The art portfolio is one of the most important factors in determining your admissions to a college, aside from your academic performance and extracurricular activities. However, do not neglect your grades completely. Yes, art schools place heavy emphasis on the portfolio, but having a good academic standing, like a good GPA, SAT/ACT scores, combined with a great portfolio will also put you in consideration for higher scholarships. There’s a myth that grades don’t matter at all, and that really is a myth. 

Preparing a portfolio is a rigorous process. Both the physical development of pieces takes time, as well as the growth of your technical skills and ideas. Many students underestimate the amount of time it will take to produce a portfolio so it’s very important to plan ahead accordingly. 

Supplementary Portfolios 

Often submitted when applying to a liberal arts schools to demonstrate an interest in the arts, or used as an outside extra-curricular activity. 

Mandatory Portfolios 

If you are interested in applying to an art, design, or architecture centered school, chances are the portfolio is mandatory. Also, depending on each department, portfolio requirements may differ. 

SlideRoom

Most colleges in the USA use the online platform called “SlideRoom” for artwork submission, an application tracking and management system that’s also directly linked to the common app. Everything is going digital, and gone are the days of creating slides and mailing them in. 

On SlideRoom, you will need to enter this information: 
• Title
• Year
• Medium
• Size
• Additional Details 

TIPS 

- There should be a flow to the images in your portfolio. Admissions Officers will browse through hundreds, if not thousands of entries on SlideRoom. Arranging the artwork in a cohesive, balanced way is an important practice, and can capture their attention in a unique way.

- One artwork Description include 1000 words, some schools require 3-5 sentences. It is very important to write a good description for each artwork. 

- On SlideRoom, you can also provide links to your videos/artwork via YouTube, Vimeo,
or SketchFab.

-Some schools may even accept a blog or website you’ve created in place of the portfolio. 

1. START WITH REAL-LIFE OBSERVATION, NOT PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs should be used only as a guiding tool, not the main image you work from to copy or render. These days, it’s honestly rare that students learn how to draw properly. The curriculums taught in Visual Arts classes in high-school have certain limitations with time and materials, so sometimes teachers are ok with students drawing from photographs. More often than not, artwork is not corrected, and students aren’t guided properly before they know the basic principles of light, shape and form. Don’t use photographs as a crutch! Only as a reference.

Instead, practice drawing from life. Come up with unique ideas, for example: set up a still-life, but make it interesting and put your own twist on it by adding a graphic fabric that apples can rest on, have a dynamic composition, or do a self-portrait that doesn’t rest entirely within the frame but goes outside of it. This is important because the many major-specific concepts and skills art colleges look to teach you in your formative years as an undergraduate can only be fully actualized upon knowing basic principles. 

Admissions officers are able to spot a student’s ability to draw/render reality within seconds! 

2. SHOW YOUR INTERESTS

This may sound obvious, but some students only draw what they’re used to or what’s in front of them. Colleges want to see what subjects you’re interested in as an artist, not only technical skills.  They want to see a versatile portfolio showing your range of interests in subject matter.

You can include self-portraits, still life, direct observation, abstract or conceptual ideas, landscapes, sketchbook pages, installation or location specific pieces, sculptures, digital art, mixed media. For subject matter, focus on what matters to you like family, adolescence, a specific place etc.

If you are already interested in a specific major like graphic design, you can integrate some work that shows this. A school like CalArts for example, looks for graphic design pieces if that’s the major you plan on entering. You can choose to depict a colorful still-life using products with fun, bold texts, showing your understanding for strong composition & design. Another example is doing a concept in packaging design that can show your creative process, like designing simple objects such as a bottle of water, coffee, and juxtapose those images together. If you’re going into fashion, for example at Parsons, the portfolio is fine art based, but you can integrate fabric, textiles, and design into some of your pieces. At School of Art Institute of Chicago for example, you can pick a theme and have different ways of expressing the subject using different mediums.

3. MATERIALS & MEDIUM

Colleges also like to see your experimentation with unusual materials and perhaps even conceptual ideas. For example, one of my students used Q-tips to create an interesting structure of a dress. Another created a series of backpacks out of skateboards. Experiment with mirrors, glass, hair, etc., and don’t think of garbage as garbage — there’s always room to create with found materials. Many stick with the traditions of pencil, pastel, charcoal, and acrylic/oil paint, but if you utilize an entirely different medium, you can bring about a different impact in your artwork too. Remember to also try and include 3-dimensional artwork, and digital artwork that’s done in Photoshop, and/or photography. These days, schools like to see your ability to use digital programs and photography. 

4. KEEP  READING BOOKS AND OBSERVING ART,
AND FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH CONTEMPORARY ART

I mentioned this in my previous book, but I can’t stress the importance of reading enough. Reading will exercise a different part of your brain, expanding your imagination. To make really great art, read and simultaneously visit museums or galleries. Usually, you can generate ideas after you process the artwork. Also, as a designer or artist, being somewhat familiar with art history will greatly benefit the creation of your artwork. If you don’t study art history while working on your portfolio, your pieces can actually turn out to be rather lacking in depth or too familiar— studying on artists and the time context really helps. It is important to place yourself into art history, then, you can gauge the quality of the artwork. 

5. YOUR VOICE- KNOW IT AND BE VERBAL ABOUT IT 

Keep reading and studying modern and contemporary artists, then you can find your own voice. You have to know your own voice in order to talk and write about your artwork, like influences (books, movies, music, etc.) and time periods in history. Be specific about your interests too. Your voice is constantly changing, but at least find out the things that interest you. 

Also, talk to as many people as you can, and not just artists but people from all ages and career groups. One-to-one critiques are good, but I stress that group critiques are equally, if not more important. I don’t really recommend private lessons  and hiding your artwork process. I believe involving discussion will really help your artwork. 

One fun example I like to tell students is about Facebook’s  artist-in-residency program    where artists create are given the opportunity to go around the campus to talk with all different people, for example, they can mingle with engineers and try to solve creative problems together. Their artwork is also displayed anywhere in the headquarters, and it gives inspiration to people within the community. This is just one example, but it shows the importance of collaboration, and openly talking about and sharing creative ideas. 

EXTRA TIPS: 

Keep in mind that even though schools require you to submit roughly 10-15 pieces of artwork (for mandatory portfolios) you should produce at least 25-30 solid works of art to choose from. Really try to understand the importance of trying out as many mediums as possible and knowing your speed. 

Keep a Solid Sketchbook 

When you sketch your ideas, always do it in your sketchbook, as it can be part of your portfolio later on. Include swatches of fabric, paper, or collaged ideas too.

Submitting a portfolio that’s not made by you

Over the years, I’ve had a few students that have actually bought portfolios created by professionals or, the teachers helped them too much, and in the process overshadowed the voice of the student. Please stay away from doing this! It may get you into college, but it doesn’t help anyone and you will inevitably struggle with the course load. 

Interviews

Students can opt to sign up for an interview for a more in depth review of their portfolio. It’s a great opportunity for the school to get to know you, your interests, and bringing your sketchbook of ideas and working process will be a plus. 

For international students, it may be required due to distance.  Nowadays, there are several digital platforms and agencies where you can store an interview online and send it to schools all over the country. Practice before your actual interview day.