I researched various Canadian art schools and it came down to the high quality of ACAD alumni work. There seemed to be a focus on the basic skills of image making and this is exactly what I wanted to learn. I got the impression that they train you in the craft of visual communication and they leave it up to you to make it an art.
In the first year, there’s no digital work allowed (at least when I went through it).
The Program
The Visual Communications Design or VCD course is a three year program. To get into VCD you need to complete a year of basic fundamentals in art, either at ACAD or another equivalent school. In your first year of VCD you learn the level of quality that is expected of a VCD student. You are told what projects to do and how to do them. Any creativity you can squeeze out of the projects comes in the subject matter you chose. I pulled about eight all night sessions in my first year. It’s hard but you learn a lot. In the first year, there’s no digital work allowed (at least when I went through it).
In the second year the work load gets a little “easier”; you have more freedom to explore different styles. You take classes in how to use Photoshop and Illustrator, which can be useful if you are unfamiliar with the programs. The design students begin to take more design classes like Type and the illustrators take more classes like Landscape.
The final year of VCD is basically used to prepare your portfolio. You select one of four subjects to focus on. They are illustration, character design, advertising and graphic design. Once you have chosen a subject, you can do almost anything you want as long as it’s somewhat related to the project requirements. This was the case in illustration but I imagine that design was a little more rigid.
Every year you need to take some electives like liberal arts. I didn’t take many because of my previous degree. The people who did take all the required courses seamed to think that, in general, they were a waste of time.
Almost every week and sometimes several times a week, you would have a critique. You get up and talk about what you did. Then everyone tells you what they think. It can be great and it can be painful. You will critique about a hundred times before you are done. It is a very valuable thing to go through if you want to improve.
One of the best aspects of the school are the skills of the students sitting next to you. I found my class to be very competitive. If you want to be the best you needed to get better with every project. If you think you’re the shit and you can coast – forget it.
The class sizes are around 18- 25. The facilities are ok; you have some desks and a room. The photocopier breaks down daily. It will cost you about $5,000 a year to go to ACAD. In VCD you might spend another $2,000-3,000 on supplies. You will also need to buy a laptop. Check out the link below for more details.
http://www.acad.ab.ca/tuition_fees.html
The Verdict
For me ACAD was the right decision. The instructors for the most part were great and almost all were practicing professionals. If you get into VCD and you put the work in, I guarantee that you will be a better artist at the end of the program.
I have received awards from several magazines for my work which tells me that I’m doing something right.
I would recommend this program as long as you’re realistic about it. When you graduate some people find jobs and some don’t. I haven’t had many illustration jobs yet but I’m very hopeful. I have received awards from several magazines for my work which tells me that I’m doing something right. I really feel it’s going to happen for me.
Right now I work for a custom fabrication shop called Heavy Industries. So far I have worked on a 20 foot sculpture for an ad campaign, as well a quarter size Ferrari for the Ferrari museum in Dubai. I got this job because they were impressed with my illustration portfolio.
Please visit my website to see some of my illustrative work at www.sandersketch.com/
One of my old instructors created a web page for all things VCD. If you really want to get a feel for the program, this is the place to find it.
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
Loading ...