Portfolio Brief. HELP & ADVICE

HouseHippo

Anyone who has done a portfolio or anyone who wants to offer some advice.....

Here's the brief
http://www.ncad.ie/portfolio/brief.html

How do they like portfolio's to be presented?
Anywhere I can look at portfolio's
Any tips

:eek::eek::eek::eek:PANIC!!

thebaldsoprano

Aye, did one recently I'll be starting in IADT this september. Completely did my own thing and picked up tips from friends in NCAD and IADT on how to present it.

The portfolio preparation course in IADT is meant to be very good, a friend of mine did it and got offered NCAD and IADT and she loved the course aswell. You'd want to get on to them fairly soon if you're thinking about it though, it fills up fairly quickly.

Not sure what else to say really apart from have fun and best of luck!

HouseHippo

thebaldsoprano wrote: »

Aye, did one recently I'll be starting in IADT this september. Completely did my own thing and picked up tips from friends in NCAD and IADT on how to present it.

The portfolio preparation course in IADT is meant to be very good, a friend of mine did it and got offered NCAD and IADT and she loved the course aswell. You'd want to get on to them fairly soon if you're thinking about it though, it fills up fairly quickly.

Not sure what else to say really apart from have fun and best of luck!

Over i missed the boat im afraid. cant afford it anyway

Larianne

Have you tried Colaiste Dhulaigh? They've a Portfolio course, which I did myself. Everyone got a place in some art related course. They might still have places left.

HouseHippo

Larianne wrote: »

Have you tried Colaiste Dhulaigh? They've a Portfolio course, which I did myself. Everyone got a place in some art related course. They might still have places left.

I'm back to school in a week i'm afraid

Larianne

Oh, so are you going to do the portfolio over the school year? Can your art teacher give you a hand???

HouseHippo

Larianne wrote: »

Oh, so are you going to do the portfolio over the school year? Can your art teacher give you a hand???

I wish. She is never in. And the class is hard to control I was put in with all the people who did art cause they didn't want to work at another sub, thought it would be easy

thebaldsoprano

Do you have any friends in an art college who might be able to help you out a bit?

Must say, I got some invaluable advice that way...

Larianne

That's a pity, what about maybe approaching another art teacher. They might be able to help after school or during lunch break. Most art teachers I think would be happy to help you out.

I just found this course with Draiocht. http://www.draiocht.ie/whatson/visual.htm

Just scroll down halfway.

I'll have a look at my portfolio and see what areas I covered myself and send you a PM.

HouseHippo

thebaldsoprano wrote: »

Do you have any friends in an art college who might be able to help you out a bit?

Must say, I got some invaluable advice that way...

A few....bit hard to keep tabs of. i did work exp there it was great but they are all off in Europe etc. I will email em though.

i said an email to the head of the core studies dep 2 weeks ago he hasn't emailed me back and i'm too scared to badger him

HouseHippo

Larianne wrote: »

That's a pity, what about maybe approaching another art teacher. They might be able to help after school or during lunch break. Most art teachers I think would be happy to help you out.

I just found this course with Draiocht. http://www.draiocht.ie/whatson/visual.htm

Just scroll down halfway.

I'll have a look at my portfolio and see what areas I covered myself and send you a PM.

OOOO only 160 euro

thebaldsoprano

Great! It's a start anyway, and the small tips really can help a lot.

Larianne

So HouseHippo, did you have any luck with an Draiocht course?

I'm sure some Art Teachers must do a sort of grinds for people preparing portfolios. Anyone know of any?

Also, you ask in your opening post where to see portfolios- I know when Colaiste Dhulaigh have their open day they have portfoilios on show.

Weekend Warrior

Hello HouseHippo, I'm also going into 6th year and trying to do that same brief over the school year, and I'm equally confused I can't really understand what they're looking for, and in what format.
My art teacher has good intentions, but I don't know if she has actually read this brief.
How much work have you done yet, and what's it like; notebooks or finished pieces, etc? I can tell you what I've done, but I don't know how much help I would be

Larianne

Okay, I took out and dusted down my A1 portfolio. I did Make-up for Film, TV & Theatre so my portfolio wasn't as arty farty as other people in my class but we were all told how to present things in the same way.

First off get yourself a visual notebook - A4 size Daler-Rowney etc. make them with Cartridge Paper <-important!

Write your name on the inside and then think what interests you and what would you like to draw. Do you live by the sea? Do you own a pet? Are you interested in fashion? Do you like nature? Mechanical items?

For me, as the course I wanted to get into was fashion/film orientated I sketched observational drawings of jewellery/clothing/cosmetics/brushes/hands/feet. It's with these objects and how you draw them and where you draw/paint them and expand on that is the key when doing a portfolio.

When looking for something to focus on drawing, look at an environment where objects have contrasting textures -shiny/dull, rough/smooth, etc. Draw at different angles/focus in on a detail. Place them in different situations - say you put a coat on a chair, how the fabric drapes over the chair- giving different lines/shadows and a contrasting texture to the chair. Soft/hard.

Use a variety of different materials (pen/pastel/watercolour/acrylic/fabric/string/wool/nail varnish!) on different paper (coloured/watercolour/pastel/handmade/even paint on fabric) if you can.

These sketches/small drawings will lead to you discovering different ideas and themes and you can expand then to developing a 'piece' on larger paper. The visual notebook will show the art tutor/examiner your thought process and where your ideas have come from, how imaginative you are and the portfolios development.


Life Drawing sketchpad- get a friend/parent/sibling to sit for you. Or just sneak in a few sketches when they are watching TV. Start off doing lots of sketches to practice. Again use different medium - colouring penicls, coloured chalk, pen. Again you can draw the whole body or focus on a certain area at different angles. Then progress from the pad to bigger sheets of paper. Make use of the whole page whether it's A1/A2/A3. Also, just get out into your town or city and sit somewhere and sketch! There's a sketching group in Dublin from Boards that meet up so you could go along, get some tips from fellow artists.

3D pieces- Paper mache/wood/lolly pop sticks/clay/cardboard. I made paper mache hands/masks, hands out of clay and a hand out of twigs - I bent the twigs around each other and glued and I somehow managed to make a cool looking hand! Make sure to take pictures from a variety of angles.

We also had to do a graphics project. Had to design a book cover/cd cover/poster/bookmark related to the theme of the portfolio. So with different fonts and backgrounds, images I designed a few different book covers with the same title and theme. Have each design sized the same, so to have a template.

Photography- You can use photography to support your observational drawings, your 3D projects or if you are interested in photography it's a very good area to include. It will show your eye for detail etc. If possible get your hands on an SLR or D-SLR camera as the quality is brilliant. It might take a while to get the hang of taking pictures though. There's so many digital cameras with fancy extras that they can work out just as well.

You can shoot in colour, black & white or sepia is a nice tone to shoot with. There's always a debate on whether photos look better on gloss or matte paper. I'd chose matte but it's up to you.

Personal project: Pick any area that interests you or you think would be interesting to photograph. I chose churches because of their architecture and decorative details.

Portraiture: Take portrait photos of one or a group of people and link them all in together.

Photojournalism: Where the photos tell the story themselves.

Go to art galleries and museums. Most are free. I went to many exhibitions, didn't have a clue what the artist was on about but gave me plenty of ideas. Also, the zoo is a good place to go. Here are a few I used to go to-
Hugh Lane Art Gallery
National Art Gallery (and the National History Museum beside it but I think its closed at the moment)
The Rubicon
Green on Red
Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity college
Gallery of Photography

Okay, that's all I'll post for the moment. I'll add more later. Hope some of that makes sense if not just ask!

HouseHippo

Weekend Warrior wrote: »

Hello HouseHippo, I'm also going into 6th year and trying to do that same brief over the school year, and I'm equally confused I can't really understand what they're looking for, and in what format.
My art teacher has good intentions, but I don't know if she has actually read this brief.
How much work have you done yet, and what's it like; notebooks or finished pieces, etc? I can tell you what I've done, but I don't know how much help I would be

Ok well so far....I have the brainstorms done, and I picked my objects and I've done a whole load of practice drawings but am scared to start cause I don't know how they want me to present it

HouseHippo

Larianne wrote: »

Okay, I took out and dusted down my A1 portfolio. I did Make-up for Film, TV & Theatre so my portfolio wasn't as arty farty as other people in my class but we were all told how to present things in the same way.

First off get yourself a visual notebook - A4 size Daler-Rowney etc. make them with Cartridge Paper <-important!

Write your name on the inside and then think what interests you and what would you like to draw. Do you live by the sea? Do you own a pet? Are you interested in fashion? Do you like nature? Mechanical items?

For me, as the course I wanted to get into was fashion/film orientated I sketched observational drawings of jewellery/clothing/cosmetics/brushes/hands/feet. It's with these objects and how you draw them and where you draw/paint them and expand on that is the key when doing a portfolio.

When looking for something to focus on drawing, look at an environment where objects have contrasting textures -shiny/dull, rough/smooth, etc. Draw at different angles/focus in on a detail. Place them in different situations - say you put a coat on a chair, how the fabric drapes over the chair- giving different lines/shadows and a contrasting texture to the chair. Soft/hard.

Use a variety of different materials (pen/pastel/watercolour/acrylic/fabric/string/wool/nail varnish!) on different paper (coloured/watercolour/pastel/handmade/even paint on fabric) if you can.

These sketches/small drawings will lead to you discovering different ideas and themes and you can expand then to developing a 'piece' on larger paper. The visual notebook will show the art tutor/examiner your thought process and where your ideas have come from, how imaginative you are and the portfolios development.


Life Drawing sketchpad- get a friend/parent/sibling to sit for you. Or just sneak in a few sketches when they are watching TV. Start off doing lots of sketches to practice. Again use different medium - colouring penicls, coloured chalk, pen. Again you can draw the whole body or focus on a certain area at different angles. Then progress from the pad to bigger sheets of paper. Make use of the whole page whether it's A1/A2/A3. Also, just get out into your town or city and sit somewhere and sketch! There's a sketching group in Dublin from Boards that meet up so you could go along, get some tips from fellow artists.

3D pieces- Paper mache/wood/lolly pop sticks/clay/cardboard. I made paper mache hands/masks, hands out of clay and a hand out of twigs - I bent the twigs around each other and glued and I somehow managed to make a cool looking hand! Make sure to take pictures from a variety of angles.

We also had to do a graphics project. Had to design a book cover/cd cover/poster/bookmark related to the theme of the portfolio. So with different fonts and backgrounds, images I designed a few different book covers with the same title and theme. Have each design sized the same, so to have a template.

Photography- You can use photography to support your observational drawings, your 3D projects or if you are interested in photography it's a very good area to include. It will show your eye for detail etc. If possible get your hands on an SLR or D-SLR camera as the quality is brilliant. It might take a while to get the hang of taking pictures though. There's so many digital cameras with fancy extras that they can work out just as well.

You can shoot in colour, black & white or sepia is a nice tone to shoot with. There's always a debate on whether photos look better on gloss or matte paper. I'd chose matte but it's up to you.

Personal project: Pick any area that interests you or you think would be interesting to photograph. I chose churches because of their architecture and decorative details.

Portraiture: Take portrait photos of one or a group of people and link them all in together.

Photojournalism: Where the photos tell the story themselves.

Go to art galleries and museums. Most are free. I went to many exhibitions, didn't have a clue what the artist was on about but gave me plenty of ideas. Also, the zoo is a good place to go. Here are a few I used to go to-
Hugh Lane Art Gallery
National Art Gallery (and the National History Museum beside it but I think its closed at the moment)
The Rubicon
Green on Red
Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity college
Gallery of Photography

Okay, that's all I'll post for the moment. I'll add more later. Hope some of that makes sense if not just ask!

i have the life drawing note book, the A4, two of those in fact.

So far I have used pencil, watercolour pencil, acrylic, pro markers and sharpies, colouring pencil

I go to galleries pretty often too

HouseHippo

Larianne wrote: »

So HouseHippo, did you have any luck with an Draiocht course?

I'm sure some Art Teachers must do a sort of grinds for people preparing portfolios. Anyone know of any?

Also, you ask in your opening post where to see portfolios- I know when Colaiste Dhulaigh have their open day they have portfoilios on show.

Going to beg my Grandparents for the cash I think they wil say yes. I'm going to ring up 2morro

sarahpie

EXPAND !
think outside the box ,thats what they want

do some sculpture maybe ? doesnt neccisarily have to be clay,could be wire / chicken fence wire / wooden ..?

am do some photography ?! but dont stop at the photo...that doesnt have to be the end product , ya could try mess around on the computer with the photos ya dont need photoshop ! i used this cheapy one i got with my camera

or u could soak them in things/melt/make collages


ammmm
they like life drawing too ,maybe some quick sketches on bus/train
then detailed ones
use variety of media !!

amm... yeah ! if i think of anything else i'l let ya no

Banana_montana

Im working on the same brief! Im 21 and finished college with a diploma in media and comms, major in photography. But Im hungry for more! Id love to go to NCAD and do visual comms but im applying to IADT and DIT for their degree in photography as back up.

ANYWAY, I love the idea of a portfolio brief.
These are just a set of guidelines, you can do what you like with the ideas you come up with! Any form of media is acceptable, tho remember with video it cannot exceed 2mins or something? I dont think il be using that anyway. But yeah, go crazy and best of luck!!

Also some great tips from Larianne there.
Thank you

Larianne

Here's some ideas for mixed media to use (hopefully it will inspire you!)

Egg shells
Candle wax
textured wall paper
string
wool
coins
sweet wrappers
lollipop sticks
leaves
pressed flowers
dog hair (my friend used it to cover his visual notebook!!)
Nail varnish
beads/buttons
feathers
sand
glitter/sequins
rice
tin foil
pasta shells
handmade paper
corks
tin cans
pipe cleaners
pictures from magazines
different texts from books or magazines or newspapers

Mix them all up, stick them into or onto things, paint over them, layer them, tell a story with them, make something pop up with them, a 3D piece, an animation piece (keep it short), a piece of jewellery.

Banana_montana

How is everyone getting on? To be honest Im picking up a lot of inspiration but it's just not happening! Thank god i started this in time! haha!

Larianne

Banana_montana wrote: »

How is everyone getting on? To be honest Im picking up a lot of inspiration but it's just not happening! Thank god i started this in time! haha!

In what way is it not happening? Are you unable to link things together? Tell us what the difficulties are and maybe people can post up help/ideas to help you along.

Banana_montana

Well basically I got my brainstorms done, threw down a few ideas, scrapped them so on so forth. Now im at a point where I think I know what direction I wanna go in, but when i try to piece it together, I just can't. Like when I try to make sense of it on paper im not happy... am I making sense?
Haha sorry, my head is in a jock over it.

To be honest I just feel like my ideas are lacking, and I wanna just come up with something wonderful but my creative buzz isnt present when i need it!
I tried sketching a few things last night, now I havent drawn properly in a few years, just the odd piece here and there, and I was just really unhappy woth my work. Ive become slower too which makes sense like. I just need to get back into it i guess!
Too be honest, i'm far better and other stuff, like photograhy, and collages and piecing things together and making pages and designs and illustrations and creating little stories and scenarios for photoshoots etc... as opposed to freehand srawing which im not great at these days.. maybe i need to focus on what im good at instead. I mean its all about showing what I can do with the brief, i got too caught up in the idea of drawing it all out! Think i just solved my own problem haha!
So many great tips on this forum tho.:)

Banana_montana

And apologies for the awful spelling in that post, haha.

Larianne

I decided to sticky this thread as it will be of use to many who are getting a portfolio together.

Please feel free to add to it - suggestions or questions.

Weekend Warrior

The more I try to do this portfolio, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong! It's driving me a little bit crazy at the minute. I'm startng on my object for the 'Tools' bit and I just can't seem to think of good ideas or get anything down on paper right :mad:
Just need to have a rant :rolleyes:

Larianne

Weekend Warrior wrote: »

The more I try to do this portfolio, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong! It's driving me a little bit crazy at the minute. I'm startng on my object for the 'Tools' bit and I just can't seem to think of good ideas or get anything down on paper right :mad:
Just need to have a rant :rolleyes:

Have you got your objects/themes - tool/clothing/location/lifeform?

Once you pick your objects/themes make a list of the details about each object - how it works, how it feels, what it's made up of, where it's used, what's it normally surrounded by, etc.

Then have another look at both lists and see how you can work each theme into one another. Maybe something that doesn't seem at first to have a connection with something else actually does from your list? Display how it does. Or take two completely different objects from the themes and see how you can change one into the other.

Use your visual notebook to write down these lists and ideas, any bit of sketches, cuttings etc. that pops into your head, even if you think it's ****e it's showing the tutor how you think about the process. No point having lots of lovely pictures and the tutor can't see where they've come from!! And if something doesn't work, scrap it and move on. But keep it in your vis book, so the tutor can see where your going and how you can decide on progressing a piece or leaving it. That's very important too!!!!

Banana_montana

Weekend Warrior wrote: »

The more I try to do this portfolio, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong! It's driving me a little bit crazy at the minute. I'm startng on my object for the 'Tools' bit and I just can't seem to think of good ideas or get anything down on paper right :mad:
Just need to have a rant :rolleyes:

I'm taking a break from it right now!
Ive got all my ideas bt to be honest I know if I continue with it now I'll go crazy! So I guess I feel your pain haha!
Maybe take a lil break, you may be suprised the amount of ideas that float into your head while you aren't actually focusing on it.
Best of luck!:)

sonx

theres lots of places doing 1 year long portfolio courses, if u wanna go to ncad think they organise one. Try outside of Ireland too, if you can afford it go somewhere a bit more creative!

Sophisticated6y

Hello!
Ok i'm new on this, much help appreciated!!!
Larianne you are a god send!

Have only decided recently that becoming an art teacher is what I want to do. I'm in 6th year now and freaking out because the brief is due for February! AGH!

And I haven't even started!! One of my Art teachers recommended doing a portfolio course for summer 09 but would that be wasting time? As in, this time next year would I be sitting at home twidling my thumbs?

Anyone know of any art teacher that does grinds in portfolio courses in the Kildare/Dublin region?
Have emailed Draíocht today, their course starts tomorro for portfolio prep.

Any help much obliged!!!

xOxSinéadxOx

they have a new yoke where they tell you exactly what to do for NCAD, it's kind of put me off

Larianne

Sophisticated6y wrote: »

Hello!
Ok i'm new on this, much help appreciated!!!
Larianne you are a god send!

Have only decided recently that becoming an art teacher is what I want to do. I'm in 6th year now and freaking out because the brief is due for February! AGH!

And I haven't even started!! One of my Art teachers recommended doing a portfolio course for summer 09 but would that be wasting time? As in, this time next year would I be sitting at home twidling my thumbs?

Anyone know of any art teacher that does grinds in portfolio courses in the Kildare/Dublin region?
Have emailed Draíocht today, their course starts tomorro for portfolio prep.

Any help much obliged!!!

See if you can get onto the Draiocht course. You definitely need advice with how to get your portfolio together and which way to go with it. Would any of the Art teachers in your school take you afterwards for help with a portfolio? You could do a full time portfolio preparation course next year (which is what I did). It will give you more time to prepare and make a good go of it. You will do modules such as photography, 3d craft, and graphic design as well as the usual paint, colour, life drawing etc. There's no point stressing about a portfolio as well as the Leaving Cert!!! (unless you feel you could manage it.)

Sophisticated6y

Larianne wrote: »

See if you can get onto the Draiocht course. You definitely need advice with how to get your portfolio together and which way to go with it. Would any of the Art teachers in your school take you afterwards for help with a portfolio? You could do a full time portfolio preparation course next year (which is what I did). It will give you more time to prepare and make a good go of it. You will do modules such as photography, 3d craft, and graphic design as well as the usual paint, colour, life drawing etc. There's no point stressing about a portfolio as well as the Leaving Cert!!! (unless you feel you could manage it.)

Thanks Larianne! I think I will do a portfolio prep class next year.
No point stressing myself out too much! Thanks again

Saruwatari

I recently applied to National Gallery's Portfolio Prep Course, don't know what to expect, but the organizer of the whole things is apparently an old friend of my mother's, hah.
I've been considering NCAD, IADT and Ballyfermot, but I think I'm knocking NCAD on the head now because it doesn't look too exciting, and the Brief is rubbish!
Hoping to do Animation, but before that a one-year Portfolio Prep Course, probably ADS.

Mateivena

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone could give me some advice about the forthcoming portfolio submission in feb for ncad core course!
Is it possible to complete a good one from now to feb with some tuition or grinds?I'm a recent graduate of a design course and unable to find work at the mo but planning to work part-time at anything for the meantime....i love art and have loads of ideas after reading the brief...unfortunatly Ive only decided to pursue this course recently so ive missed the boat in terms of applying for a year long portfolio course...would it worth it/possible to try and cram a year in to a few months:eek:

ThenComesDudley

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055357937
^
has loads of advice on portfolio advice.

you can make one up in time... but it really depends on how you work.

Do you need tuition or grinds? Just start working on the ideas you have already and see how it goes.

Start working on your ideas and post in that thread above for feedback on ideas etc

Mateivena

Thanks ThenComesDudley...got some helpful info there, will just ave to find a tutor now
Thanks again:)

VERY DESPERATE

Hey, (don't mind the name, comes from my only other post 4 years ago lookin for gig tickets!)

I'm in Ballyfermot now, definitely recommend doin a portfolio course. Ballyfermot is brilliant.

That being said, I'm still confused about the brief. Mainly the practical stuff,

like are you supposed to just do a load of different brainstorming ideas on a worksheet?
Does that mean you have a big a2 sheet with lots of little drawings on it? Its that was section a excersise 1 means?

vines

Hey,

just wanna say thanks to all for all the great info, really helpful! So much work eh?!

HouseHippo

Only started portfolio now.....will I get it done?

red_bairn

Thanks ThenComesDudley...got some helpful info there, will just ave to find a tutor now
Thanks again

-Mateivena

Hey, not sure if I'm late or anything but where do you live? I've got a friend who lives in the wexford area who works with students from the Gorey Community School.

Only started portfolio now.....will I get it done?

-HouseHippo

Hiya, damn you people really like to work a tight shift . I worked a little bit in 5th year [animation portfolio course @ IADT during the summer after 5th yr], and all the way through 6th yr on my portfolio [didn't do my LC any justice, then again I wasn't too pushed]. I think anybody can work on it over a few months intensively but whether the quality of work is of almost perfection is another matter. I believe that these people need to get help asap from college students or portfolio prep courses that maybe on during the winter time.

Please don't leave it too late guys.

Weekend Warrior

HouseHippo wrote: »

Only started portfolio now.....will I get it done?

It's worth a try, you've nothing to lose! Are you doing the Ncad brief?
I'm only just finshed the first section.

HouseHippo

Yep,i'm finished forst section and one of the design/invent pieces

Sysbase

I think it looks nice but I'm not one to give advice.. thanks for sharing!

HouseHippo

I'm nearly finished working on the portfolio brief,just wondering how rigidly i should stick to it

Weekend Warrior

I'm nearly finished too, well, I think so
I basically stuck to the brief, but I did skip some small parts and let some ideas develop to outside the brief.
I'm a bit worried that I don't have enough different media in it though...I have painting, print, textiles, photography but very little sculpture.

HouseHippo

Weekend Warrior wrote: »

I'm nearly finished too, well, I think so
I basically stuck to the brief, but I did skip some small parts and let some ideas develop to outside the brief.
I'm a bit worried that I don't have enough different media in it though...I have painting, print, textiles, photography but very little sculpture.

Ah i only did one sculpture. I strayed too just o show some development of ideas. In just have section 3 to do now workin on that at the mo

kodonohoe673

i went to the ncad open day and talked at lenght with one of the core year instructors. i asked about adding extra work that didnt exactly meet the brief but bits i kind of developed in doing the set parts of the brief. she replyed it would that it would look nervous. and to stick to the brief exactly.
so from what i gathered do exactly what is in the brief and in the notebook(s) expand on your ideas. the main point is to meet the brief. as they will have a marking scheme for each section.

hope everyones doin okay. im no where near finished. its a 30 hour estimate. im the worst procrastinator in the world but sure. im getting there and it seems to be going fine.

also people applying to portfolio prep courses. i do not recommend colaiste dhulaigh. if your aiming for ncad that is. i was there and quit after little over a month and alot of others aiming for ncad did too. i was told ncad wasnt the best, and we were also told noone would be getting into ncad. thats because they didnt follow the brief. these courses should cater for all art courses their students are interested in not whichever is easiest for them i felt severely let down. as rumors have it ballyfermot is at the same bull**** this year. but im not one to comment on this really because i didnt go there.

good luck!!!

Larianne

kodonohoe673 wrote: »

also people applying to portfolio prep courses. i do not recommend colaiste dhulaigh. if your aiming for ncad that is. i was there and quit after little over a month and alot of others aiming for ncad did too. i was told ncad wasnt the best, and we were also told noone would be getting into ncad. thats because they didnt follow the brief. these courses should cater for all art courses their students are interested in not whichever is easiest for them i felt severely let down. as rumors have it ballyfermot is at the same bull**** this year. but im not one to comment on this really because i didnt go there.

good luck!!!

I went to Colaiste Dhulaigh and maybe you're right about NCAD. Only one girl from my class got in. Although I dunno how many were aiming for NCAD. I suppose it's hard as the brief for NCAD is so specific and the course has to aim for all courses. The course was a bit shakey at the start, I wanted to quit too but I stayed on and they do help you towards the course you want. I got into DLIADT and everyone in my class got in somewhere.

I'm very impressed at the people doing the portfolios by themselves! Fair play. When it's all done and dusted it'd be great if you could post up some of your pics.

red_bairn

i was told ncad wasnt the best, and we were also told noone would be getting into ncad. thats because they didnt follow the brief. these courses should cater for all art courses their students are interested in not whichever is easiest for them i felt severely let down.

-kodonohoe673

That's a pity. I know people in my course that studied on a PLC course in Gorey, Wexford and one of them got NCAD but stuck with our course (he's doing really well at the moment). He hasn't been the only one to reject NCAD.

Just to inform those who don't know much about the other courses out there...the PLC course that I am talking about is this one >>>

http://www.gsa.ie/art&design.htm
http://www.gsa.ie/digitalmedia.htm

My course (originally located in Gorey, now Wex Town):

http://www.itcarlow.ie/wcsad_course.asp?top_section=2&lower_section=9&uid=itcarlow