I always knew I wanted to do something art related and video games had always been a huge part of my life. I was already really into drawing and painting, but when it came to computers I didn’t know much, other than some basic Photoshop. I wasn’t sure about the Art Institute of Vancouver, so I tried out the SWEAT program in the spring and it seemed alright. I chose this school because I heard from someone I knew in the Industry that they hire graduates from the Art Institute of Vancouver.
I submitted my art portfolio to the school and was able to skip the first term of art fundamentals (saving me 5,000 dollars).
I submitted my art portfolio to the school and was able to skip the first term of art fundamentals (saving me 5,000 dollars). I was planning on working all summer to save up money to help pay for living expenses and the rest of my tuition, but the school was about to update its courses and the course I was enrolled in didn’t exist anymore. So I had to make the choice between starting early (2 days after my last high school exam) or taking a course that would cost me 10,000 dollars more. I chose to take the old course.
The Program
The Game Art and Design program I took doesn’t exist anymore. They changed the programs the term after mine so while the majority of the classes I took are still at the school; there are a few changes in the program. So while I can review the program, it will have changed since I took it.
In the Game Art and Design program, I learned both Art and Design. Seems simple enough to say, but this means artists are writing documents and learning Mel scripting, while designers are modeling and drawing. You don’t get to choose your own classes. The course wasn’t designed to be specialized, but to give you necessary instruction in all areas.
This is good if you are unsure of what exactly you want to do. I know I wasn’t sure what specifically I wanted to be. Also, this is helpful so that artists, designers and programmers can all work together as a team and understand each other’s tasks. However, it’s one of the reasons, I believe, people drop out of the course. It’s hard to do something that you don’t enjoy doing and you see as unrelated to your career.
Also, it would be nice to have a choice in what classes you will be taking, and to have different options at the end of the course so you can get more specialized in an area. Some of the classes really are irrelevant to what you are planning on doing.
The Classes
When I signed up for the program I had no idea what kind of courses would be involved, and course names like mapping for digital media (UVing and Texturing class) definitely didn’t help. For example, Interactive storytelling is a script writing class, while scripting I is an introduction to Mel scripting.
In the end I did learn a lot of great programs like Maya, Photoshop, Unreal Tournament Editor, Crazybump, Flash and Zbrush, but there are still a couple more programs that I feel I should have learned like 3d Studio Max and Mudbox.
The school divides the courses up so that you have a couple easier classes to balance out the brutally hard ones. If you have a class where you are only doing 2-3 hours of homework a week, it’s usually because you have another two classes where you have 10-30 hours of homework.
The School
I would say the school was alright. There’s a good library (books, movies and games) that you have free access to. There is a bookshop where you can purchase art supplies and books (fortunately, you won’t need to buy many books for your courses). There are some pretty cool classes and the school tries to have events and such going on, but the only reason I think that the 25,000 dollars was actually put to good use was the teachers.
The Teachers
For the most part, the teachers at AI are industry professionals who are usually still working in the industry when they teach you. That means they are teaching you what is relevant and also trying to prepare you for the high standards and fast pace of the industry. Also, I found that most of the teachers actually care about your work. They know how much money you are paying to be at AI and they don’t want to waste your money. They want you to really learn what they are teaching, because they figure that you’ll probably be working with them in the near future.
The teachers you have at AI will be your connection to the industry. If you impress them, you are impressing future employers or coworkers.
Each teacher has their method of doing things, so you’ll most likely learn a few different ways to model, UV, rig, animate and texture. Sometimes their methods directly contradict each other, so you really have to be flexible in your learning. The good thing about this you learn different tips and tricks from different teachers (however, some of those would have been really nice to know in 1st term rather than in the 3rd).
Maybe the school makes it sound like making video games will be like playing video games. It’s not.
Is It For You?
Maybe the school makes it sound like making video games will be like playing video games. It’s not. This course is hard work and involves many long hours. I was surprised to find people who didn’t complete assignments or skipped classes. Missing classes in this course is pretty serious since its so much information crammed into each one. If you aren’t prepared to give up playing video games to make video games, then maybe this course isn’t right for you.
The Game Art and Design course served its purpose for me, but it isn’t for everyone. I found that the money I spent was worth it, to have been taught by industry professionals. The reason I believe I did well was because I worked my butt off and cared about doing well in all the classes (not just the ones I liked).
You Get Out What You Put In
That’s really all it comes down to. No matter what course you take, what school you go to, I believe if you aren’t willing to put in the effort and time then you probably won’t get your money’s worth. Post secondary school is, after all, a business. They are selling their program to you.
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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