hey man so this question is actually pretty hard to answer.
there are obviously many things that now looking back could have been better and i do not feel to say it was “100% or more” worth it - but it was definitely worth it.
one thing that i want to stress a lot is that most of the people that talk about not having the need to go to university are more on the illustration side or what i would define more “concept illustrators” and they do not deal a lot with design.
it is almost impossible to get a good education in industrial design by yourself.
it could be easier and more achievable with figure drawing and other illustration techniques but definitely not for ID. all the “viscomm” (visual communication) classes i took at art center that at the time were taught by scott robertson were pure gold. the foundation that scott gave me is absolutely huge and there is no DVD or book you can read that can cover what he did during all those lessons. the same can be said about other design oriented classes i had later on with other teachers that deal with similar aspects of ID.
i had two great classes with the ex chief designer of toyota of USA and again, stuff you can learn from those guys it’s just mind blowing.
so while i can’t tell you it’s 100% worth it, i would say that if you’re serious about being a designer and going into industrial design a college education is definitely needed and especially a GOOD one not just “a” college. ACCD is definitely a good choice.
- Did it gave you that extra push to bring your art on the whole new level such as those works of yours on your site? Or, you think you would achieve the same level of quality on your own in those 3 years or so instead of going to the Art Center?..awesome stuff, you have there btw, inspiration on max!
i think i answered this question in my previous post.
it’s hard to say what i could have achieved without art center, but by going there i met very talented people, there was a lot of friendly competition, a good portions of the teachers are very good (some are also just ok, and some plain bad) so all these elements combined is what gave me the current level i guess. ultimately you have to put the time, the hours and the hard work yourself though, art center gives you the base for you to learn how to do certain things.
again, to study ID, i think art center is a good option.
thanks for the kind words, i am glad you like it
- As i saw on Art Center site, tuition per Term is very expensive. Did you got scholarship from them? How much, if it’s not a secret?
yes unfortunately it’s very expensive - yes i received scholarship every term up until i graduated so it covered a big chunk of my tuition !
if your portfolio is very strong you may get it, so i wish you good luck with it.
Move on the other side of the planet to me seems super easy compared to financial part so i was wondering…How did you solved that (financial) problem? Did you saved all the money, take a student loan, some part time work beside taking courses…or?
i was lucky enough that a big part was covered by the scholarship and the other half could have been paid by my parents and so i did not need to take any loans or part-time work.
i did work during school but it was all related to my field, first with an internship and then with contract and freelance work. i have to say though that judging from my old class and many others, this is a pretty rare exception as most everyone that i know that graduated from ACCD has/had student loans.
- Do you maybe still have portfolio of your work, the one you have submitted at Art Center in the beginning? That would be interesting to see.
i actually had it until recently, when i moved from the U.S. to London i lost it and you have no idea how sad i am. i left it somewhere and got trashed.
to be honest tho, it’s not a good one to look at now because the current skill level of entrance portfolios is much higher than it was in 2007/2008.
you should look up on google/facebook people that have been accepted they already can do decent paintings, some are even kinda cool and some people know a lot of 3d for first term.
when i started i didn’t know any of those things. looking at “current-gen” applicants is better to get an understanding of the skill level bar and what you may need to win a scholarship.
That’s all. I have million more question but even with these few i’m almost over the line here.
I hope you will have some time to honestly answer them all, that would help me a lot to clear few doubts. If not…no hard feelings! 
thanks a lot ! and feel free to ask me anything.
if the time runs out here feel free to email me at gavriil.klimov@gmail.com
Keep up the good work Gavriil,
Cheers!
thanks!
