So I'm feeling a little intimidated about this question (sorry if it's been asked before, I searched for this topic, but nah, nothing arised) because most of the archinectors here are always talking about Master Porfolios.
Anywho - can you recall what you did for your first Freshman acceptance portfolio to give me some idea of what I can add to my porfolio. I heard that designs such as free hand drawings and patterns and stuff are good, (how about PAINT drawings) lol.
You don't have to go into details, because your portfolio is your idea, but can you give me some examples of what to add to my portfolio...or what might look good, other than grades (which by the way are very mediocre - hope that doesn't hurt me)
I am going to be transfering in a year, and I enjoy using Archinect for answers to my questions, other than college advisors, because a lot of you have been through it and are experts, and young.
hmmm, this was about 7 or 8 years ago now, so I know the standards have risen. I hope they have anyway, my undergrad portfolio was absolute crap. I included several watercolor paintings which were very literal, but some were very light-oriented; some pencil sketches; and the rest prismapencil drawings, including one of my house and a couple of really wierd abstract pieces. I wasn't very good at all with the realistic stuff, so I have to believe that it was the abstract bits that swung it for me.
They were all photocopied at Kinko's on their standard paper (which actually isn't so bad), and put in a plastic envelope. No binding, no text, no frills whatsoever.
^^take this as an example of what NOT to do. It's a bloody miracle that I got in, which is probably justified by the fact that it was my school's first year in which they required a portfolio.
i didnt have to submit a portfolio for my undergrad. i ended up interviewing and brought some loose drawings and some paintings i had done in one of those hugemongous painting carriers. god, i was a mess.
and yes, i am also an example of what not to do. but i was too young to know the difference. and i had absolutely no clue about photoshop or anything else like that.
ha! mine was a mess too. it included lots of high school art originals or photographs of art (oil paint, ink drawings, pencil drawings, crayon drawings, some pages of a book i wrote and illustrated with make-up and pens, yes make-up - lipstick, eyeliner, eyeshadow, etc, I was a creative little high schooler) mounted to some museum board with hand lettering. i also had a semester of pre-architecture coursework to include. then i made a portfolio case our of two pieces of musem board, a hole punch and some twine to transport it all in. Now, it collects dust under my bed. < Again, probably what NOT to do. I guess I am getting old.
well it seems to me you would look at all the grad school portfolios and try to mimic what has been done there. because if you shoot for grad-school quality you will come out leagues ahead. it's not difficult, you just have to expose yourself to it.
mine was rubbish as well, but i didn't know it at the time. this was way before computers and it was all done with slides.
i applied after a year of fine arts so had a lot of very large paintings and dwgs, as well as an enormous sculpture of urban-ish spatial quality that i had done with a friend for drnd awing class (students in art school don't follow rules very well; sculpture, draw, video, whatever, in whatever class)
i also took classes in numerical mathematics and physics, just for fun, and had good grades, so getting on was likely based on that rather than on portfolio....oh yeah, and the letter of intent...can'T recall what i said but am very sure it was also quite rubbish...
i am friends now with director's of archi-schools (fuck i am getting old!) and have spoken about what they look for in new students and main thing is evidence of a certain kind of experimental and open viewpoint...anal, competent draughtspersons don't make it in...crazy assed head-tripping, artist-cum-mathematicians seem to be about right.
Submitting a portfolio to gain admission to undergrad is just like when you're going for your first architectural job interview before/during/after you complete your undergrad education - you get selected on potential rather than the quality of your skills/experience (in your case freehand drawing/photography etc)... It's not until some 5+ years down your career path after you come out of college that what you show in your portfolio begins to matter...
My portfolio for undergrad was 7 photocopied pencil drawings laminated and bound at kinkos. It was a huge piece of crap, but it only cost me around $10 to make
oh yah and your "mediocre grades" are certainly nothing to worry about. you will come to find that in architecture education grades are more of a formality. When a school says that you must have a 3.0 to be accepted, that really means they prefer your GPA is above 2.3.
hey i noticed your the same guy asking about UH's program....many people never submitted portfolios to our college and got in. our dean puts too much emphasis on gpa's when he shouldn't. i submitted a portfolio of plans and sections i drew as like a 10 year old (ive always wanted to be an architect) but was told i pretty much got in anyways because i was on the deans list in the business college at the time. so .... food for thought.
May 31, 07 12:28 am ·
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Your Undergraduate Acceptance Portfolio
So I'm feeling a little intimidated about this question (sorry if it's been asked before, I searched for this topic, but nah, nothing arised) because most of the archinectors here are always talking about Master Porfolios.
Anywho - can you recall what you did for your first Freshman acceptance portfolio to give me some idea of what I can add to my porfolio. I heard that designs such as free hand drawings and patterns and stuff are good, (how about PAINT drawings) lol.
You don't have to go into details, because your portfolio is your idea, but can you give me some examples of what to add to my portfolio...or what might look good, other than grades (which by the way are very mediocre - hope that doesn't hurt me)
I am going to be transfering in a year, and I enjoy using Archinect for answers to my questions, other than college advisors, because a lot of you have been through it and are experts, and young.
i found a question on Archinect about this...........please feel free to answer anyway...any feedback would help!!
hmmm, this was about 7 or 8 years ago now, so I know the standards have risen. I hope they have anyway, my undergrad portfolio was absolute crap. I included several watercolor paintings which were very literal, but some were very light-oriented; some pencil sketches; and the rest prismapencil drawings, including one of my house and a couple of really wierd abstract pieces. I wasn't very good at all with the realistic stuff, so I have to believe that it was the abstract bits that swung it for me.
They were all photocopied at Kinko's on their standard paper (which actually isn't so bad), and put in a plastic envelope. No binding, no text, no frills whatsoever.
^^take this as an example of what NOT to do. It's a bloody miracle that I got in, which is probably justified by the fact that it was my school's first year in which they required a portfolio.
i didnt have to submit a portfolio for my undergrad. i ended up interviewing and brought some loose drawings and some paintings i had done in one of those hugemongous painting carriers. god, i was a mess.
and yes, i am also an example of what not to do. but i was too young to know the difference. and i had absolutely no clue about photoshop or anything else like that.
ha! mine was a mess too. it included lots of high school art originals or photographs of art (oil paint, ink drawings, pencil drawings, crayon drawings, some pages of a book i wrote and illustrated with make-up and pens, yes make-up - lipstick, eyeliner, eyeshadow, etc, I was a creative little high schooler) mounted to some museum board with hand lettering. i also had a semester of pre-architecture coursework to include. then i made a portfolio case our of two pieces of musem board, a hole punch and some twine to transport it all in. Now, it collects dust under my bed. < Again, probably what NOT to do. I guess I am getting old.
Too funny!!!.................but I need people who have "What TO do" the other forum helped me not :(
when i transfered i submitted a horrible porfolio!
i laid it out in ms word!!! still, it got me directly into 2nd year status!
well it seems to me you would look at all the grad school portfolios and try to mimic what has been done there. because if you shoot for grad-school quality you will come out leagues ahead. it's not difficult, you just have to expose yourself to it.
Enigmatic Mind - I think my presentation was probably not very good, but my content and potential was. There's a lesson in there.
(cris, my current portfolio is in word. nobody believes me when i tell them, though)
mine was rubbish as well, but i didn't know it at the time. this was way before computers and it was all done with slides.
i applied after a year of fine arts so had a lot of very large paintings and dwgs, as well as an enormous sculpture of urban-ish spatial quality that i had done with a friend for drnd awing class (students in art school don't follow rules very well; sculpture, draw, video, whatever, in whatever class)
i also took classes in numerical mathematics and physics, just for fun, and had good grades, so getting on was likely based on that rather than on portfolio....oh yeah, and the letter of intent...can'T recall what i said but am very sure it was also quite rubbish...
i am friends now with director's of archi-schools (fuck i am getting old!) and have spoken about what they look for in new students and main thing is evidence of a certain kind of experimental and open viewpoint...anal, competent draughtspersons don't make it in...crazy assed head-tripping, artist-cum-mathematicians seem to be about right.
luck!
Submitting a portfolio to gain admission to undergrad is just like when you're going for your first architectural job interview before/during/after you complete your undergrad education - you get selected on potential rather than the quality of your skills/experience (in your case freehand drawing/photography etc)... It's not until some 5+ years down your career path after you come out of college that what you show in your portfolio begins to matter...
So don't worry!
strawbeary, really!? may i see!? =)
My portfolio for undergrad was 7 photocopied pencil drawings laminated and bound at kinkos. It was a huge piece of crap, but it only cost me around $10 to make
oh yah and your "mediocre grades" are certainly nothing to worry about. you will come to find that in architecture education grades are more of a formality. When a school says that you must have a 3.0 to be accepted, that really means they prefer your GPA is above 2.3.
hey i noticed your the same guy asking about UH's program....many people never submitted portfolios to our college and got in. our dean puts too much emphasis on gpa's when he shouldn't. i submitted a portfolio of plans and sections i drew as like a 10 year old (ive always wanted to be an architect) but was told i pretty much got in anyways because i was on the deans list in the business college at the time. so .... food for thought.
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