Roasting my Rejected Art Portfolio (UDK Berlin Fine Arts)

My book:

[suncouver]

I believe it‘s very brave of you to show your art, especially the pieces you aren‘t exactly proud of:) Also imo there are some really good works, especially the one with the girl drinking and the oil painting with the purple dress. Thanks for sharing your portfolio<3

[mashedpotat]

I mean, I do see that there is certainly a lot more work that needs to be done from a technical viewpoint in order to be accepted but I still think they are very nicely done. Also, isn't the point of going to art school to learn in the first place? I never understood why they are being so harsh when it comes to portfolio submissions for literally a study. Don't give up, keep practising and you will certainly get there :) I can surely see the passion and love you have for it

[cloudthief]

2:30 I actually love this piece. It's so dreamy. I think you could mix that colourful, abstract style with portraits as well. Imagine how beautiful a pastel landscape like that would be, with an equally abstract person at the forefront.

[carter]

This is actually so helpful to see. It can be tough seeing nothing but perfect portfolios from people who got into the top art schools in the world, because not many people do show their failures. It's really nice to gain a sense of the range of portfolios that art schools see. :)

[teti]

I’m sorry I died at the heart shaped toilet paper roll 😂 but there’s always room for improvement!! If art is your passion and what u wanna do keep pushing!! You definitely have potential

[hth]

Hey don’t be so harsh on yourself. Although you may not like what you produced but paintings especially can be reworked, a lot of them had potential, keep going with your art!

[christy]

Sweetheart, don't confuse being a good artist with getting into art school. There's plenty of merit to your work with plenty of room to grow with more practice. This is the part of the artist journey where you dig deeper and push through the self doubt and trust the process. I can't wait to see what you make next!

[mvrk]

I don't know if I'm qualified to offer advice/criticism but I must say your last piece is amazing! The composition, colors and details really complete the painting and that work alone shows that you have a wonderful ability to create. That painting also shows that when you let your thoughts roam free without restrictions and without trying too hard you are able to paint extremely well! As an artist it's very easy to see the negatives in your own art, but even if you aren't satisfied with a painting or drawing, find at least one part of it that you like and point that out to yourself.

[MefilioDeAggelo]

Girl chill! Most of the art you've shown was quiet good. I enjoyed watching!

[catmaclaggan]

You are amazing. Brave and hilarious and eloquent. Your last piece is really good! And this whole video is actually a wonderful work of art. Keep going and keep being authentic💎

[ellcharlotte]

I see the creativity in every piece I just think it was maybe rushed - you have really
good concepts please don’t give up! Your clearly very gifted ☺️ sending love form the uk!

[duce]

The more art I consume, the more I struggle with what would be considered "good art". I've seen art that is technical but lacks poignancy. I've also seen art that is simplistic but has stopping power.

As a former art student, what I can say is that art school is hella hard-- particularly when working with professors with different levels of industry standards. But I do feel that it's a medium where improvement can seen in a very measurable sense particularly bc it's so visceral

[anahita_hsn]

Girl there is definitely a lot of potential in most of these. Currently I'm working on my art portfolio as well, and besides the fact that I'm going through different emotional phases rn, one thing that I've noticed is how much there is that I dont know. It's frightening at first, but also inspiring. I've been studying art works from different artists in all kinds of shapes and forms, and I've learnt a lot in such a short time. There's a chance that I don't get in the program, but I'm already achieving so much. One thing I would recommend is to actually take your time and go through the steps and process of the creation of an art work by other artists. try to figure out your strengths as well as your weaknesses, because that way you can improve your art by focusing more and more on what you're good at, instead of avoiding or being afraid of what still needs some work. A portfolio should be representation of our finest work, so if you dont have the time to work on a specific problem, you don't need that piece in your portfolio at all.

[somebodyelse]

I really feel this deeply. In my highschool we had to submit a 12 page visual arts portfolio and we were supposed to work on it for the two semesters and I started two nights before the final due date, missed any oppertunity to revise it with my teacher and had a total artists block the first night so I skipped school the next day to complete all 12 pages in one day and one night.

If you are unsure about the requirements, some general ideas to follow are:

-follow one to 3 or 4 themes, definitely explore them in different ways and media, but school seem to like when you kind of follow themes and demonstrate skill in exploring that theme in multiple media and multiple ways as this shows flexibility and skill

-as mentioned above, don´t limit yourself to one medium

-depending on the school, but a lot actually like artist studies, meaning you analyze a classical piece of art and even replicate parts of it and then show how it influenced your own style ( always reference the original artwork and artist clearly! I used headers like "exploring carravaggio´s use of light to create tone in his artwork: *Title of artwork*")

-don´t be afraid to try new things but this may risk low qualityy pieces which don´t reflect the actual extent of your skill. Unfinished or untidy work that is unelegant in its methodology is a big no no, so definitely focus the largest portion on art styles you are used to and have been able to perfect for yourself (e g if your strength is sketching and line drawings, don´t make your entire portfolio about exploring watercolour and oil paint)


-in a case of question, stick to more intense contrast and color pieces as they tend to be more impressive and stick in mind more, this might secure you the memorability bonus and fake perfect methodology and composition as it conceals smaller errors like line or perspective ( e.g you can absolutely fake a good pencil sketch with intense shading even if the proportions are off)

-get as much feedback as you can in choosing art works for your portfolio, it is good to show people who don´t know your thoughts about pieces because the school will also not have access to your head when looking at the portfolio and often the first impression counts


-don´t start the night before the due date like I did :D

good luck

[illuzio]

Große Klasse, dass du dieses Video zur Hilfe für andere Interessenten gedreht hast.

[drkmgic]

Oh Man this would be so awesome once u get better at art and then looking back at this and then recreating them. Also the last one is amazing. Keep going and good luck.

[elainegee]

Thanks for sharing. You have the passion for art and you can improve greatly over time. I was rejected from my high school art club years ago and now my art is really good. You have a good sense of humor and its refreshing how honest you were being

[markbaptista]

It takes a lot of courage to present your portfolio to the world here….. I admire your forthright and honest presentation.
You certainly have a lot of potential so don’t think too much about one rejection by the Berlin Art School. All artists, and indeed people in every walk of life, go through numerous failures and rejections all through their careers, no matter how accomplished they may be.
You’re young and have a long way to go and so much to look forward to. I think you have a talent for portraits and an eye for composition which, with the right amount of daily practice and guidance, can lead you wherever you choose to go…..whether with traditional or digital media.

As an architect and artist, my advice would be as follows: try to dedicate some time to practice everyday, even if it’s just for 15/20 minutes….at home or outdoors. Make it a point to carry a small sketchbook and pen, pencil or whatever and sketch anywhere you are….on the train, on a bus, in a cafe, friend’s house….sketch anything and everything and gradually you’ll see huge improvements. Sketching from life is one of the quickest ways to develop as an artist.
I like the fact that you’ve tried various mediums so keep that up…..experiment with colored pencils, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, pen and ink, ball point pen, graphite pencil, charcoal, oil paints, etc. You’ll enjoy the learning process needed for each medium and the thrill of accomplishment with every little step along the way. You don’t have to spend much money on materials to get in the practice, so look for discounted and student grade supplies initially……once you feel that you prefer a particular medium, then try out a better quality…..especially with watercolor and oil paints it does make a difference, but don’t bother about that at this time.
Try to find some time to regularly watch demos and tutorial videos of other artists on YouTube…..so many awesome people out there giving you the benefit of their knowledge for free!.….there are so many out there and I’m sure already familiar with some of them. If you wish I can give you a list of some that I subscribe to and whose work I admire.
Visit art galleries and museums in your home town and get to see first hand the amazing work of historic and contemporary artists…..you’ll be inspired every time I guarantee! Try to find artists’ studios in your town and contact them and ask if you could visit and watch them work or to get some tips from them….or even to get a part time job helping them in their studio…..what better way to learn than watching someone live.
I also suggest learning some form of digital art and photo editing software, if you haven’t already started……there are a lot of benefits to this: you can edit and manipulate pictures you take to create ideas for drawings and paintings; you can make quick compositions, correct and adjust things you don’t like and experiment with infinite color/texture alternatives in a fraction of the time it would take if you did it manually.
In my opinion, if you have an iPad, then Procreate is the cheapest and most powerful app you can use to learn and quickly start creating digital art….you will fall in love with it very quickly…..it costs just $10 and is the best value for money for an artist….and you can use it even with the basic iPad and 1st gen Apple Pencil so no need to invest in an expensive iPad Pro.

Alternative, if you don’t use an iPad, would be Clip Studio Paint $50, ArtRage $80 or Affinity Designer $55…..for Windows or Mac and all used by a lot of illustration artists……I don’t mention Photoshop because it’s a subscription service, so can get expensive….but if you’re a full time student I believe you can get a discounted rate.
Free alternatives to Photoshop are GIMP, Krita, Paint.NET…..you can check them out too.
I do hope this helps and wish you the very best in moving forward and staying motivated to achieve all your educational and career goals!

[annanas.arts]

Hey Julia! Thank you for the video! As someone who wants to apply for artschools in Germany it is really helpful to see a video like yours!

To your question about the paintings: I myself am not in artschool yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I would recommend looking a little bit into color theory and values/contrast. Your paintings are really fun and I like the ideas a lot, but some are not that eye catching, because it lacks depth. But that is easily fixable, it just takes a little research and practice!
Other than that I see a lot of potential in your paintings and ideas and I think you should definitely go for it!

Wish you all the best from another fellow German artist :)

[ploopybear]

The Ocean of dreams one looks pretty good. I'm very curious about how you painted it?