Hello again!
My last post explained some of my thoughts about the new objective of this blog. This post is about planning the road map.
I’m not going to go into a lengthy discussion about why planning is necessary. I’m not going to cover the topic of planning at all, really. Instead, I’m going to walk through my general thought process. If I were still homeschooling my boys (they are both in their 20s now and I can only be thankful that they still listen to me!), this would be a method I might use to plan their curricula.
I will also add that if I were starting my career over again, I would seriously consider going to art school. I’d have at least 40 years ahead of me to finish school, develop my skill, work in my career, become an expert, and teach what I learned. I figure that’s the traditional progression, right? But I don’t have 40 years, and I’m not really concerned with developing a career. So I can go at this from a different perspective.
To start, I went online to several art schools and looked at their offerings. I compared programs in fine art, art and technology, digital art, graphic design, and illustration. Some schools combined one or more of these subjects into a single degree, whilst others offered additional specializations in film, art history, art teaching, game design, etc. Illustration seemed to have the classes that I was most interested in, including a large number of fundamental drawing classes mixed with some photography, graphic design and writing. I took note of the performance criteria required for students to graduate with a degree in Illustration. These will be the standards I use for determining if I’ve met my objectives.
Next, I took note of the entry level coursework. I have a lot of free time. I’m already spending several hours a day either doodling, playing around with some online art classes, or experimenting in Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. It wouldn’t hurt to use that time productively with some direction instead of squirreling from this to that. Most of the college classes I took required 2 to 2.5 hours out of class for every hour spent in class. If I have 20 to 30 hours a week to play with, it equates to 8 to 10 hours of coursework. That’s not a full-time college semester, but it’s not peanuts, either. It’s enough time to see progress in a few months.
The next step was to look at the schedules for the classes and determine how many subjects I wanted to tackle. I have never taken a college art class, but if they are like my manufacturing or mechanical engineering lab classes, one day a week is spent in lecture and the rest is for hands-on activity. That’s not the same with the writing classes, though. We never had time in class to do any of the work that was assigned. Taking both of these things into consideration, it was time to plan an attack.
Here are the subjects I chose to start with:
- Illustration Exploration
Many schools offer a degree program introductory class. It gives the student the opportunity to explore their chosen career before they get too many semesters into the subject coursework. They can then change their field of interest if the subject doesn’t end up being what they thought it would be.
While I can’t go to an art school and take their introductory course, there’s no reason why I can’t have one of my own. That’s kind of why I’m doing this whole approach to begin with!
he Academy of Art offers a First Year Seminar for Illustrators that sounds like a lot of fun. It includes excursions and projects focused on exploring a variety of genres and media. While it would be totally cool to do this in a small group, I’m perfectly okay with trying it on my own. Their class is 3 units (6 hours), and there is probably a couple of hours expected to be spent on independent reading. I also envision trips to museums and watching documentaries about illustrators, then trying a small project using a technique I was previously unfamiliar with. One area of interest I’d like to explore further is the technique known as chiaroscura, so I will include it in my personal program. - Introductory Photography and Imaging
I wouldn’t have considered adding this to my lineup if it hadn’t been required for multiple schools. Apparently, digital photography and photo manipulation is a key skill for good illustrators, although it’s something I’ve never pursued seriously.
I do know enough about my digital camera to use the automatic function. And I consider myself pretty adroit in Photoshop and Lightroom. So a couple of hours a week spent on this would probably be worthwhile, but no more than 3. Lots of classes on Skillshare for this. Thankfully, I’ve already got a subscription! - Composition and Form
This is the fundamental course subject for all art work. I’m already enrolled in a Udemy class that has great lessons in these areas and I’m spending 4 to 5 hours on this a week, so it’s reasonable to assume I can continue this. - Figure Drawing
Another fundamental course, figure drawing will require a lot of time from me. I haven’t practised it seriously since high school (a very long time ago). I think this will require a book or online course and I won’t skimp on the hours. 5 to 7 hours here. - Artistic Communication
I saw several art schools that offered first year courses in the form of writing as an artist, communicating as an artist, and using sketches to communicate. I think it would be worthwhile to pursue this to some extent, although many of the objectives (e.g. produce cohesive and grammatically correct essays) are basic freshman skills that I’ve already tackled. On the other hand, ‘evaluating and interpreting a work of art’ would be a useful skill, as would ‘sketching in a representational manner to conceptualize and communicate ideas and stories’. 3 hours, minimum. I can probably find help with this online. - Blogging
This is actually a sub-topic of #5 but it’s important enough to list separately so that I don’t forget it. This new site theme has so many options that I would like to find time to learn more about it. My media file needs organized. I have no idea how to use half the plugins. And since this blog is a critical part of my portfolio, it deserves some dedicated time for upkeep and development. A minimum of 3 hours a week should be sufficient.
There you go. I’ve got at least 25 hours of stuff here. More than enough subject matter to tackle in a week’s time!
Now on to the details…
