+ slant

Art Center gives you your schedule for the first term. You can drop classes but I wouldn’t recommend it. If you can make it through this first term and do well, you’ll be able to handle anything. I waived the English class so I had six classes for first term. On top of the six classes I commute from Santa Monica :)

My advice is to be ready to focus and put your time in for every class you’ve got. It will probably be the most intense term of your life, but it is all worth it :) Don’t expect a whole lot of sleep. For most of the term I woke up at 4:45 and got to school before the sun came up, and I usually didn’t leave until about 10 PM.

Congrats on getting in. If you have any other questions let me know :)

Hey, sorry for the slow reply. Just finished finals on Friday :)

I just answered a couple questions for someone else that may be helpful for you too:

http://blog.jasonmcginnity.com/post/4965307626/hi-im-interested-in-applying-for-the-transportation

First off, learn to sketch by hand, not on a computer. I own a Cintiq, which I used for a lot of projects at my previous school, as well as my entrance portfolio. I just completed first term, and I still haven’t taken it out of the box I packed it in. I could have finished my portfolio just as easily without a digital sketch, and I feel as though the Admissions office may prefer analog sketching in your entrance portfolio. Before you can sketch on a computer you need to master sketching on paper. As a designer it is the strongest form of communication you have, other than writing or orally describing what you are thinking. I would suggest you focus on analog sketching as much as you possibly can.

The only programs I used during first term were Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I used InDesign much more than the others to create my process books and boards for presentations and critiques. Definitely familiarize yourself with those programs, but you don’t need to master them just yet. Having a good understanding will cut down the time you’ll spend on those aspects of the projects.

My entrance portfolio is posted online:

http://www.coroflot.com/mcginnity/portfolio-2010

The portfolio was printed 11 x 17 and I included two spiral bound books of original sketches for each project.

After seeing other students’ entrance portfolios I definitely wish I had included all of my model making and product design projects too.

By far the most important thing to show with your portfolio is your thought process and understanding of the design work. Sketching can be improved but only if you show your brain can handle it :)

I hope this was helpful. Thanks for following my blog, and I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to hit me up with any other questions :)

Jason

Before I transferred to Art Center I was in my junior year studying product design at the Art Institute of Portland. I had also spent 8 months studying Industrial Design at Western Washington University prior to that. I have been sketching and designing things since I was in second grade, but I really started pursuing transportation design and industrial design when I started high school.

I moved up to Washington from Los Angeles in 2002, so I didn’t apply to Art Center when I graduated high school because I really wasn’t interested in coming right back down here. Instead, I applied to CCS in Detroit and got in, but I really wasn’t ready to make that move, so I ended up not going there.

The best advice I can give you is to sketch as much as possible, but sketching shouldn’t be a chore. I sketch because I enjoy it and because it is in my opinion the strongest form of communication I’ve got beyond writing or verbalizing what I’m thinking or designing.

I’m 22 now, and I definitely believe I would not have been able to handle the work load at Art Center when I was 17. However, there is a good group of guys/girls at Art Center that are starting right out of high school, and they’ve handled things pretty well. Time management is one of the hardest things to get right, so definitely work on that :)

If you are determined to go here, you’ve really got to want it, and I really mean that. The week before finals I didn’t go home for three days. On Thursdays this term, my cumulative amount of sleep was about 8 hours. Yes that’s added up for the entire 14 weeks :)

So, in short, here’s my advice:

+ sketch like crazy

+ master time management

+ soak up as much knowledge about cars as you can

+ sketch some more :)

There’s a link for my entrance portfolio on my blog. Definitely include any model making or sculpture projects as well as lots of analog sketching. And get your wheels right in perspective :)

Also, thanks for following my blog and good luck :)