#letmenap

,yoooooooooo ok so

this is gonna be my last semester at SVA and i’m graduating with a BFA in cartooning. honestly if i had to make the choice again i definitely would, there are a lot of pros and cons that come with the decision but overall it is really only my professors and classmates who made it worthwhile.

to clarify about studio spaces - they’re in the cartooning building in midtown and are offered to senior cartooning students in the summer after our junior year for us to accept or decline. i was offered a space but i didn’t accept because i commute, but if you live nearby or if your dorming situation is less than ideal it’s a really good place to do your work according to my friends. there’s also a mac lab down the hall and tablets that you’re free to work on, but as far as i know freshmen don’t have access to that particular lab (we’re trying to get that changed. if you end up applying, Cartoon Allies will do its best to get you access.) there’s a digital imaging center nearby which is great, and you can format and print your own zines. it’s incredibly helpful and i’ve used that lab more than the cartooning lab tbh.

in general, SVA is kind of filled with bullshit? like i’m not gonna lie, it has some shitty policies that actively make it difficult for students to work and live and get the most out of their experience. the health department is not great (there are other options tho.) there are weird restrictions on which majors can go where and use what that are pretty nonsensical and it’s made me pretty frustrated with the school and its heads overall. HOWEVER, there are many incredibly talented and dedicated professors who are absolutely wonderful and go to enormous lengths to help your career. american cartooning has typically been a white male-dominated field and to a certain degree that’s reflected in who teaches at SVA, but over the past 4 years there’s been a huge increase in queer non-white non-male staff, and it’s made a significant difference for a lot of students. it’s definitely saved me, because at times i’ve been really disillusioned by the martyrdom of male cartoonists to the point where i didn’t even want to enter the industry. lauren weinstein, sakura maku, joseph cavalieri, phil jimenez, and carl potts are just a few i can think of that made undergrad super worthwhile for me.

a few more things if you’re applying, just because i don’t really get to talk much about my college experience on here lol 1. if you get accepted, go to cartoon allies. the majors at SVA tend to be super segregated (one of my biggest issues) and it’s a really good way to meet other students, plus you get to table and sell your work at a lot of different conventions and meet really huge artists at guest events. 2. take classes outside of your major. a lot of people will try to convince you to pursue a very narrow illustration-based course of study, and it’s a shame because it takes away your opportunity to explore. take ceramics, take jewelry making, take fuckin .. i think there’s a puppetry class or something. just do as much as you can if you get the opportunity even if people try to discourage it.

I was trying to sleep when my dad sent to me this video of him and his diving crew meeting a damn fine dolphin.

(PS: my dad is not the one filming, all the credits go to the nice guy who posted this on vimeo, bchaps)