Is studying art a bit risky?

[shifty_uk]

My course is a science degree and I'll hopefully progress onto my degree year after next summer but I'm debating art school. I have no formal education in art, didn't even take it in school but people keep urging me towards a career in this sector(production design/painting). Having had experience in a load of environments from graphic/interactive design, web development, supervising and sales, this career option seems like a dream. However, should I finish this year and instead do my final year(s) at an art school?

My views of art schools in the UK from experience are nothing short of bad! Including that of former colleagues who went and my other half who is currently being taught by a horrendous art school grad lecturer at uni who wont look twice at you if you prefer windows over mac, for example. They seem completely narrow minded, giving you no creative freedom unless you follow their set ways and largely wouldn't look twice at you in the street. You know the type, beige slacks who think Arial is the devil and Helvetica is god.

The way I see it, my current degree will give me a better standing in later life if all should fail and art school would simply be a year or two of drawing with a bunch of stuck up snobs and a chance at insider critique and a good name on my CV. Or, am I completely and utterly deluded? Feel free to shoot me down if I am!

Cheers!

 

[shifty_uk]

I'm a little confused. You are currently doing a Science Degree, but you want to drop out before your final year to go to art school, even though you have no formal grounding in it?

No, I have a fairly big portfolio and years of industry experience in design with a catalogue of everything from interfaces, installations, websites, logotypes and of course all my artwork/sketchbooks. I'd just be doing a final year at art school if my portfolio were to stand up to it. My degree does have design elements but it's largely science related.

 

[shifty_uk]

Depends what you study, why you study it and where at.
Glasgow School Of Art is very well respected, you'd be better off going there than Coatbridge Academy of Paint by Numbers...

The talent at GSA is phenomenal aswell..

It would indeed be one of the big art schools like GSA. I'm not sure, everyone I've met from there is incredibly stuck up. I don't particularly enjoy the company of those who apply to the stereotype! A couple of girls I know who went there now work in Topshop and my GFs uni lecturer went there who is apparently insufferable and one of those 'if you can't do it, teach it' types.

I've also tried phoning them a number of times in the past for information and the customer service experience is zero! That's if they actually answer the phones. Took me 4 attempts across two days to get through, only to be hung up on when I was being transferred to a different department.

 

[shifty_uk]

Do you want to be a productive member of society, making a real difference, or someone that makes interesting patterns on pieces of canvas?

I'd much rather strategically design the ins and outs of a spaceships in hollywoods next biggest sci-fi flick(that's an extreme example ).

Thanks for the comments fellas! Like I thought initially, complete my current degree, continue to work on my portfolios and if all fails creative wise, I'll have a relatively rounded qualification to fall back on. If I want to study illustration in the future, that's always an option post-grad.

 

[shifty_uk]

Those were my initial thoughts! It seems to be just a couple of years spent drawing, getting critique and connections - which wouldn't really help with the industry I'm trying to break into anyway.

It's mostly the physics relating to how technology works.

Must head out but cheers for the input guys!