#freekeith

For one, it’s actually good that you have traditional art as your medium. Not everyone in the school are familiar with digital art, let alone animating, which is why the professors give us the run down on what to do during the first weeks (or 1-2 months maybe??) into the program.

And before you know it, you’re animating! 

Also, do note that the program 2D/3D Character Animation is about a year long, and can be very pricey, so loans/scholarships may help you greatly if you’re not that financially strong.

They like to help you out in any way they can. Heck, I didn’t even know how to use Toonboom Harmony until after a few weeks in the start of the course. One of the professors said this: “Not familiar with digital stuff, animating, or Toonboom, let alone drawing? That’s alright. You came here to learn that stuff.”

So don’t worry on the “don’t-know-how-to-Toonboom” or the “idk-how-to-anatomy” or the “I-don’t-have-an-art-style” part. They’ll handle that one. it just happens that I already have a strong style, a few of us in class do, and that’s okay. Not everyone is great in drawing and we understand that. This is an ART SCHOOL, it’s a place to learn HOW to do those things. No one comes in and goes, “hey I know how to do this and that already. This will be a breEZE---.” No. Not everyone is like that. 

So don’t worry too much on whether you’re good or not. :)

As for the portfolio, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have anything digitally. Show them of what you can do best, even if it’s really rough (I brought some rough sketches and they liked that). They like seeing how you work. But even though that’s the case, it’s totally advised that you should build up your portfolio. Keep on drawing and pick the things that you want to present.The staff there is actually quite nice, so don’t worry too much on pressure. You can also schedule a tour in VanArts, they’ll show you what the place looks like and what the students do during class hours. It’s really cool.

The side on how things went for me can be found HERE, seeing that I already talked about this with another user. 

It’s okay to feel nervous when doing things like these. Heck, I was even terrified about how things worked over here, seeing that I needed two more years before going into college. But even if we’re really scared, we need to explore. Explore on what schools you can apply in, and what scholarships/bursaries can be found.

Here’s a site that may help you in finding scholarships: LINK (it’s free)

The college gave me a small scholarship though, so idk about that. They tend to give out some to students when they’re applying.

As for the money part, that’s going to be a bit tricky, since you said that your parents aren’t letting you get a job. I don’t have a job myself, but I do commissions so that I can earn something. Idk, do something that can actually help you earn? ?? I’m not sure how to help you there, sorry ;;;;;;;;

But, you’re in your junior year, right? You still have a lot of time to do some exploring! Haha. If you’re having trouble though, you can also talk to your school guidance counsellor, or someone you can seek for help regarding colleges and bursaries. That’s what I did when I was in grade 11-12 here. I gathered as much info as I can, and attended Scholarship meetings that mostly talked about how to apply and stuff, so I got some idea on what to do. Don’t stop asking questions. It might save your life honestly.

You don’t have to exactly follow this advice, but just to give you some basis on what to do: explore and apply as much as you can. You have the time. Use that time.