Art School vs. Self-Teaching
Finding your way to learn art is a never-ending questioning. There is a choice to be made between attending art school and self-teaching. Art school will refer here to a formal education in art where the student follows specific classes for several years, in opposition to learning on your own through the Internet, books… In our team, some artists didn’t go to art school and others did, so it was interesting to compare their points of view. We will use their experience here to advise young painters starting in the field and guide them in their decision-making process.
Where and how to learn?
Money, of course, is a fundamental element because if you get into a debt for life, it can be better to learn on your own. If both possibilities are available to you, you can ask yourself: what is my objective? If you are not sure of what you want to do after studies, your goal can be to try various specialties until you find the right one. Attending art school can be a good option in that case, it is safe environment to experiment artistically. If you already know in which sphere you want to improve skills, you can look for specific online courses, and don’t need to attend all classes in an art school. Another thing is that your choice shouldn’t be influenced by the myth that you must have a degree to find a job as an artist. On the labor market, a degree in art doesn’t offer a job quickly, but your portfolio and experience can be more likely to get you an interview.
Each school has its specialty like traditional painting or contemporary art. We should look carefully at the courses taught in every one of them, to find what matches with our interests. Even our self-taught teammates mention that a formal education can teach balance in your work, showing that the overall is more important than to push every detail to maximum. It also gives you strong foundation in drawing, whereas you could miss some basic knowledge if you work by yourself. Our artists don’t hesitate to use various sources of learning cheaper than art school and provide as good quality. Most of them read books and watch YouTube tutorials, but some also participate in workshops and attend online classes.
Which system would match my personality?
It is the most complex point because our character impacts a lot how we feel things. In a creative field, it also affects how we work. When going to art school, everything is prepared for you. It can suit those who don’t mind assignments and deadlines. A disadvantage being that you are not taught self-discipline, even though once graduated you must fully take care of yourself. On the contrary, some people can manage their time and energy without any guidance. They know what to study to improve their skills, so they can prefer working on their own. Learning to paint is a long process, so being strong-willed is even more important when self-teaching, and throughout a career as a freelancer.
Art school follows a specific program which can stand in the way of artists’ creativity. Indeed, in our team several mentioned that constraints can be either hard to manage or a source of creativity. In other words, we need to observe in which conditions we are able to create. How you deal with human contact can also guide you into making your final choice. Art school is a good place if you like being with other students and teachers. You start your professional network by meeting a lot of people during school years. If you are more introverted, you could prefer self-teaching. It means you must manage your network from scratch, and it isn’t always easy. The same problem arises with feedback. As a self-taught artist, you need to search for feedback from strong professionals. If you succeed in building your network and getting feedback, it is a sign that self-teaching suits you.
The elements we talked about here can give you hints on how to orientate your final choice between formal education and self-teaching. Still, everybody is different and can develop and use their skills in his own way! Intuition and a good knowledge of ourselves are essential when you need to choose between two lifestyles.