PREPARING YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR INTERVIEW

What should my portfolio look like? • Your portfolio should be 15 – 25 large sheets of card/mounting board. • You can mount more than one image on one large sheet of card/mounting board. • You should have several sketchbooks. • Your portfolio should be well looked after. • No crumpled/ripped/curled drawings or paintings. • If you have any crumpled or curled drawings – IRON THEM. • Think about what images will be mounted next to each other. • Think about the running order of the mounted sheets – your portfolio should tell a

story and have an order to it. • Do not stick your images down with spray glue or double sided tape. • Blue tack or masking tape is best to use to protect your drawings.

What work should be mounted? Works that should be mounted include: 1. Successful sketches which show a range of materials/drawing techniques 2. Development work – and lots of it – this is what the bulk of your folio should be 3. At least one sheet dedicated to colour studies 4. A few select ‘final pieces’ (more resolved work) which demonstrates your

capabilities. 5. A small selection of quality life drawings – preferably showing a range of different

approaches

Successful Sketches – Sketchbook Sketchbooks are normally where your initial investigation of your subject matter happens. See here that this person has looked at pears and tried lots of different ways of drawing them.

Successful Sketches – Mounted Sheet This person has drawn the same (or similar) objects over and over, looking at different sections of it each time and using different materials each time. This shows is a good example of investigation and shows a good range of drawing techniques and materials. Notice how good the works look mounted next to each other!

Successful Sketches – Mounted Sheet Here is a drawing which has been done, from life, exploring line and colour. Beneath the sketch are small colour studies from the object. This is an example of really nice presentation.

Development work – Mounted Sheet Development is how you push an idea or subject forward by trying it in lots of different ways. See left, this person has looked at shape and colour to examine their subject matter. It shows that the person has experimented with this subject matter in a variety of different ways.

Development Work continued…

Development Work continued…

Development work – Mounted Sheet Following on from the previous sheet, this person has further pushed their subject matter by working on a range of different surfaces, using printing, drawing and collage to develop their work. You can see a clear link between this sheet and the sheet previous.

Colour Studies - Sketchbook Colour studies can be both in your sketchbooks and on mounted sheets. The focus in both of these images is colour. Lots of research has been done on Colour Theory over the years. You should research it.

Colour Studies – Mounted Sheet Colour studies are important to show your understanding of how different colours work in context of each other. Colour is an important part of a portfolio for any course at GSA and it is important that you show staff that you have considered the different ways in which you can use it.

More Resolved Pieces – Mounted Sheets More resolved pieces are not necessarily ‘better drawings/paintings’ – they are more resolved because they marry both an idea with an image.

More Resolved Pieces – Mounted Sheets More resolved pieces will look different depending on the programme you are applying to. If you are applying for Communication Design, then left is an example of a more resolved piece – where all elements of presentation have been considered – text, image, colour, surface etc.

Life Drawing

Life Drawing

Using similar subject matter on lots of different surfaces

Deliberately crumpled to convey the idea of ‘Late!’

Mark making is a very valuable way of investigating different drawing techniques. Use ANYTHING that is lying around, for example straws, sticks, a teacup, wool - anything at all that you find interesting. In these examples you can see that the student has used ink to make various different marks including using negative space.

This is a good example of using colour and investigating the way the wire moves and what shapes etc it can make. The person has played with the object to really get to know it – how it bends, investigating the colour and the texture of the object.

Notes and Quotes are also another useful tool for your sketchbook. Do not be afraid of writing anything you see or think of. These things help to spark off ideas for work and help you to think about the work you are making. It also gives the viewer a lovely insight into the way that you see things and helps them to understand you a little better.