Art vs Graphic Design..good/bad?

Sonz · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Queensland

Hi,

I'm studying a BFA in Visual Arts at QUT, just finished my second year and I'm really unsure about where it'll take me.
Studying art wasn't what I thought it would be, I feel more unmotivated than ever to do something I once loved even though I try to find volunteer work and put on shows and keep working outside of uni. I am trying to find a career path and am not sure what to do when I finish uni.

Has anyone ever been in that position?..If so, does it ever get clearer?

Also recently I've considered graphic design as a career possibility.

Is it a good idea? Has anyone made that change? (I'm full of questions lol)
If so, is there anyone out there with any experience in graphic design, or who can suggest what courses I could take (and where) after I've completed my BFA? Is graphic design work relatively easy to find?

I would really appreciate anyone's thoughts,

Thanks Smile

Stefan Maguran

Can we see some of your work somewhere?

Steve Gray · Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 1569 Location: Geelong

Sonz similar experience... I went across to design after uni but I had the advantage of having done some design subjects as part of my multidisciplinary studio studies. HOWEVER I found a lot of design jobs looked at me STUPID when I applied or went to chat to people in the design world, if I didn't have the right qual's how could I do design... at that point (the mid 80's) there was not a lot of choice for design courses.

I started my own design bis for a while just to do what I wanted to do. (not a thing I would readily recommend! Rolling Eyes

)

If you are not feeling thrilled by the prospect of a career in art or losing interest in art... take a look around this forum, check out ways to get your "mojo" back...

AndyE · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 616

Sonz · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Queensland

Thanks for the replies people Smile

To answer your question Andrew, I'm not sure exactly how it happened but it was gradual. I love art but I felt pushed at criticized for the work I did, especially with the teacher I had this year. But that's not really the whole reason, and I know I shouldn't let criticism effect me because I know that everyone does that to you in the real world! lol

...at QUT I felt that they leave you to your own devices, they don't teach you much and just leave you to do whatever and you either sink or swim. They don't really show you what to do, and yet they seem to have such great expectations about your work and expect you to be consistently hard-working and also be able to fully analyze and support every aspect of your work. It's pretty subjective. I had the impression that I'd be learning more about art or be assisted, learn skills instead of being treated as an artist when I'm not really one yet, to me that isn't constructive, and the teachers sometimes give you their own opinion of what they think works in your work and what doesn't, which may not necessarily be true. Sometimes I find myself doing art in way that might appeal to tutors/teachers etc, and not for me. I think that's had the biggest impact on me.

QCA (Griffith) apparently is different. It's more traditional and I think you learn more skills, I wish I'd gone there now instead of QUT.

They make me feel like I'm not good enough, not up to par. Because I'm not able to explain my work or don't work hard enough.

I haven't completely lost my art "modjo" lol. I still do things just for me. I don't enjoy uni. Maybe that's affected me personally, I don't motivate myself enough to make art as much as I used to and am not sure if I can make it as an artist. But I'm wondering what I need to do to start a career in art (if I do still have a shot)...

Or if there are any better options?

I hope that answers your question, what's your story? Are you studying?

Stefan Maguran

It certainly does not answer mine - can we see some of your work?

Sonz · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Queensland

Sonz · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Queensland

I'm new to this website...can I put pictures on here? I have newer ones on Facebook otherwise I have some of my older work on Myspace:

www.myspace.com/sonya_audet

AndyE · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 616

Thanks for sharing that,

I studied art at Tafe after my HSC, it was more a ticket away from the country town I grew up in. But I was dissatisfied with the course too and dropped out in my second year.

Tafe is more practical based... (Tafe teaches you how to do a job, while Uni teaches you why)

but still I realised as much as I enjoyed painting and drawing etc... I really didn't like it as much when I was having to do it for someone else, and for the most part the teachers left me alone and didn't really tell me much. And I also realised that if I didn't enjoy making artwork for a class mark, I wouldn't enjoy doing it for a pay check.

In the end I was lucky enough to fall into library work, which supports me enough to have the occassional solo show.

There are a few graphic designers on here, so hopefully they can give you a little insight into that.
Good luck with it.

A.

Minta · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 175 Location: Melbourne

How about illustration as a career path?

Have a look at this agency site for some examples of Australian illustrators:
http://www.jackywinter.com/

Many of these guys do work for clients, and also personal work for galleries (best of both worlds).

You'd need a proper portfolio and a unique 'vision', but it might be something to aim for.

Steve Gray · Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 1569 Location: Geelong

Sonz for biz startup info go to http://freebusinesstips.com.au/forum and check out the info in the startup section. Lots of articles in their main web section also.

Your vis arts background MAY help but it depends on the place you work for or the clients as to how they view that.

is a qualification any good? hmm let industry speak for itself on that one, do some research and find out from industry what they are after and then focus on that. research is the key...

gggraph

Hi Sonz - I am a Graphic Artist, and occasionally illustrator.

Take my comments with a very large grain of salt as I qualified so long ago it has become irrelevant and the industry changes about every 5 minutes anyway.

Nowdays, graphic design means computers: specifically Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. If you are a hands-on type artist then you should bear in mind that you'll spend 99% of your time with a mouse.*

I am not a huge fan of commercial short courses. We had a work experience student from one of the colleges for 2 weeks - when he arrived, I would regard his knowledge as inadequate for employment, so we gave him a crash course. When he returned, they gave him a job as an instructor!! That's not a comment on how good we are, but how low their standards are...

I do not subscribe to the idea that graphic art is better than fine art, or vice-versa. They are both creative areas and there is NO reason why you can't do both. I would, however, be clear about what you're doing and why. I have met a couple of designers over the years who really wanted to be 'proper' artists and they were unhappy creatures. There are also a lot of graphic artists who want to be designers and don't bother to learn the job properly because it's only a means to an end. They also tend to be unhappy creatures....

An alternative to a straight design course is an applied graphic art course at TAFE - these tend to be extremely practical and geared towards giving you the skills to get a job with little theory at all. Basically the opposite of what you've experienced at Uni. That was what I did ( 25 years ago...) and it was ideal for me. Mind you, I did Engineering, then became a printer, then graphics... not exactly the sort of path your careers advisor would think of.

Cheers

Grant

* Personal note: I am not advocating the use of the Mac (usually they're Macs) as a design tool. I am still a great believer in the power of pencil and paper to work out design problems.

Annee · Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 109

Hi Sonz,

I’m a retired graphic designer - worked in the industry over 30 years and also taught it at different stages in my career - retired 5 years ago so that makes me almost 60!@#$%. So I realise my advice is based on experiences many years ago (In Australia).

My first year at artschool was studying “fine arts”, but I came to the realisation I wouldn’t be able to support myself being an artist. Therefore I switched to graphic design (without even knowing much about it) and found it much more to my liking and personality. Of course this was pre-digital, so everything was done by hand then. Emphasis was on acquiring the technical skills, creative thinking, analytic mindset and the persuasive rhetoric in order to sell an idea. I was definitely someone who liked a brief, a client and loved playing the mind games with a client to get them to accept my solution. Then I loved putting the solution into a layout, illustration, package, book, etc. That’s the thing I find so difficult as an “artist” - the freedom to do what I want, no client, no emphasis on my technical knowledge - that blank canvas. I always impose boundaries on my own “fine art”, will probably never be described as an artist, but always an illustrator.

Don’t choose graphic design as a second choice to a frustrated attempt at a more fine arts oriented course - I really feel design is more disciplined, there are many more restrictions, things like fads, fashions and budgets come into play. Try and decide whether you are able to cope with those artificial external limitations on your “final product”. Or whether you would like a course/degree more suited to your requirements. Do you want to express yourself but feel you need better guidance/tuition for the practical aspects of painting, or do you need to figure out “what you want to say”? There may be a more suitable course/institution for you.

I’ve usually found those who are dedicated illustrators (ie. not graphic designers) seem to have a blend of the design/artist aesthetic. Also the digital era has opened up a blend of the two disciplines - how do you feel about that? I was so excited when Photoshop/Illustrator came along - was the perfect blend for me).

After I retired and had the time to paint again, I found the old practical skills came back to me, nothing I ever did was lost, it all adds up to the sum total of my knowledge which I can draw upon at any time. Maybe some time off to chill out and think about your ideas would be helpful before you enrol in the next thing. Keep telling yourself you have the rest of your life ahead of you - no quick decisions - and keep drawing!

cheers, Annee

BenArtist · Joined: 10 Dec 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Brisbane

Hey sonya, how's it going? Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth. I have almost finished my Industrial Design (product design) degree in Brisbane, and have been teaching myself how to paint using intense observation of photos, other paintings, the natural environment and the odd youtube vid. Anyway what my design degree has taught me is that marketing is paramount in taking the step towards being a professional artist rather than a hobby artist. Marketing is the language of the business world and teaches you about the psychology of people and why and how they "consume". It seems to me that an artist will need to adopt a commercial style that the masses will like but which also satisfies the artist's personal taste. Commercial doesn't always mean crap. It means popular. Fine works of art have been popular before and will be popular in the future too.

As you guys already know, almost all pro artists have to work a part-time job and paint in their time off until sales become consistent and sufficient to live from. An artist I have been following said that in the early days he worked seven days a week. The weekend was for income and the week was intense painting to build up his repertoire for sales. Anyway a bit of a rave... Smile

Sonz · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Queensland

Hey thanks everyone for the suggestions. They're very much appreciated.

It's been a year already and I'm about to graduate! Smile

..I definately want to make the switch to graphic design, I've taken an interest in Photoshop and digital photography and have learned a bit of InDesign..but I'm still nowhere near up to date with the technology.

I'm not sure if I should keep studying, I don't know if it's worth getting another degree. Is TAFE the best way to go? ..since apparently short courses aren't the best way to learn..??

There seems to be so many courses out there :-S