After a long time of sitting on the internet, gathering cyber-dust I finally update my blog. Been through a lot since I got back but it feels good to finally sit down and bang on the keyboard a bit. I left SCAD after winter quarter when I came to a certain obstacle in my artistic pursuit. The skill level that was necessary to continue earning good grades in the sequential art classes that I would have to take the next quarter far outstripped my current abilities. I was looking at possibly two studio level classes and I could barely keep up with the introductory class in the Sequential Art department. It seems entering as a Junior and starting at Drawing II due to a single Drawing I credit from way back in 2005 had put me in an awkward position. I needed much more practice and time to develop a consistent personal style and confidence in what I was doing with my pencil. There was also the realization of the amount of debt I would have to deal with on a monthly basis once my student loans came due. 600 if I only went two full years, 900+ if I went the three needed for a BFA rather than just a BA. So I left. Not on bad terms or anything (I brought my GPA up to a 3.5 from a 2 point something) but still feeling like I had made some sort of mistake there. Having thought about it, what bothered me might have been my choice of major.
The Sequential Art major at SCAD is a good program, but might not have been for me. The intro class I took really threw me off. I went to SCAD to learn how to improve my drawing but that is not what the Sequential Art major is really about. As I learned from the intro to sequential art class, there is a heavier focus in the major on storytelling ability and growth rather than drawing technique. You still have to be able to draw at a very high level, but continuity and learning to set up a story are what you learn in that major. I was shocked the lack of understanding of basic concepts of storytelling and panel layout and more by the artists in the intro class. Their drawing skills were phenomenal in some cases but they had no idea how to set up a sequence of pictures on a page coherently, or how to pace a story using different panels. My crude figure might not have been pretty, but my panels were laid out well.
I think illustration might have been the better choice for me, or maybe even just staying home and pursuing art on my own with the help of books and instructional videos.
I do not regret going to SCAD. I really enjoyed my time there. It may not have worked out quite the way I wanted it to, but it certainly pushed me to become a better artist and grow as a person.