If you're looking at getting into Sheridan's Animation program and don't really know where to begin with preparing your portfolio, you've come to the right place!
This blog has been set up to help give you an idea of what your animation portfolio should be like and guide you when applying to the Animation program at Sheridan College.
***** This is a work in progress blog! If you stumbled here hoping to get more information, I am filling it out bit by bit so be patient, it'll be complete in the (hopefully) soon future*****
ABOUT ME:
Hello, my name is Amanda! I'm a 2010 graduate of Sheridan's Animation program. I always had a love for drawing and knew what I wanted to do for a living, and so I pursued that passion. I was fortunate enough to live really close by to an arts high school, where I applied to and was accepted into the Visual Arts program. I was lucky being an art major because I had art classes all throughout my high school and they helped me improve my drawings skills since I was being pushed to draw a lot for assignments.
I heard about Sheridan's program around grade 10, and since that point I did as much as I could to be able to get into the program. My parents helped a lot and signed me up for life drawing classes where I went once a week for a taught life drawing class and later on ended up going for extra weekly life drawing sessions (I started at the end of grade 11 I think). Through the same life drawing school, I took a portfolio class taught by a Sheridan grad. This was a lot of help because as a high school student, I didn't know what the school would be expecting in a portfolio. I needed direction and by taking the portfolio class, I got it.
I got into Sheridan in 2006, right after high school, and graduated with a ton more knowledge about animation in 2010.
WHY DID I MAKE THIS BLOG?
I've had quite a few people ask for portfolio help to get into Sheridan and I figured it would be easier for me and more helpful for students looking to get in, if I post the information on a public space, so that anyone can refer to it at any time. And it tends to get a bit repetitive when typing the same stuff to different people online :p I find it quite fun to look over people's work though and help as much as I can, but it's often very time consuming, especially with work and a full slate of things to do.
HOW CAN THIS BLOG HELP YOU?
I will go over the portfolio requirements for each section of the portfolio and explain a little bit about what makes a strong portfolio piece for that specific part of the portfolio. I'll have some examples along with some tips and notes to look out for. There is a section to explain what kind of drawing tools might also be of help to you. If you come across a tool or material that I mention and you're not sure what it is, refer to the "Helpful Tools" section, chances are I've written something up about it too!
A LITTLE BIT ON APPLYING TO SHERIDAN
Make sure you start your portfolio EARLY! I cannot stress enough how important it is not to rush things with your portfolio because you will be competing against a thousand+ talented people trying to get into the program as well, and having a sloppy portfolio will not look good. There is only 120 spots each year, and chances are a lot of the people applying have been out of high school for a few years already, some of them might have taken previous art classes or programs, and a lot of them will be coming from Sheridan's Fundamentals program.
I have been told that the percentage of straight from high school acceptances is a lower number, this is most likely because a lot of people coming out of high school don't have the direction they need for their portfolio. So a lot of them end up going into the Art Fundamentals program to brush up on their drawing skills and have a better chance after the program.
SOME GENERAL RULES:
-DO NOT under any circumstances copy and/or trace any of the artwork on this blog for your own portfolio
-This blog is meant as a visual and written help guide, Sheridan College will be aware of this blog and will know if anybody copies any of the work from it for their portfolio
-Do not copy ANYONE'S work and claim it as your own, it is pretty easy to notice when somebody has stolen or copied someone else's artwork and it'll come right back at you one way or another
-Sheridan asks for certain requirements in their portfolios for a reason; if you're applying to Sheridan, show them what they want to see, do not disregard their portfolio requirements!
I DO NOT guarantee that you will get into Sheridan's Animation Program by following my advice. Making a portfolio is a LOT of work and some people just might not be ready to be accepted yet. This doesn't mean you should give up on your dreams, it might just mean you need some more time to improve on your drawing skills.
I've gathered this information from my experience with the portfolios, either from my own or reviewing other people's, this is not the "set way" to make a Sheridan Animation portfolio, there are many different possible ways, I'm just sharing my own knowledge and what I believe is the best advice that I can give.
I am not a teacher and am always learning myself, so if you have more experience in the field of drawing than me and notice I've given wrong information or am not explaining something correctly, feel free to email me :)
You can contact me at: sheridan.portfoliotips@hotmail.caPlease do not email me asking to review your portfolio or any parts of your portfolio, I will ignore it as I am quite busy. You're welcome to email me regarding topics for me to discuss or if there's something you'd like me to further expand on, to add examples and photos etc.
