Okay, I’ve never really posted on any of the art forums so I hope this is the right place to ask this. If not..sorry ^.^

So I’m an American and applied for an art school in Canada that is near my brothers house. I want to get accepted into this school more than anything and my portfolio and everything is due on the 15th. I have like, NO digital art except stuff that I make on Microsoft paint. I’m pretty good with the program, at least better than most people. I have this one MSP drawing that I am extremely proud of. Like REALLY proud of it, but I’m afraid that it’s not appropriate to submit in a portfolio that I want to try and impress these people with. I understand that art is art and shouldn’t be censored, and that people sumbit “artistic nudes” all the time, but I can’t decide wether this drawing is artistic, expressive and beautiful or trashy and not very impressive (because it’s pixel art). So..here is the drawing.

SPOILER (click to toggle)

IF I did submit this I just want to show them that I am ok with digital art even though I don’t have access to nice computers and art programs. I don’t even have my tablet anymore. I made this with my friends OLD drawing tablet which is close to 10 years old and a pawn shop laptop that had MSP on it. Best I could get to make anything digital, and I still think it turned out pretty amazing for what I had to use to get the results.

So...could you guys just tell me if you think this drawing is too inappropriate for the portfolio? I do NOT want an art critique or anything else other than a yes or no type answer.

[-Disease] hi! First off I'm gonna say I've never been to art school so I don't know what they're looking for. So take this with a grain of salt lol. BUT I would say as far as NSFW goes, yours is not that bad! It's suggestive but it's not naked-naked. I think if it's a good representation of what you can do, include it. (Unless the school is extra conservative but it's an art school so I'd hope not?) I like the perspective and stars personally (and it does come across as creative and expressive!) and it's better than a lot of ms paint stuff I've seen. On the other hand if you're not there to go to do digital art and your traditional is different quality putting in something that doesn't fit with the rest of your look might distract from it. If it's the same quality/style as your other pieces that shouldn't matter though. I wouldn't put in that you used a old tablet or could do better with a better program or anything like that though? just because then they'll just be thinking, then why didn't they do that. (sorry i couldn't just do yes or no!) Good luck with the application and everything!

-Disease

For the record, I did initially major as my main major in art though my actual BA is in history. My minor in undergrad was still in art though.

I did not however go to a university that required a portfolio as I applied to a state university and not an art college since art colleges are expensive as heck and neither I nor my parents had the means to pay for two children going off to art colleges. I do however remember that my brother did apply and get into Art Center though and now works as an illustrator.

In terms of the piece. It's fine. I don't really know of ANY art school where you won't be required to take life drawing which means generally you will be drawing nudes. I had to take several life drawing classes so as far as I know an art school shouldn't have an issue with nude drawing. As for the artwork in question it is suggestive, but it's not explicit so I'd say it's fine. Furthermore, since it's not a direct and overt sexual suggestion of a nude body I actually think they'd appreciate the intent behind it and not consider it overtly sexual.

The thing is, as more of an add-on to what Thespian stated with traditional artwork they're more or less looking for that you have a control of the basics. That is, if you have traditional paintings, do you understand form, color theory, things like that. With things like life drawing it's more of a do you understand anatomy, have a good grasp of anatomy and can you apply it in creative ways.

Hey! I've never encountered an art school that required digital work in the portfolios (I'm a senior at art school right now, working towards my BFA). It's always good to show that you are capable of working in multiple mediums, though.

Sexually explicit work is usually not an issue unless you are applying to a specifically religious school. I'd be more worried about the drug references than anything else, but if you're truly proud of this piece (which it sounds like you are), go ahead and put it in!

Most schools will allow you to have an informal portfolio review ahead of time with someone from their admissions department.

If you want, I can take a look at your portfolio as a whole and tell you how it looks to me.

Thanks so much for your input and response! <3

I’m glad to have gotten advice from you! I didn’t even THINK about artistic nudes. I mean duh xD This will be my only digital piece if I add it, which I think I decided that I will. The rest will be pencil sketches and traditional paintings. Also idk I this means anything or matters but this piece IS a base on DA, however when I used this base I didn’t draw over the image, I created a new image and just looked at the base in another window while I drew it on MS paint. It would look so bad if they did a reverse search and was under the impression I submitted an actual base that was just recolored xD this was the base

Thanks for letting me know! I’ll look into it and see if this school has someone to do a review. I was also worried about the cannabis stuff not just the sexual aspect but it’s also in Canada and this school seems pretty liberal (they have a drag ball every year and are very lgbt positive, which is really important to me in a school) Once I gather everything together for the portfolio I can show you, thanks a bunch! Any help is appreciated

-Disease

So, you used it as a pose reference I’m guessing? You may have to ask or explicitly state that the artwork it was based on was used as a pose reference just so they don’t get the idea that it was a copy/trace deal. That said, pose references where you're just referencing a pose is fine. It's something I've done and something most artists have done in general.

Most art colleges as far as I know, at least in the US tend to be fairly liberal. The whole artsy culture and all that tends to cater toward artsy types with more liberal thinking in a way.

As far as digital artwork goes it’s true that they’re probably looking more for traditional, but my brother applied to art center with digital pieces as well.

He has an additional BA in electrical engineering and went back to art school several years after he had already been working as an engineer but i distinctly remember quite a few of his concept design pieces being largely digital since he applied in illustration. In his case he was doing a lot of artwork in imaginary landscapes and figures( robots and things of that nature, sci-fi landscapes) in Painter and Photoshop primarily when he was arranging his portfolio. He went into illustration with a concentration in concept design.

[-Disease] It's usually okay to use reference images (especially photos) to draw from, especially as a student. Tracing or just recoloring wouldn't be okay, but just looking at something and drawing inspiration from it/learning something from it (about anatomy, pose, color, anything) is basically what art school is all about.

I'm super excited to see more of your work! :D