A.A. Degree in Visual Arts or B.A.S in Digital Media w/ concentration in Animation ?

#1

Hello, I’m currently a student majoring in Digital Media B.S degree with concentration in Animation/Gaming (it’s the only program that offers 3d modeling). However, I am deeply saddened by the lack of required traditional art courses. It’s mostly all technical classes with Maya, 3ds Max, Photoshop, etc. The only traditional art course required is ART 3252 3D Media Art and Illustration. It’s ALL TECHNICAL courses. I have taken Drawing I & II when I was just an Art major, but since I have only two electives left I was thinking of taking Figure & Form and Sculpting. My school also offers the following art courses; Color & Design I & II, Painting I & II, Three Dimensional Design (3D Art Studio) , and Watercolor Painting. I know how important traditional courses are (especially for character modeling) and I was thinking of doing the AA art degree, however, my school does not offer BA degree in Art only an AA. My school does offer a BS in Digital Media though. I was thinking what would be a smarter route for me to take;

Associate of art degree with more traditional art classes and maybe learn Blender on the side through videos/tutorials or my school also offers a digital media certificate which offers a couple Maya animation classes. Then maybe transfer to another college that offers BA in Fine Arts?
http://www.irsc.edu/programs/performingandvisualarts/visualarts/visualarts.aspx?id=1699

or

Bachelors of science in Digital Media with barely no traditional art courses ( :sad: ) except for that one 3D Media Art and Illustration course.
http://www.irsc.edu/programs/bachelorsdegrees/digitalmedia/digitalmedia.aspx?id=5866

Here’s the thing. I’m really into environmental art, but I really like fashion illustration as well. I really want to get better with the anatomy and take a figure drawing course. It would be cool to transfer these 2d illustrations into 3D. I also really love watercolor and would like to get into painting. But I really dig the 3D stuff as well. I’m not horrible at drawing, but I know I could improve a lot. I still have some general ed classes to take care of and two more electives. I wanted to get those out of the way before I got into all the design and art courses, which are all my passions. I just want to make the smart decision here.

#2

At only $100 per credit hour, your not in a bad situation at all. That’s 1/11th of what The Art Institutes charge.

What kinds of jobs do you want when you graduate? If your hoping to stay local, I would definitely send out some cold emails and see if you can get some connections, and maybe an internship.

I’m paying a similar rate for my community college classes. Ive signed up for a few classes outside of my degree (AS in Computer Science) just for the hell of it, and its really helped me to branch out and get interested in other things.

#3

Yes, State College is much cheaper compared to say Ringling School of Art & Design, which I attended for only a semester. However, I sort of wish I could go back there, but it’s just too expensive. Sarasota isn’t that cheap either.

Also, there isn’t anything around where I live. I’m located in a small town with nothing but a beach really. The type of jobs I’m looking for are small studios for resume building. I’m aware I might have to work a secondary job in retail. Any artistic field is going to be tough no matter the medium. It can take years to reach success. My art teacher was a waitress and a school bus driver before she was a success. Now she illustrates/writes a very well known children’s book series. During her long hiatus period she would draw, draw, draw!

I have a very strong desire to get into painting such a oils, but mostly a urge to take a water coloring course. Also, I’m very inspired by fashion illustrations. My style is very similar to what you might see in a fashion illustration. However, I’m not into fashion design, I’d rather transport those 2D illustrations into Maya or 3ds Max. I also would like to get better at Photoshop as well. I would like to take more figure drawing classes for more human anatomy practice as well as maybe some perspective classes. I love environmental concept art. I’m also really into storyboard art. As for animation, I think it’s cool, but I’m more interested in the modeling/sculpting aspects of it. I can see myself doing concepts, storyboard art, and 3d prints/stills/models.

#4

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