wpulley

Look for schools that have a reasonably high success in job placement and are affiliated with business that use the school for INTERSHIPS. Design schools can be very good about this and if you get a good hook up while in school, it makes it that much easier to get a job after graduation.

Also, art/design schools will usually be taught by instuctors who are currently working as artists or business owners. If you come across as a hard working student, they may hook you up with work or take you 'under their wing'. I've seen it happen to a few lucky students.

Keep in mind that whatever great work you produce, there will be someone else there who blows everyone else out of the water. My advice in this situation is that you better have your shit together and DO NOT piddle around with sloppy work *just to get by and fill gaps in your portfolio*.

Art/design schools are freak'n expensive. If you have to rely on finacial aid to pay your own way, you better be 100% serious about working in an art related field. If you are a party type person, you better have the abilty to turn that shit off while your at school. Some people can handle it, but the students who party and screw off are being supported by mommy and daddy. Don't throw your money away if school is coming out of your pocket. That hold s true for any school, really.

If you think your art skills are just OK, then you better have a good eye for layout and basic concept/design. Good schools will have good classes to try to teach you basic layout/design skills but it's my opionion that its best to have those skills developed in advance. If you have layed out comic book stlye art with characters and backgounds and several boards to put a story together then that experience carries over to other types of design. The kiddies who sketch dragons and skulls all day on notebook paper get left behind.

My personal work experience:
I went to the Art Institute of Colorado and graduated in 98. I got a commercial art job a few months outta school and worked in my field for exactly one year and was promptly layed off. bummer. I applied for other work everywhere I could and I had a great portfolio of professional work. Too bad there were other people with the same portfolio who had 2-4 year more experience than me. Currently, I work freelance while my bills are paid by a regular 9-5 office job.

I'm wishing now that I went thru a regular 4 year degree. (which CIA now offers)

It all boils down to this- if you are just OK at art, you better become great. There is way too much compitition in the actual real world.

Also, don't think you can get by by having a computer do art work for you. Photoshop will not increase the quality of your work. 3D programs do not make you a good animator.

Are you good with a pencil/paintbrush?
yeah? go for it!