Classes that A&D Recommends

[sambob]

After enjoying an art class I took from one of the local university this summer (Art 121A Basic Drawing) so much, I've enrolled in said university for the fall to take more art classes!

Could I hear from the users here who have taken many art classes what kind of classes you particularly recommend for people NEW to art?

Right now I'm thinking about ceramics, 3d design, and print making for my first semester. I wanted to get into oil painting but the proff that teaches that is on sabbatical until the spring semester! So I'll have to wait.

What were some classes that yall particularly enjoyed and thought were just really good?

[Mahimaki]

Classes really aren't the same Uni to Uni, but they're generally kept similar classes. I'd suggest an illustration class if it's offered, Typography, Drawing II, Design I & II, Layout & Design, History. Printmaking is insanely fun (at least it was for me) but getting used to how pen & ink works will help immensely with printmaking.

Design classes ( at least the way mine were taught) really help to understand the major motivation, parts, and composition of art. We spent a whole semester breaking down and understanding older works of art and why they work like they do. It was much fun and it gave me a better appreciation for modern art.

Design II for my Uni was basically understanding sculpture and 3d mediums, but was still scads of fun (one project was to recycle old stuff and turn it into a functional kinetic sculpture. I made a robotic hobo battlebot out of my RC parts, paperclips, screens, soda bottles, old felt and cloth)

Just read the class description and choose what appeals to you most since it doesn't seem like you're majoring in the art field

[-Airave-]

^^^ all that.

Basic Design (to learn the "rules") and more drawing.
Watercolor is generally cheaper, less mess and dries quicker then oil.
Acrylics can be used like WC or Oil depending on how much water
is used. Dries in minutes instead of weeks or months like Oil.
They are versatile and have intensive colors. Cheaper too.

If you like drawing and oil colors, try Pastels- an excellent medium!

Live model Nude drawing is about the best training you can get-
sure hard for a beginner, but you can learn much from watching
more advanced artists and what they do- highly recommended.

Photography is also an excellent medium for learning "how to see"
and improving your visual vocabulary, so to speak...

My 2 cents.

[Isobutane]

hmm, i took adult art classes at a local arts college, the MAC, when i was twee and i remember lots of them to be very namby pamby and generally a bit shit! specifically one that used clay, ughhh.

i would just take everything they've got on drawing because it's the basis of all artsy skillzz. then take a very simple painting class with a cheap medium like poster paints or something. you don't want to be constantly fucking up and learning the absoloute basics of painting when using an expensive and time consuming medium like oil paint. acrylics are especially fun

also, charcoal, try that after you've mastered pencil.
when i go back to sixthform in september, we're doing loads of charcoal in art a level and then free run of paints and the most fabulous open ended topic ever! urban environments! i plan to take to the streets to get polaroids and head shots of all the regulars in the city, the buskers and all thosssse. they are really much more recognisable to locals than any crap government mansion building or mingin' obscene naked lady fountain i am tresss excited! but if i go to a different college like i want to, i have no idea what we'll be doing and i may well just be completely left to it and surrounded by finger painters and glass blowers(the art department has glass, metal and jewellery work facilities at the college i want to go to!)
RAMBLERAMBLERAMBLE I DO IT TOO Much in every post¬!

[sambob]

A couple of questions:

-What do you mean by "mastered" pencil??

-By "pencil" are you specifically referring to actual PENCILS, or just graphite in general? Or graphite pencils specifically? Or do you mean working with just graphite pencils, or graphite with any other tools you see fit to use? I've been doing a lot of graphite stuff, and I dont use a lot of extra stuff, but in addition to my 6H, HB and 4B pencils (I really like the 0.5 and 0.9 mm mechanical ones), I'm getting a lot of use out of tortillions and tortons, also some other forms of graphite like those graphite sticks and also those WONDERFUL things that LOOK like pencils but its just a solid piece of graphite.

Oh and the almight kneaded eraser!

I'm sorry if all those little questions seem ridiculous, but I really an a complete beginner so I'm just curious as to EXACTLY what you mean. I feel very comfortable working with graphite, but I couldnt see myself ever thinking I've "mastered" it..

The only class I've taken so far is just Basic Drawing, but I've talked to the art proffs about watercolor, oil painting, all sorts of other stuff......... and they said that I should be able to handle those classes with just basic drawing under my belt (though it will require a lot of dedication of course).

Oh and I have yet ANOTHER questin! :P

Is there any particula reason you say I should "master" graphite before moving to charcoal? I've already been doing a fair amount of charcoal, as I really ike it. Working mostly with pencils, but those soft charcoal sticks I'm finding very useful for trying from nature, or textures, water, glass, stuff that requires you be able to manipulate the charcoal on the paper to get every little nuance right.

I've also been working a LOT with various pastels and chalks. Mostly conte crayons, but the softer stuff like just colored chalk is useful, and I've been doing SOME work with oil pastels, though Im taking it very very slowly, because they're a lot harder to use than Conte crayons I think.

[-Airave-]

Art is like Music like Music is Art.

There are and aren't rules.
Go at your own speed, learn
from others while developing
your own style. Whoever and
whatever those might be.

Do whatever you are comfortable with,
or push yourself to your "limits" and beyond.

"Mastering" is a concept not to get hung-up on.
Art mediums are a lot like musical genre and
the various instruments a person can learn.

Hear (or see) what I'm saying?

If you have something to say musically
you can do so with an infinite range of
potential instruments, though most of us
are inspired or limited by Culture, Availabilty,
and the Muse.

Same with Visual Art.

Rock on!

[sambob]

Well yes thats all obvious, but I'm just curious what Isobutane specifically meant by it, if it was just that vague art mumbo jumbo, or something more specific.

[kAtE-]

I can't really speak much for drawing classes, I was force fed life drawing and hated it. I would recomend taking a painting or sculpture class. Sculpture classes are A LOT of fun, espeically if you're free to use what ever materials you want.

Although as someone has already said, it really depends on te universities aim and stance on art is - I know that my university is very comtempoary and doesn't teach traditional painting/sculpture classes. Compared to say, this university that we did a gallery display exchage with - all there work was on canvas and very, well - rooted in old ideas.

[kAtE-]

I can't really speak much for drawing classes, I was force fed life drawing and hated it. I would recomend taking a painting or sculpture class. Sculpture classes are A LOT of fun, espeically if you're free to use what ever materials you want.

Although as someone has already said, it really depends on te universities aim and stance on art is - I know that my university is very comtempoary and doesn't teach traditional painting/sculpture classes. Compared to say, this university that we did a gallery display exchage with - all there work was on canvas and very, well - rooted in old ideas.

[Isobutane]

by mastering, i just mean that you're comfortable and confident with your abilities and the quality of your drawing, proportions, tone, all thattt.
just thinking about your thread with the drawings, i found them to be a little weak and you didn't seem too sure of yourself.
i've always found H pencils to be a bit naff, have you tried using different Bs? like 6B & 8B can be awesome to use, 'well as 2B, 3B, everyB. by pencil, yeah, i just meant graphite pencil.

for a good charcoal drawing, composition and tone are, imo. there are some excellent ways to use charcoal for less traditional drawing, which i actually think looks better! your composition was a bit weak from what i saw, all very small and central.


i do recommend even just an hour of classes in every meidum, just to open your eyes to the possible ways in which you could work that you wouldn't think of and help you to sift through to find your best