5 ms·

Guy-who-wrote-this (and often lurker) here. Lemme know if y'all have any questions or anything—this is still a subject I'm rather passionate about.

chazzyluc 10y ago
Thanks for the article, I graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and have seen similar issues with skyrocketing tuition costs [1]. In addition, I have also noticed an equally alarming decrease in the average age of the student body going from late 20’s to the now common immediate post high school age being the norm. I feel like that is particularly troubling as younger students that may not know if they want to be in the field over the long term end up being saddled with crippling $200,000+ debt. You also listed some excellent resources in gaining skills for creative trade work but, to be honest, I don’t know if I agree that these can act as a complete replacement particularly in entertainment design, industrial design, interactive art or even UI/UX due to the scope of knowledge needed to be competent in these fields. I personally think there is starting to be an uptick in doing only part of a program where students will only do two years of a four-year degree to get the networking and skill benefits with less debt. This is a pretty bitter pill to swallow though as you end could easily end up paying $100,000+ for no degree... In any case, I would be really interested in hearing more of your thoughts on trade specific strategies for creative education. [1] http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/229-3861/Art-Center-College-of-Design-vs-Rhode-Island-School-of-Design http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/229-3861/Art-Center-C...
facepalm 10y ago
Some links to books you recommend seem to be broken.
- imatworkyo 10y ago
  for anyone else - found it here : https://noahbradley.com/10-books-every-artist-must-read/ https://noahbradley.com/10-books-every-artist-must-read/
sakri 10y ago
I'm hoping robots, ai and UBI will liberate the masses from material obsession, leading to increased appreciation of the arts as vocation and entertainment, reviving and democratising our institutions. I fear reality will be more aligned with Black Mirror type scenarios.
anotheryou 10y ago
What you do, do you see it more as concept art (the practical, illustrative one, not the theory one) or liberal arts?
rem7 10y ago
Another thing to add to your $10k education list, look at all the art classes in community colleges around the big expensive private art schools. I got my BFA from a pricy private art school in LA. We were paying about $1250 a credit. The same teachers were also teaching at Santa Monica college for about $21 a credit. I was furious when I found out. I wish I would have known about that. So I suggest going to that prestigious school you want to go. Look up the classes and teachers, they might be teaching somewhere else for cheaper.
- jcl 10y ago
  Likewise, if you're just interested in learning the material, check out alternatives at the big expensive art schools themselves. For example, RISD offers 2-year certificate programs for about $10k. They're composed of community education classes, but they're taught by RISD instructors in RISD classrooms, and as far as I can tell are equivalent to the corresponding courses taught during the day. The catch, of course, is that you don't have access to the full range of courses, and that you don't get to say "BFA" or "MFA" on your resume at the end -- although you can still say "RISD". :) http://ce.risd.edu/pages/certificate-programs-for-adults http://ce.risd.edu/pages/certificate-programs-for-adults

chazzyluc 10y ago

Thanks for the article, I graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and have seen similar issues with skyrocketing tuition costs [1]. In addition, I have also noticed an equally alarming decrease in the average age of the student body going from late 20’s to the now common immediate post high school age being the norm. I feel like that is particularly troubling as younger students that may not know if they want to be in the field over the long term end up being saddled with crippling $200,000+ debt. You also listed some excellent resources in gaining skills for creative trade work but, to be honest, I don’t know if I agree that these can act as a complete replacement particularly in entertainment design, industrial design, interactive art or even UI/UX due to the scope of knowledge needed to be competent in these fields. I personally think there is starting to be an uptick in doing only part of a program where students will only do two years of a four-year degree to get the networking and skill benefits with less debt. This is a pretty bitter pill to swallow though as you end could easily end up paying $100,000+ for no degree... In any case, I would be really interested in hearing more of your thoughts on trade specific strategies for creative education. [1] http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/229-3861/Art-Center-College-of-Design-vs-Rhode-Island-School-of-Design http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/229-3861/Art-Center-C...

facepalm 10y ago

Some links to books you recommend seem to be broken.

imatworkyo 10y ago
for anyone else - found it here : https://noahbradley.com/10-books-every-artist-must-read/ https://noahbradley.com/10-books-every-artist-must-read/

sakri 10y ago

I'm hoping robots, ai and UBI will liberate the masses from material obsession, leading to increased appreciation of the arts as vocation and entertainment, reviving and democratising our institutions. I fear reality will be more aligned with Black Mirror type scenarios.

anotheryou 10y ago

What you do, do you see it more as concept art (the practical, illustrative one, not the theory one) or liberal arts?

rem7 10y ago

Another thing to add to your $10k education list, look at all the art classes in community colleges around the big expensive private art schools. I got my BFA from a pricy private art school in LA. We were paying about $1250 a credit. The same teachers were also teaching at Santa Monica college for about $21 a credit. I was furious when I found out. I wish I would have known about that. So I suggest going to that prestigious school you want to go. Look up the classes and teachers, they might be teaching somewhere else for cheaper.

jcl 10y ago
Likewise, if you're just interested in learning the material, check out alternatives at the big expensive art schools themselves. For example, RISD offers 2-year certificate programs for about $10k. They're composed of community education classes, but they're taught by RISD instructors in RISD classrooms, and as far as I can tell are equivalent to the corresponding courses taught during the day. The catch, of course, is that you don't have access to the full range of courses, and that you don't get to say "BFA" or "MFA" on your resume at the end -- although you can still say "RISD". :) http://ce.risd.edu/pages/certificate-programs-for-adults http://ce.risd.edu/pages/certificate-programs-for-adults