When putting together your art school portfolio, you must showcase your best work in the best way possible. And now that almost everyone has a smartphone with a great camera in their pocket, there are fewer excuses than ever to have bad photography in your portfolio. Here are the six top tips for photographing work for your portfolio.

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

I tabled at National Portfolio Day a handful of times, representing my alma mater, Emily Carr University. And I have some secrets to reveal about the experience! Part of the success of your portfolio review is dependent on YOU and how you allow the session to unfold. So here are five unofficial rules to ensure you receive a useful art school portfolio review at NPD or elsewhere.

To continue Portfolio Prep Week here on the blog, today I’ll be tackling the difficult challenge of things you should avoid in your art school portfolio. So, without further ado, here are ten things you should avoid in your art school portfolio.

It’s Portfolio Prep Week here on the blog! Your portfolio is like an artistic introduction to the faculty of your dream school and should tell them exactly why you are a perfect fit for their school. Here are five things your art school portfolio should say about you.

I’m a huge advocate for learning perspective tools like one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective. These are useful for any type of artist, especially comic book artists and illustrators. But did you know you can use several perspective tools without needing to grab a ruler? Once you notice these seven perspective tools, I guarantee your perspective drawings will immediately improve— no ruler needed!

I draw every single day, or as close to it as you can get, while allowing for the chaos of life. For me, drawing every day is as natural as eating every day. I promise you that once you get in the flow of it, you’ll be able to maintain your own daily drawing practice in no time! Here are some tips to get you started.

I’m a massive fan of Japanese illustration, partially because it’s an art form taken seriously there! Every time I make a trip, I find a new Japanese illustrator to admire, and I always return home with a suitcase full of art books. If you’re curious about this incredible illustration environment, here are ten Japanese illustrators I think you should know about.

If you’re on the fence about whether or not I’d make a good match as your art coach, read on to learn more about my practice, education philosophy, and art journey!

Gesture drawing is a great way to warm up before an art session while, at the same time, you build your visual vocabulary and dynamic drawing skills. If you’re new to this practice, don’t sweat! These ten tips will help you work gesture drawing into your art practice.

When I teach classes, I often have a HUGE range of skill levels among my students. That means I need warm-up activities and creativity-boosting games that people of all skill levels can participate in! And this game, appropriately named Nouns + Adjectives, is one of my favourites.

Creativity is a learned skill. Say that louder for the people in the back! Creativity is a learned skill. Don’t beat yourself up if you have trouble with creativity in your art or writing practice or even struggle to have an art or writing practice! Here are a few tried and true methods that can help you stretch your brain and boost your creativity.

I love Procreate. Having it on my iPad was a game changer, enabling me to make the art I dreamt of from anywhere. But if there’s one area Procreate is lacking, it’s comic-making tools. But just because comic making in Procreate is less intuitive than, say, Clip Studio Paint, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. And it all starts with easy panelling. This is my process for quickly and easily making panels in Procreate.

Creating original characters (OCs) is one of my absolute favourite things. And as October is the month of art prompts (thanks to the invention of Inktober back in 2009), I thought I’d create my own list of prompts.

If you’re new to reading or making comics, you may be unaware of the massive variety of styles you can find in this medium. My students often worry that they may not be skilled enough at realistic representation or superhero comic exaggeration to make comics. But not all comics look alike, and, in fact, the most exciting ones often look little like what you’d expect if you still think of comics as synonymous with superheroes!

The first session with an art coach is important as it can help assess whether the partnership will be a good fit. Don’t be shy to ask questions! Check out these five questions you might want to ask your art coach when you start working together.

Even if you’re already making your own characters, this game makes a great warm-up exercise or quick trick to help yourself through drawing block. It can help you come up with unexpected combinations and inspiration for future characters. And once you’ve mastered these basic shapes, try creating your own “expansion packs” of additional shapes and features.

Check out some cool art news from around Sept. 20, 2024 including: Arcane Season 2 updates, the health benefits of art, and Canadian comics to read.

If you’re interested in making comics, it’s imperative that you read a wide variety. Manga are comics from Japan, and even if the big, action titles don’t tickle your interest, I guarantee a manga exists for you. Check out my top five manga for folks who don't usually read manga.

Character design is one of my absolute FAVOURITE things to work on! Through creating characters, we can tell stories, learn about effective visual design, and put little pieces of ourselves out into the world. But it can be hard to know where to begin. Here are some things you should be thinking about as you begin to create your character.