★ How to Prepare an Art Portfolio | Examples and Advice ★

Selecting what to include in your portfolio should not be a nerve-racking experience. Most art programs will want to see works that fall into three distinct categories: observational art, personal art or a home exam. Some colleges will require a combination of two or three categories, and others will want to see only one category. Always check exactly what the college/university you are applying to requires.

- Category One: Observational Art
Observational art is drawing or painting in a traditional method using a still life, figure model, portrait or landscape as the subject and rendering the subject as accurately as possible. The image should not be taken from a photograph or the artists' imagination, but from real life. Size of the artwork should be approximately 18" x 24" or larger in scale and fill the entire surface of the paper or canvas. Most work in this category is done in pencil, charcoal, or other drawing mediums, but it can also include painting and collage.

- Category Two: Personal Art
Personal art is the work done outside of a classroom situation and reflects the artists' unique interests in use of materials, subject matter and concept. Work can be completed in any media including (but not limited to) drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, digital/computer art, film/video, ceramics, sculpture, animation and performance art.

- Category Three: Home Exam
The home exam consists of specific work that has been required by a particular college or department. (Example: Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the past has asked that all portfolios include a drawing of a "bicycle".)

Any photographic pieces should be works that are shot and printed by you the artist (do not use photographs printed at photo labs.) When it comes to photography, schools are just as interested in why you chose the subject matter as in how well it was printed. You should always attach a brief description (typed) on the back of each photograph explaining why you made that particular print or series of prints.

TOP TIPS:
- For your art school interview, preparation is key - so why not set up a mock interview with a teacher or anyone you can find who isn't a friend (so they can be ruthless!)

- Sketchbooks are usually required to be submitted alongside the main portfolio, so please check the sketchbook requirements for your particular course too. Try and separate research sketchbooks from experimental/exploratory books as some art schools ask for this.

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