you achieve this.Think about it,dont rush it,make a list of some of the things you want to achieve,try use a wide range of mediums to create your work and use your imagination,dont copy.Its a good idea to look at people work but you shouldnt copy,take ideas and make them your own.Your portfolio should contain 15 items minium and 20 maximum so try vary all your pieces,it should show who u are as an artist and should tell a story.Have fun with it and good luck!!

PurpleFistMixer

Also: http://www.ncad.ie/portfolio/

the brief wrote:

Invent / demonstrate or illustrate ways to do two of the following:

1. Raise a flag
2. Keep a door shut
3. Place five objects of great personal importance into five contrasting locations and record the results.
4. Build a shelter.
5. Design some decorative items that animals or birds could wear.
6. Make a map that records a journey: across a room, along a street, along a leg of a table etc.
7. Record through colour everything you eat during the day.
8. Explain the opposite of a fish

They're very specific this year. Just to let you know. (Also I've only quoted a bit of it there, check the rest of it out.)

xox Sarah xox

I'm so glad theres people finally talking about this
Ye I'm gonna do a portfolio course in September and try draw as much as i can this summer.
But if your trying to get in by yourself do start now before 6th year starts because theres so much work you really have to work on in 6th yr too and you need a good enough leaving to get accepted to these colleges straight away, I would've done the same unfortunately i broke my arm
I was told in all of the plc courses I applied to I prob would've gotten accepted with the work I'd done, but I dont believe that because I can do way better and so can you all if you just enjoy what your doing,develop your ideas and just keep a continuous flow in your work! Learn from your mistakes and rejections.
Its hard work, Im so ****tin if I do get accepted now under constant observation all the time! But I'd say its worth it in the end, so just try your best! And if that fails keep trying...

HouseHippo

**** my art teacher told me you cud just pick your own theme I have 3 sketchbooks filled with work thats totally unusable for that brief.My theme was scenes from an endless night it included Clubwear, nights out nightmares and monsters, Crime etc.

Is this totally obsolete now

degausserxo

Or you could just do a year long portfolio course. There're a fair few colleges that do them, and with the brief I think it'll be a lot easier.

Kold

NCAD seriously have briefs in accepting portfolios? What pretentious crap. OP, NCAD isn't the end all, infact, having talked with students from different art colleges, I don't think I would have liked to have gone there. Limerick I've heard has very good facilities and Crawford (where I am) offers more freedom than any other course I've seen with some fantastic tutelage and would probably be one of the best in Ireland for painting and print. That's not to put anything against NCAD, you just need to know that it's not the only good art college in Ireland.

The key is to enjoy sketchbook work I think, keep painting, taking photographs and trying out other things. It doesn't matter if it's quite simple, just show that you can play with the visual.

Art appreciation is more important than history I think. It's all very well knowing your stuff but you should show that you like things and why you like them. Dedicate a sketchbook to history and appreciation, fill it with images of things you like and why you like them. Try and get a little knowledge of comtemporary art too. After all, you want to be part of it!

HouseHippo

Due to family reasons I can only attend a college in dublin City centre

degausserxo

Kold wrote: »

NCAD seriously have briefs in accepting portfolios? What pretentious crap.

How is it pretentious? Have you ever seen the amount of portfolio submissions they get? At least this way it's standardized, and they can pick out the best from the bunch, instead of having a whole bunch of stuff that's completely different, and in that way probably a lot harder to, for lack of a better word, judge.

HouseHippo

Im just upset all that hard work is gone to waste but i guess the brief is sorta a good idea. If people could advise me on the brief
http://www.ncad.ie/portfolio/
take a look and let me know what you all think