Art High School Portfolio Guidelines in NYC
Firstly, let us take a look at the specific visual arts programs these schools offer.
Fiorello H. LaGuardia Art High School:
Frank Sinatra Art High School:
The art program spans four years, beginning with intensive skill-building and creative process exploration in freshman year, covering figure drawing, printmaking, and graphic design. Students also study art history, progressing from Prehistory to the Renaissance. In sophomore year, students continue with 3D Art and painting, expanding their knowledge with various media and techniques while studying art history from the Renaissance to Contemporary Art. Junior year focuses on advanced sketching, graphic design, industrial and architectural design, preparing students for their senior thesis. Senior year features Advanced Portfolio creation, where students develop a personal body of work for college applications, with admissions officers providing portfolio reviews. Additionally, students design the yearbook and study digital photography, covering both technical and conceptual aspects. The program also offers an AP Art History elective, providing a comprehensive global perspective on art history with museum visits and in-depth assignments.
High School of Art and Design:
The school offers several specialized programs, each with a unique focus and admission via virtual audition. The Commercial Art program (M60P) includes majors in Cartooning, Fashion/Costume Design, or Illustration, with opportunities for AP courses, internships, museum visits, and professional portfolio evaluations. The Architectural Design program (M60N) emphasizes hand drafting, software applications, and AutoCAD, culminating in a city planning design project, with critiques from industry partners. The Film/Video Production program (M60Q) provides a three-year, studio-based curriculum covering all aspects of filmmaking, from scriptwriting to editing, with access to professional equipment and participation in film festivals. The Digital Arts program (M60R) offers majors in Animation, Digital Photography, and Graphic Design, with AP course options, professional portfolio reviews, and opportunities for job shadowing, mentorship, and internships.
Now, how do you prepare to audition for these fatalistic visual art programs?
Audition
All audition programs, including LaGuardia High School, offer virtual auditions. Virtual auditions are uploaded into MySchools during the application period.Some programs are also offering the option to do an audition in person. Visit the page linked here and scroll down to Audition Options by school to see the programs offering in-person auditions.
High schools evaluate virtual auditions and in-person auditions equally and consistently so students do not have an advantage or disadvantage auditioning one way or another.
Students are asked to prepare the same audition components whether they are auditioning in person or virtually.
Learn about the common components for each discipline in MySchools.
Let us take a look at the portfolio requirements and guidelines.
Portfolio
All high schools – including LaGuardia – use the same audition components for each arts discipline (such as visual art or dance). This means that if you want to apply to, say, three art programs, you would only need to submit one art audition. An art high school audition requires photographs of 4 to 8 pieces of original artwork that includes the following with optional prompts for some art high schools, indicated below:
Art high school piece 1 example
Piece 1: A self-portrait using a graphite drawing pencil and paper done from observation. (From observation means you draw yourself by looking in a mirror)
Art High school piece 2 example
Piece 2: A still life of at least 3 items, using a graphite drawing pencil and paper done from observation. (From observation means you draw objects placed before you on a surface in front of you)
Art high school piece 3 examples
Piece 3: A figure drawing, using a graphite drawing pencil and paper. You may pose a friend or a family member in front of you. Draw the human figure from observation (from observation means you draw a live person). If you do not have access to a friend or family member, see the tutorial on figure drawing on this visual arts portfolio resources.
- Make sure you draw the entire figure and fill the page: do not cut off parts of the head or feet.
- Draw your figure with realistic proportions.
- Try to use value or lines to draw the folds on the clothes.
- Include any observed details and draw the facial features.
- Add some background elements to place the figure in a simple setting, ensuring it doesn’t appear to be floating in space.
Additional pieces
Pieces 4-7: Add 1 to 4 additional pieces to your portfolio. You may select pieces that were created using any material in any form. They may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional.
Art high school piece 8 examples
Piece 8: If you are applying to Art and Design High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and/or Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, submit this creative drawing. (This piece is optional for students applying to other programs.)
Using pencil and paper, draw a FANTASTICAL SANDWICH! Use your imagination and creativity – depict your wildest ideas of what a Fantastical Sandwich looks like to you. Consider for the drawing: What bizarre, unusual, or creative toppings does your sandwich have? Who made it? Who is it for? When creating your Fantastical Sandwich be sure to include a background and fill the whole page. Feel free to use colored pencils if you wish. And, have fun with it!
Additional components, such as a short video or written statement, are required. The jurors want to connect a face to your work, so it’s important to consider this component as much as the portfolio pieces themselves.
Student Introduction
Select three pieces of artwork from your portfolio (Piece 1 and Piece 2 must be included). Upload a short video about the three uploaded pieces of original artwork. Discuss your choice of subject and materials, motivation, and influences. Your video should be no longer than three (3) minutes. If you are unable to create a video, you may upload a written explanation of up to 500 words (either is equally acceptable).
Callbacks
Schools may invite you to “callbacks” for other school specific requirements. Schools also may invite students for live on-demand tasks. Do not be concerned if you are not invited for a callback. A callback does not mean acceptance or rejection.
You don’t want to do all this work only to have bad photos of the art you worked so hard on. Make sure the photographs are handled with as much care as the rest of the portfolio. Here’s how you can improve your photography skills without the need of expensive camera equipment.
How to photograph your work
What you need:
- A digital camera or a smartphone camera
- A built in editing software on your phone or on your computer
Where you take the photos:
- In a place with bright natural light
- No shadows being cast from other objects around
- Consider photographic outside
- You can also place your artwork on the wall, especially if you are using artificial light, or a lamp to lights the artwork
What to avoid:
- Avoid using a flash, it will ‘bleach’ the colors of the original artwork or create a glare
- If you are photographing on the wall, do not tape directly onto the front of your artwork, instead place the tape on the back
- Try to have an even amount of light coming from the left and the right side, so the artwork is evenly lit and doesn’t create spots of shadow
- If using indoor light, be careful not to block the light, which will create a shadow over your work as well
- Avoid overexposure, or too much light on the artwork
- Avoid blurred focus on the artwork
- Avoid having curled up corners of your artwork in the photo
Positioning
- Hold your camera completely parallel to the artwork, to avoid skewing the original artwork
- Clean up any smudges or dust before photographing your art
- Make sure the artwork fills the entire photo. Do not take pictures from too far away
When recording a short video, consider the following
Environment:
- Find a quiet space to record if possible
- Cut out background noise like turning off a running fan, or closing the window
- Let family members know you are recording and if you have pets, make sure they aren’t distracting
- Bright light is best. Do not backlight, where the lights is behind you to avoid an unclear video
Camera:
- Make sure your camera lens is clean
- Record in ‘Portrait’ mode, unless there is an important reason to record in landscape mode instead
Recording the video:
- The goal is to speak about yourself and your artwork clearly and directly
- Plan out how you would like to introduce yourself and say about each portfolio piece. Rehearse your script!
- When you are ready to record, begin by introducing yourself and state the number of portfolio works your will be discussing
- For each work of art, clearly state the work of art and then discuss your choice of subject and materials, your motivation and influences
- You can add a closing statement
- Keep your video no longer than 3 minutes
Creating a written piece
- The goal is to write about yourself and your artwork clearly and directly
- Write a draft first
- Type if possible. If you are submitting a hand written piece, make sure it is clearly written
- Begin by introducing yourself, state the number of artworks you will be discussing
- Create a paragraph for each portfolio piece.
- As you write about each artwork include your choice of subject and materials, your motivation and influences.
- You can add a closing paragraph
- Keep your written statement no longer than 500 words.
As we went over many steps and requirements about the Art High school portfolio making process, keep in mind on what truly counts for the Art high school portfolio. The jurors want to see originality, creativity, preparation and passion for the Visula arts.
Keep these aspects in mind as you are on the exciting journey of preparing your Art High School portfolio!
Good Luck!
Students in our Specialized Art High School program have prepared for their admission through portfolio development, as well as audition preparation through mock-up tests in the program. Since admission for art schools like LaGuardia High School could get competitive, it is important to get specialized instruction that targets specifically what school admission is looking for. Talk to our consultant further to see what options could work for you!
Please CLICK HERE to check our Specialized Art High School page to learn more.
Contact New York Art Studio at info@nyartstudio.com or (212) 279 1622 for more information
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