5 Ways to Make Your Art School Portfolio More Conceptual

Written By Stephanie Broder

One big difference between art at the high school level vs art at the post-secondary level is the focus on conceptual development.

Conceptual development refers to crafting and expressing unique ideas in your art. Sometimes, our art is just for practicing technical skills or creating something fun. But if you’re considering art school, and especially in your application portfolio, you should consider the conceptual development of your work more often than not.

Here are five ways you can make your art school portfolio more conceptual:

  1. Think of a List of Themes You Like to Explore

A good place to start working on your conceptual development is to decide what concepts interest you. Start by brainstorming all the big ideas you often think about, such as environmentalism, social justice, relationships, beauty, alienation, family, tradition, etc.

If you need some ideas, you might find inspiration in common themes in novels, and the One Stop for Writer’s Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus is a great place to start.

Now, you have a list of inspirations as you work on developing pieces for your portfolio!

2. Read About Other Art

Professional artists are always thinking about conceptual development; sometimes, they are even kind enough to share their process. Look for interviews with various artists, maybe from a site like Colossal or a magazine like Beautiful Bizarre.

For example, take this recent article about the translucent quilts of artist Wally Dion. Dion talks about how his work references the importance of quilts as ceremonial and gifted objects in Indigenous communities. He discusses the prairie ecosystem and how the translucent, layered quilts represent this particular environment. And he discusses how quilting was an important reflection of thriftiness and provisional efficiency amongst rural First Nations people. While you may not recognize all these ideas just from viewing the work, the artist is still weaving (or, in this case, quilting) all the ideas into the work, making it a profound and resonant work.

The translucent quilts of artist Wally Dion encompass a plethora of themes and meanings

3. Study Your Current Work for Repeating Symbols

You are probably already starting to develop a conceptual vocabulary in your work without realizing it! Look through your work from the past six months or a year. What is common among the works?

Colours? Themes? Particular images or objects? A way of making? The subject matter?

When I reflected on my work and realized that I loved creating characters as an extension of my identity exploration, it was like a EUREKA! moment. I began to weave together connections between the hundreds of characters I’ve created and start to develop a guiding thesis behind my practice.

When I thought of this character as an "alter-ego" I suddenly had much more story to tell in every aspect of the design. Everything had meaning.

4. Make the Work Personal

You have a story to tell that ONLY you can tell!

What aspects of your life and story can you work into your practice? This is asking for you to really put yourself out there. It can be hard to make intensely personal work. But think of some artists you admire - are there any who drew you in because of their frankness, honesty and willingness to share their stories? Think of Frida Kahlo, whose challenging life and chronic illness haunts her visceral self-portraits. Or Artemisia Gentileschi, whose violent portraits of Biblical scenes were reflections of her encounters with an abusive mentor. These works are profound because they are personal.

Frida Kahlo's "The Two Fridas" - she is quoted as saying "My painting carries with it the message of pain." 

5. Develop a Full Image (aka Draw That Background)

This one is especially geared toward my fellow illustrators or artists whose primary practice is drawing. I know it’s hard, but - DRAW THAT BACKGROUND!

One of the best ways to infuse conceptual depth into your image is to have it fully realized. That means that every inch of the canvas (or paper or screen) is thoughtfully planned and designed. Even negative space is used intentionally. Not EVERY piece needs a fully realized background. Concept art, like character or prop studies, often doesn’t include backgrounds. But at least some of the work should be fully realized.

How different would Frida Kahlo’s painting above be with a white background? Suddenly, we aren’t grounded in place and time. And while the Mona Lisa might be most known for her smile, the background of the Italian landscape is rendered just as lovingly. Conceptual work should include a sense of place. When and where something happens is as important as the who and what.

These two illustrations don’t even compare - even with just a suggestion of a forset behind Mimi, the image comes to life and we feel like we know where we are.

Stephanie Broder
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