Misc

Objectives of the Program of Instruction
The objective of the Illustration program is to train students to be advertising or editorial illustrators. They must be trained to communicate ideas through visual language and conceptual thinking. The program of instruction gives one a strong overview of advertising illustration, editorial illustration, institutional illustration, corporate illustration, product illustration and promotional illustration. Other areas covered are layout techniques, television storyboards, graphic presentation methods, and printing and publishing methods. Students must be skilled in the various media of illustration: oils, acrylics, ink, watercolor, airbrush, collage, and pencil. They must be skilled in taking direction from and collaborating with art directors, graphic designers, editors and publishers.

Employment opportunities include staff positions within design studios, publishing companies, and in-house art departments of institutions or corporations. The vast majority of professional illustrators work with a variety of clients on a strictly freelance basis, and this is true of our graduates as well.

Entrance Requirements for Illustration Students
Prospective applicants are qualified on the basis of creative samples indicating sufficient hand skills in drawing, painting, alternative media, mixed media, and/or other 2-dimensional media. The applicant must submit a written statement of their intent and reason for study. The department council reviews the submitted work. Acceptance and level of placement within the program is determined in this manner. Relevant prior life/work experience or academic credentials are also considered as criteria for placement within the program. All applicants must have a minimum of a high school diploma/G.E.D.

International and foreign students who do not speak English as a first language must either pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or demonstrate their English language verbal skills in a conversation with an admissions officer.

Instructional Methods Used in the Illustration Program
Portfolio Center provides training in the competencies that are essential to professional success in many ways:

1. A professional in the field that they are teaching teaches every class.
2. Student assignments are realistic and parallel the problems faced by working illustrators. The assignments are often given with the same specifications that the instructor faces on the job.
3. Students use the same equipment that is used in the profession. Portfolio Center makes every attempt to teach students with the same materials and equipment that are current in the business.
4. A great deal of emphasis is placed on presentation of work, and on business practices.
5. Students are encouraged to join local professional organizations that relate to illustration and graphic design, such as the American Institute of Graphic Arts (A.I.G.A.).
6. Portfolio Center student work is exhibited in major exhibitions in the profession, and student work is published in major professional magazines.
7. Design firms commission students. Publications, advertising agencies and corporate clients for assignments to be produced as subcontract employees, (much the same as they would be hired as freelance talent) for creating and executing actual illustrations.
8. Every graduating student’s portfolio is reviewed by a group of prominent members of the design profession with the student present to gain feedback, advice and ask questions.

Instructors use a variety of instructional materials: cameras, textbooks, award annuals, overhead projectors, slides, hands-on media demonstrations (drawing and painting processes), and tutorial and demonstration disks for use with computers. Examples of published posters, packaging, annual reports, and brochures featuring professional illustration are used as well. Students participate in field trips to design firms, galleries, and printers to learn more about the business and technical aspects of the industry. Students are encouraged to subscribe to Communication Arts magazine. Other important industry publications such as Print, HOW and Step-By-Step Graphics are available to students in the library.

Facilities and Equipment Used for the Program
Portfolio Center facilities consist of a two-story brick building. The first floor consists of classroom areas, a large open studio, 3 computer labs, a library and administrative offices. Classrooms are well lighted and equipped with folding chairs and tables, depending on the needs of the class. The bottom floor houses the photography facilities, Student Services (where student artwork is laminated), a classroom, a large work area, a conference area, and administrative offices.

Interior walls are of sheetrock. All the walls in the school are white for exhibition purposes and to maximize light efficiency. The large open studio on the first floor can be partitioned with accordion sound-proof room dividers allowing it to function as four individual classrooms when needed, as an open studio for student work space or as a hall for lectures and seminars. The walls of this space as well as the halls and other classrooms are covered with ongoing exhibits of the best student work from the previous quarter. The exhibition serves as an excellent resource for on the spot teaching reference as well as a record for visitors and prospective students of the quality of student work.

Portfolio Center has an extensive Power Macintosh computer lab consisting of a 45 color Macintosh computer network, all equipped with industry standard removable storage drives, 6 black and white laser printers and 5 color scanners for flat art and film. The computers have over 1,000 type faces installed and are updated as educational licenses become available for the most current versions of programs used within the industry, including Quark Express, Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Lightwave, Microsoft Word and Macro Media Director. Because some students have IBM computers at home, the computers at Portfolio Center have system software that allows the MAC computers to read IBM compatible material. In addition, high-speed T.1 data provide all Mac workstations with e-mail and web access.

Class Hours
Portfolio Center students attend 5 classes per week. Each class is 4.5 hours in length, and may be held from either 8:00AM to 12:30PM, 1:00PM to 5:30PM, or 6:00PM to 10:30PM. Class schedules vary depending on program and quarter level.. The Seminar series are held on Thursday mornings (all students must attend). Class schedules vary from quarter to quarter, depending on instructor availability.

Subject Descriptions
Please see attached Illustration course descriptions preceding this “comments” section, as well as the Illustration section of the school catalog.