Art + Design

Student Resources

PORTFOLIO PREPARATION
(First Year and Transfer Students)
The most important part of you scholarship application is your portfolio; it gives the faculty a clear idea of your potential abilities as a visual artist. Think of it as the basic foundation of your scholarship application. It is in light of this work that we will consider the other parts of your application.

The Department of Art + Design also requests your high school GPA and in some cases ACT or SAT scores, in addition to a portfolio of artwork. At CWU academics complements the studio program at every level of study. Your success in Art + Design will depend partly on your success in academic courses.

Your portfolio should include ten (10) digital images of original artwork. Three-dimensional work may have more than one view but represent no more than ten works total. These works should represent your drawing skills in different media, your use of color, and good solid sense of design (in both two and three dimensions, if that’s possible). The following is offered as some suggested guidelines for preparing and presenting your work.

DRAWING: Drawing is the most fundamental skill needed for an artist to communicate. Regardless of you choice of concentration, whether it is Ceramics, Graphic Design, Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography or Sculpture you will probably need drawing skills in the production of your work. Your scholarship portfolio should include only your best drawings.If possible, it is important to include drawings made from observation; draw familiar objects and surroundings. You may include self-portraits, portraits, figure drawings, still life, landscapes, etc. One of the most common problems in portfolios is lack of value development. Much of your drawing work (except on linear projects, like blind contour drawings) should be developed with a full range of values, from very dark shadows to very light highlights, with many values of gray between. Drawings without value development often look flat. You should also include other media such as 3-dimensional work, paintings and/or photographs. A strong portfolio often shows a personal point of view. Drawing subjects that have meaning for you personally could provide the basis for this. Avoid overused subject matter, like sunsets, kittens, dragons and unicorns- these often lack imagination, while a view of you closet floor is unique to you.

COLOR: Your portfolio should demonstrate an exploration of color. This can be accomplished in many ways. If you have experience in oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels or colored pencils, include this. Collage and sculptural pieces that explore color could also be included.

DESIGN: Design/composition refers to the arrangement of elements within the boundaries of the work, either on a page or in space. Your attention to this should be evident throughout your portfolio. Try to avoid including too many compositions with objects centered on the page; your sense of design should be clearly evident. Make sure that some drawings include the entire page; even quick sketches should be well composed. Limit drawings or paintings inspired by photographs- instead, concentrate on the familiar things in your own environment. We want to see artwork that reflects your ability to work from life.

Please come to visit the Department of Art + Design at CWU. Though campus visits are not required as part of the scholarship application procedure, we would be happy to have the chance to show you around the facilities and talk with you about the program. If you would like to make an appointment, call us at 509-963-2665


PREPARING WORK
(All Applicants)

DIGITAL IMAGES FORMAT: Images may be submitted as either individual JPG files or a multiple-page PDF file. Dimensions of JPG images should be no smaller than 1920 pixels on the longest side and no larger than 2 MB maximum. Please include an image list to correspond with files names. Files should be named lastname_firstname_01.jpg (Your last name, the image number and the file extension). Upload your files using the online application.