Before I move on, I should mention that I graduated from VanArts in 2006 so my review of the school may not be as relevant now. Since then, the curriculum has been revamped drastically and some of the staff members have been replaced.
The first time I heard about VanArts was from my friend who was also working as classical animation teacher at the school. I didn’t know much about VanArts at that time, but was impressed with the student reels that she had shown me. In addition, many people on the major CG forums, like CGTalk, recommended VanArts and Vancouver Film School (VFS) over the rest of the schools in BC. VanArts was less costly, so it became my first choice.
However, to be accepted at VanArts wasn’t as easy as I first thought.
However, to be accepted at VanArts wasn’t as easy as I first thought. Besides filling out the application form and going through an interview with the program head, they wanted to see some of my art work. They wanted to know what I was capable of and if it was the right path for me to become an artist. I submitted a simple portfolio, nothing that I could really be proud of but they seemed to be pleased with it. And so, I was accepted.
The Program
The Game Art and Design program was a one-year program and at that time the course was divided into 3 semesters. The first semester was to familiarize students with the programs and the basic work pipeline in game and movie development. It covered little bit of everything, including modeling, animation, unwrapping UV, texturing, lighting, compositing and storyboarding. The second semester was more specialized. By this time, the students pretty much knew what they wanted to specialize in and the path they wanted to take. The last semester was dedicated for portfolio development but we still had a few classes we needed to attend. The purpose of these classes was to help the students present their portfolios in a way where they would have a better chance of getting hired.
The Experience
The first two semesters were a great experience for me. Every student had his/her own dedicated workstation and the instructors were all eager to teach their students. Also, with a relatively small class size, it was easier for the teachers to observe the students’ pace and make sure they didn’t fell behind. I learned a lot of things in two semesters and I thought I was prepared for the world.
The schedule did work well for a while but as soon as they started to introduce new classes, the schedule became a big problem for us.
The problem arose in the third semester. The Game Art and Design program was relatively new for the school at that time. The instructors thought 3 semesters would be enough for the students to finish their reels and graduate. The schedule did work well for a while but as soon as they started to introduce new classes, the schedule became a big problem for us. Not only did we have to finish our demo reels, we still had to attend classes, and complete our assignments in order to graduate from the school.
We tried to bring up this issue with our instructors and the program advisor. Fortunately they understood the situation so they made the new classes optional. In addition, they were willing to give students access to the new computers in the new building to render our reels.
For me however, I felt that the new classes were important so I tried to attend all of them and follow the lessons as much as possible. I had little sleep for a long period of time and had to sacrifice my weekends. In the end I thought it was all worth it. My motto: “I can sleep when I’m dead”.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was quite satisfied with the school. The schedule and the organization of classes weren’t too impressive but they had some amazing instructors, like Daniel Araujo, Robin Kort, Stephen Pearce, David K. Lam, and Nicholas Tay, to name a few.
If you are planning to attend one of the colleges in BC, I’d recommend trying either VanArts or Think Tank Training Centre.
The new curriculum has been revamped and I have heard many good things about the changes they have made at the school (one of them being having Pierre Bourgeot as the character modeling instructor). If you are planning to attend one of the colleges in BC, I’d recommend trying either VanArts or Think Tank Training Centre (you can find my short review of Think Tank Training Centre in the next section). You can’t really go wrong with either of them.
Life at Think Tank Training Centre
After my contract with Electronic Arts: BlackBox Inc. ended, I decided to go back to school to sharpen my sculpting skills and develop new portfolio.
I had seen many advertisements for Think Tank Training Centre on CG forums so I thought I’d give the school a try, especially since Kolby Jukes and Pierre Bourgeot used to teach there (Pierre was teaching at VanArts when I enrolled at Think Tank Training Centre). The owners were kind enough to let me enroll halfway through course, skipping the introductory first-half. In addition, they even granted me permission to attend the classes that I had missed in the first and second semester.
The one thing that attracted me most about the school was the mentorship program. Every student would be assigned his/her own a dedicated mentor to help him/her during the portfolio development. Having a personal mentor (still working in the industry) was great because you could ask for feedback on your work-in-progress on a daily basis. It was also a great way to start networking. Their recommendations could go a long way in helping you land that first job. In fact, I’ve heard of many students getting their work through their mentors.
Overall, this school was a better experience for me. I met amazing mentors who were passionate to help me become a better artist, great friends who kept motivating and inspiring each other and great owners who care more about producing talent than making a quick buck.
What’s Next for Me?
After I graduated from VanArts, I had the opportunity to work as a Teaching Assistant at school for almost half a year before I landed my first job as Character Modeler at Electronic Arts: Black Box. Currently, I’m working as Game Artist/Generalist at Other Ocean Interactive, formerly known as Backbone Charlottetown.
Personally, I’d choose Think Tank Training Centre over VanArts because of the mentorship program and the smaller class sizes.
Personally, I’d choose Think Tank Training Centre over VanArts because of the mentorship program and the smaller class sizes. A warning though, you shouldn’t expect too much from any school to guarantee you a job after you graduate because what matters in the end is your portfolio and your credibility. This was something that the program advisors from both VanArts and Think Tank Training Center told me. The most the teachers can do is prepare the students and teach them how to use the tools.
So what’s next for me? I’m not sure what lies ahead but I know this is not the end of my journey as an artist. I’m still trying to improve my artistic skill and push myself to the limit. My advice is to start networking as soon as possible as you build your reputation and keep producing artwork after you graduate. Listen to all the suggestions from your instructors and friends because the presentation of your portfolio and reel can either help or hurt you in your job hunt.
I wish you guys all the best of luck.
Jeremy Art Kohar
http://artkohar.blogspot.com
Game Artist, Other Ocean Interactive
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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