January Newsletter
Newsletter
Student Checklist for Art School
If you're an art student heading back to school in 2011, you'll need a few key school supplies to help you succeed in all your courses.
- Sketchbooks are a must-have for art school, but not just any kind. Get yourself a sketchbook with heavy-weight paper that is specially designed for blending. These are available at specialty art shops and office supply stores.
- Stock up on a variety of pens and pencils, such as pencil crayons and sketching pencils like charcoal and graphite pencils. These will be essential for use with your sketchbook.
- If you're enrolled in a painting course, make sure you purchase a variety of paint brushes, from flat to angled. You will also need acrylic, oil, and watercolour paints, as well as a painting smock to protect your clothing from any messes!
- And most importantly is a laptop. Although you'll have access to computer labs on campus, having your own laptop allows you to take notes, connect to Wi-Fi, and do your work anywhere. If you don't have a laptop, you may want to invest in a netbook, which is cheaper, smaller and lighter. If your program requires specific design software, then install it on your laptop.
What are your back to school must haves? Share with us on Facebook!
Links of the Month
New Year's Contest: facebook.com
VCAD News: vcad.ca/News
Apply to VCAD: vcad.ca/Admissions
January 2011 Newsletter
Why You Should Go to Art and Design School
If you have a love for art and design, you may want to consider enrolling in art school so you can turn your passion into a career!Getting a post-secondary arts education is a great way to learn from industry professionals, get hands-on training, create networking contacts, and gain valuable work experience. By the time you graduate, you will have a foot in art and design circles, a useful list of connections, and enough professionals will have heard your name to give you a start in your career.
VCAD offers a wide variety of programs that meet your needs and career goals. Choose from Graphic Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Marketing and Merchandising for Fashion, 3D Modeling Animation, and Web Design and Programming. Whether you want to try your hand at a number of artistic disciplines, or learn specifically about one field, an education at VCAD will train you to have specialized skills tailored to your industry and help you build a strong portfolio.
Upon completion of your program, VCAD grads can pursue careers as graphic artists, animators, stylists, visual merchandisers, interior designers, web programmers, and more!
Graphic Design Trends in 2011
If there's one thing that graphic design trends for 2011 tell us, it's that the graphic designers of tomorrow are going to need to be flexible and well-trained!
Because of the design demands of devices like the iPad and iPhone, clarity is going to be a must. Ornate graphic design is going to have to take a backseat to functionality, so that nothing is missed on handheld devices. Many magazines and newspapers will be getting iPad-centered makeovers in 2011 in order to compete on the device, so their designs will most likely have to scale down.
On the other end of the spectrum are bigger and bigger television, billboard and movie displays, which allow graphic designers a much larger sandbox to play with. Look at a movie like "Sucker Punch" or "Inception", sub-cultures like Steampunk or even an artist like Banksy, which draw from so many genres and are able to be translated on a large scale.
In 2011, graphic design will move towards more of a democracy, as more people experiment with online tools. Find out how VCAD can help launch your graphic design career.
New Year’s Resolutions Contest
New Year, new you... or so the saying goes. What are your New Year's resolutions? Will you be working towards getting healthy by quitting smoking or going on a diet? The New Year can be a great time to find a new job, save money or head back to school. Which of these big life changes do you hope to make?
We'd love to hear what your New Year's resolutions are! Post them to our Facebook wall or hit us up on Twitter and we'll enter you in our New Year's Resolution Contest. One lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a gift pack full of goodies to help make the best of 2011.
Haven't made any resolutions? Let us know why and you'll be entered too!
2011 Fashion Trends
Designers have shown their Spring/Summer 2011 collections in Paris, Milan, London, and New York, and a number of new fashion trends have emerged, including:
- With a nod to '90s minimalism, silhouettes were clean and simple.
- Colours such as white, nude, neons, and metallics were seen all over the spring runways.
- Prints, from tiny florals to geometric shapes to new takes on stripes, were abundant.
- Long skirts were everywhere, confirming they are the trend of the season.
Get Healthy in 2011
Make 2011 the year to get healthy, both mentally and physically, with these healthy living tips:
- Eat a nutritious breakfast like oatmeal with fresh fruit to stay energized all day.
- Get at least 20 to 30 minutes of exercise four to five days per week. This could include walking to school.
- Learn something new (this'll be easy if you've already gone back to school!).
- Make a budget and stick to it. Saving money instead of eating meals out will be good for your pocket book and your waistline.
January 2011 Newsletter
Vancouver Animation Scene
Vancouver's animation industry has been growing steadily since the 1980s. Animation studios like Pixar and Sony Pictures Imageworks have recently opened satellite offices in downtown Vancouver, and local outfits such as Studio B, Atomic Cartoons, and Nerd Corps Entertainment continue to produce award-winning animated shows. This growth is a testament to the talented pool of Vancouver's animators, who have learned and developed their skills and talents in schools such as VCAD.
Students who enroll in VCAD's 3D Modeling Animation program will have the opportunity to learn basic animation, texturing, visual effects, and rendering; explore different types of animation including stop-motion, visual effects, traditional animation, and CG; and learn how to design and produce characters for the animation and video game industry.
The employment outlook for animators in Vancouver is expected to remain steady in the near future too. The number of animators employed in the city continues to rise and the hourly wage in Vancouver is above the national Canadian average.
Job opportunities are abundant for talented animators in Vancouver in areas like computer animation, game development, post-production, and special effects.
VCAD is settling into its spacious new downtown Vancouver location! The airy and extensive new campus features new sewing rooms, Mac labs and a comfortable student lounge. The heritage building is a great backdrop for creative thinking. Take a tour to see for yourself!