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Artist // Student // Varied
- Canada
- Deviant for 11 years
- She / Her
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Currently enrolled in The BA Illustration programme at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada.
Profile Comments 42
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Thank you so much for showcasing your portfolio, im so nervous and i was looking all over fo examples thank you so muuuch
Hey! Your artwork is great! I've been having a hard time finding examples of Sheridan illustration portfolios but yours was perfect! I took the art fundies program last year but at the time I was more focused on the animation program and I didn't listen much about the tips from the teachers for the illustration portfolios so seeing yours helped a lot! I love your style btw!
Hi there! I found your folder on Sheridan through a google search. I'm also aiming to get into the Illustration program there, and I'd like to thank you for the portfolio examples you provided. Congratulations for getting in! It's really no surprise you did fantastic ~
I have a few questions on my mind right now. It seems that your portfolio is very focused on life drawings. Would you say the illustration program at Sheridan is also quite focused on technicalities and realism than more abstract illustration (for example, from a children's book)?
Also, I was just wondering how was your interview? What sort of questions did they ask about your portfolio and who were the judges? And also, may I ask when you started to prepare for your portfolio and the length of time it took to complete?
I'm sorry if my pile questions are a bother. I have two more years until graduation and I feel quite stressed out about all of this.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I'd really appreciate any advice at all! :'-)
First off, thank you for looking through my portfolio!
To start, you're asking if Sheridan is focused more on technical and realistic work than interpretive Illustration- The answer to that is both a no and yes.
-The program itself encourages students to develop their style as whatever they prefer- Scientific or Interpretive are both encouraged (Indeed the program head IS a professional interpretive illustrator) but the entrance portfolio has very specific requirements that students must meet and so is asking for a different criteria than what you would put in a professional portfolio.
-Therefore the entrance portfolio IS focused on technical and realistic skill over abstract design, although if you like to do the latter, you should include some of your most successful pieces in your personal work. The reason behind the portfolio focus is because the 1st year of the program is very much traditional skill development, so the school selects first year students who have demonstrated that they know basic technical skills.
As for the interview, Sheridan does not have an in-person interview process like most art programs. I just tried to make everything in my portfolio really clear for the judges to understand and follow, because I knew I wasn't going to be there in person to be able to explain my work.
--- That being said, if you live in the area, During the fall open house session, the school offers free one-on-one interviews for prospective applicants wanting a critique on their portfolio. It is a few hours to wait in line, but I thought it was really helpful to have the insight and suggestions from the judges, seeing as they are the same judges that do the actual scoring as well.
To start, you're asking if Sheridan is focused more on technical and realistic work than interpretive Illustration- The answer to that is both a no and yes.
-The program itself encourages students to develop their style as whatever they prefer- Scientific or Interpretive are both encouraged (Indeed the program head IS a professional interpretive illustrator) but the entrance portfolio has very specific requirements that students must meet and so is asking for a different criteria than what you would put in a professional portfolio.
-Therefore the entrance portfolio IS focused on technical and realistic skill over abstract design, although if you like to do the latter, you should include some of your most successful pieces in your personal work. The reason behind the portfolio focus is because the 1st year of the program is very much traditional skill development, so the school selects first year students who have demonstrated that they know basic technical skills.
As for the interview, Sheridan does not have an in-person interview process like most art programs. I just tried to make everything in my portfolio really clear for the judges to understand and follow, because I knew I wasn't going to be there in person to be able to explain my work.
--- That being said, if you live in the area, During the fall open house session, the school offers free one-on-one interviews for prospective applicants wanting a critique on their portfolio. It is a few hours to wait in line, but I thought it was really helpful to have the insight and suggestions from the judges, seeing as they are the same judges that do the actual scoring as well. My portfolio was worked on over the course of the year before submission. I took the 1st year of the Visual Creative Art program at Sheridan (its like the Art Fundamentals program in 1st year) and I knew that while I would get some good pieces from class assignments, that I also didn't want to rushrushrush and try and do my portfolio PLUS homework at the last minute. I still ended up feeling very rushed and stressed out the last month, but I am so glad I started my portfolio well in advance.
---Two of my paintings were from school assignments 6 weeks to 3 months prior, the other personal paintings were done 2/3 months - 1 year prior to submission.
--- My sketchbook pieces ranged from 2 weeks to 1 year prior to submission
--- My portrait pieces were from around 4 months and 1 year mark
--- My technical pieces ranged between 1- 5 months prior to the due date
--- My figure drawings ranged from about 2 weeks to 4 months- the more you practice life drawing the better it gets, so the most recent are usually the most successful
--- My drawing test pieces were between 1 week and 6 months. They were all done in the last 6 weeks before submission, HOWEVER, I redid almost all of my drawing test pieces 3-4 times each piece, so I had actually started working on them at the beginning of September and kept reworking ideas and redoing things until the end.
--- I took the last week before submission to review everything and assemble my portfolio just the way I wanted it. I had 1 piece I redid as I was unhappy with, and it was still the lowest scoring piece.
--- I started planning the layout and design/ composition/ etc. of the portfolio itself at the 1 year advance point. I researched successful portfolios to see what type of work other people included, etc. and practically memorized the submission guideline provided by the school. From there I determined how many pieces, what kind of pieces, the subject matter, the medium used, etcetera. that I wanted to put into the portfolio. This helped me to visualise the finished piece AND it also helped me stay focused through the year, as I could add pieces and mark those off my list of work to finish.
---Two of my paintings were from school assignments 6 weeks to 3 months prior, the other personal paintings were done 2/3 months - 1 year prior to submission.
--- My sketchbook pieces ranged from 2 weeks to 1 year prior to submission
--- My portrait pieces were from around 4 months and 1 year mark
--- My technical pieces ranged between 1- 5 months prior to the due date
--- My figure drawings ranged from about 2 weeks to 4 months- the more you practice life drawing the better it gets, so the most recent are usually the most successful
--- My drawing test pieces were between 1 week and 6 months. They were all done in the last 6 weeks before submission, HOWEVER, I redid almost all of my drawing test pieces 3-4 times each piece, so I had actually started working on them at the beginning of September and kept reworking ideas and redoing things until the end.
--- I took the last week before submission to review everything and assemble my portfolio just the way I wanted it. I had 1 piece I redid as I was unhappy with, and it was still the lowest scoring piece.
--- I started planning the layout and design/ composition/ etc. of the portfolio itself at the 1 year advance point. I researched successful portfolios to see what type of work other people included, etc. and practically memorized the submission guideline provided by the school. From there I determined how many pieces, what kind of pieces, the subject matter, the medium used, etcetera. that I wanted to put into the portfolio. This helped me to visualise the finished piece AND it also helped me stay focused through the year, as I could add pieces and mark those off my list of work to finish.
Whoa! Sorry this is so long-winded! Hopefully I have fully answered your questions (if you made it through this novel) 
You still have lots of time! Good luck with your current studies, and I hope you will be successful when you apply for Illustration
You still have lots of time! Good luck with your current studies, and I hope you will be successful when you apply for Illustration Thank you so much for replying to my comment! You've given me some amazing input!
I assumed that there would be an interview like OCAD, where they go one-on-one. Did you try out for OCAD also? If so, which school in your opinion is more helpful and directive for illustration in terms of developing your own style, marketing skills, and working with customer's concepts, etc? I know Sheridan has a co-op program, so that's what really draws me.
When you say you took the 1st year of the Visual Creative Art program at Sheridan, do you mean directly after graduation or while you were in twelfth grade?
I'll be sure to go to the open house session! Hopefully as soon as I've put together a portfolio I'm proud of, I'll be signing up.
Based on your preparation time, I'm guessing I'm still quite early. Since they're looking for technical drawings, I guess I'll have to start practicing now. I read online that they base entrance upon a score out of 100. Some students with a 55 or so score was accepted into Sheridan, so I was wondering if there was a base score where everyone who scores lower is automatically rejected, or simply the judges pick a certain amount of students who scored the highest.
Thank you so, so much for all the input. This really helps! I really appreciate it. ^u^
No problem
I did not try out for OCAD. I set my eyes on Sheridan's Illustration program and through all the other research into other schools here and in other countries, I decided I still wanted to go to Sheridan because it offers some of the few art programs with a more "complete" focus. I have known people who have gone to OCAD, and while I think it offers some very good art programs, the focus at OCAD really seems mostly on just fine art. I just feel that Sheridan offers what other places do not - skill development as an artist WITH education on marketing yourself as a business, with professional portfolio development and a work oppourtunity. At least, that is my understanding and the reputation of these programs.
As for the VCA program, I am long past high school graduation- going back to school for Illustration is a career change for me And I dont believe you could take the VCA program while still in high school, as it is a full-time day program. If you lived in the area though you could probably register for some night/weekend classes at the school, some of those classes have the same instructors, and it could help give you an idea as for a full-time class setup. I did take a few night/ weekend art classes over the last 6 years (mostly for personal interest whenever I could spare the time), and I think they were really helpful.
As for the VCA program, I am long past high school graduation- going back to school for Illustration is a career change for me
And I dont believe you could take the VCA program while still in high school, as it is a full-time day program. If you lived in the area though you could probably register for some night/weekend classes at the school, some of those classes have the same instructors, and it could help give you an idea as for a full-time class setup. I did take a few night/ weekend art classes over the last 6 years (mostly for personal interest whenever I could spare the time), and I think they were really helpful. As for the scoring - every year the entrance scores are different. The last few years, the entrance scores have been overall lower (in the 50s-60s ranges) but I have known other previous graduates and heard from faculty that before that entrance minimums were usually higher (high 60s- 70s range) - and so IDEALLY that is the scoring you want to strive for. They decreased the amount of positions this year from 150 down to 108, and I was told they also hold an additional 20 students on a wait-list, in case of seats that open up, but its no guarantee a wait-listed student will get in. When there are a thousand+ other portfolios competing against yours, it leaves you now with just over a 10% selection rate. I think the most important thing you can do is follow all the portfolio instructions, and show the judges that while you might not be an expert at everything, that you are willing and able to put in great effort to become a professional artist.
I think your work is FANTASTIC. I still am just learning how to paint digitally and your work amazes me I think it is a really good idea to start practicing some technical work now, so you can add some varied perspective and draft pieces into your final portfolio, but I am sure if you are already starting to plan for yourself now that you have a very good chance to get in ^^ Just hold on to that desire and I believe you will not have any problems
Sorry again for these enormous replies <.< I hope I was able to help you with all of my ramblings
I think it is a really good idea to start practicing some technical work now, so you can add some varied perspective and draft pieces into your final portfolio, but I am sure if you are already starting to plan for yourself now that you have a very good chance to get in ^^ Just hold on to that desire and I believe you will not have any problems Sorry again for these enormous replies <.< I hope I was able to help you with all of my ramblings
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friggin upload more or i unwatch ! D: <
jkz but no i wanna see more art man
jkz but no i wanna see more art man