Many people have an innate talent for arts and they may wonder why they would be interested in spending many years studying when they could start their career from the moment they decide to do it.

Obviously, this way of seeing things is a little outdated and much has changed a lot since the emergence of new technological developments which have created new and better opportunities for art careers, besides, an artist as a professional needs a well structured education, learn the basic and advanced techniques and be up to date with the handling of the latest equipment and supplies.

For this reason an artist needs to attend an art school, or get some kind of creative education. If the cost of attending to an art program is high, there are several possibilities to find financing, because exists many available programs that help fund this type of education. In general this type of financial aid is divided into the following categories:

Scholarships.
Loans, that often come from the government or private companies engaged in educational loans.
Grants.
Work-Study.

For more information about financial aid options, scholarships, education grants an art program, you need to make an appointment with those responsible of the admission office of the school of your choice.

The success key to get an scholarships, subvention or financial assistance for education is to stay in constant contact and ask all possible questions to the admissions departments of the schools that you are interested in.

The approximate cost of a four-year university degree can cost between $ 50,000 and $ 70,000, however, there are many choices, and there are many short-term programs offered by private colleges and universities that usually cost much less.

Most people may wonder whether so much effort and money can be worth, because many of them go into debt in order to access this type of education. However, for those who really have talent or an unexploded potential the long-term benefits of a good education are considerable, You also must keep in mind that this industry has grown recently and today there are over 1,000 different types of work, for example, you can focus on being an independent artist, an art teacher, etc. Besides the conventional trades, an important number of jobs have been created recently, for example we can consider all the fields related to design and craft.

You can also work in jobs such as graphic designer, web designer, fashion designer or try into to work in the industrial design that is booming, architectural projects are always in high demand.

The wide variety of occupations and mainly all the satisfaction of making 100% creative works, makes it worthwhile to enroll in an art education program.

Art School Admission

The main objective of an art school admissions process is to gauge the student’s potential for success by investigating his or her academic work as well as individual talent.

This criteria as well as admissions requirements vary dramatically from school to school, for example some schools requires no portfolio, while others consider that a portfolio is the most important factor. Try to be careful on these topics and make a careful research into each school’s application procedures.

Most of the programs weigh their selection criteria in different ways, the process usually consists of these elements:

Interview

Some schools only conduct interviews after the preliminary selection and they consider them an important factor in narrowing down the incoming class. The interviews can be an all-day event, and their main objective is to judge both individual students and the quality of student’s work when evaluated in person.

Other schools recommend but don’t require admission interviews; its alumni interviews help to inform the applicant about the school and also help to learn more about the applicant’s, their personalities as well as their interests.

Academic Transcripts

Official transcripts from high school and/or previous undergraduate study are always necessary. Transcripts should either be furnished along with other application materials or supplied firsthand by the schools themselves. A GPA of 2.75 or 3.0 is a common minimum requirement, but some programs are flexible in their admissions standards.

References/Letters of Recommendation

Most programs could require two or three letters of recommendation, preferably from previous instructors. A program, usually, require references in order to testify your artistic and personal abilities. These requirements can be difficult to obtain for applicants because most of them have been out of school for long time.

Some schools prefer to receive a good letter of recommendation that verify the student’s ability to demonstrate their skills. So, for some schools, recent letters from employers or coworkers are therefore preferable to letters than those of actual art instructors who may no longer remember the applicant well.

Essay

A typical admissions essay or statement of purpose ranges from 250 to 1000 words or two pages of writing. You can find more information and exact specifications about spacing, font, and general presentation are often listed on its website or application.

An essay commonly describes some aspects about the applicant’s interest in arts or in the program which he or she is applying. Some graduate programs require applicants to provide a piece of artwork and a statement about his or her artistic sensibilities.

Portfolio

Several art schools consider that a student’s portfolio is the single and the most important factor in the admissions process.

A portfolio, usually consists of either 35mm slides or a collection of images recorded on a CD or DVD, however every program has its own specific portfolio requirements for art format and composition, but it’s rare for the applications process to require an applicant’s physical portfolio.

Some schools require about twenty pieces of recent works from within the past one or two years, and they will frequently they require works in the medium to which the student is applying.

Benefits of Art Education

At the same way of music, the art education can bring us more benefits that you ever could imagine before. Let read a research made for children and young students to understand the importance of the benefits of art education.

During a full year we observed a group of young students who took art classes 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. The results show that students were more excited to learn more in school increasing their academic achievements in the field of mathematics and language, and many of them were more willing to participate in fairs of science and math and most predisposed to win an a award writing and essay or poem.

Other benefits of art education that a good art program provides for children and young students:

Qualified teachers and renowned at a national and international level, you will have the opportunity to learn from their experience and their vast knowledge.
It offers the opportunity to express on various subjects relating to art.
As a student, you will receive solid basis in knowledge concerning to art history and other studies.
Increase of student’s performances which are necessary in the acquisition, development and application of skills and subject areas.
Motivation to stimulate children’s productivity during the creative process.
Help to develop problem-solving skills and verbal and numerical skills.
Improves visual discrimination skills.
Increase the productivity and the fulfillment of academic goals, contributing in the discipline.
Tendency to create cultural and historical awareness.
Art assignments offer to children the possibility of produce important cognitive skills.
Improve of fine motor control in kids through a holding narrow paint brush, cutting with scissors and
Art activities to develop hand-eye coordination and other precise movements between kids include holding a narrow paint brush, cutting with scissors and sculpting clay, which necessary improve the fine motor skills.

Let see some art activities that help us to understand other benefits of art education to develop of our children.

Holding a narrow paint brush, cutting with scissors and sculpting clay will improve the hand-eye coordination to improve fine motor skills.
Participate in some art education program; the kids get a chance to stimulate their creativity, imagination as well as their cognitive and problem solving skills.
Concentration is important in a kid during an art project, at the end of the artwork the kid have a sense of accomplishment and it would be an incentive to other struggled areas of the school.
Getting a self-expression through artwork would be essential for students in the moment of finished products as well as they have the opportunity to interpret other artwork and express their emotions.
Due to the open-ended nature of art education will make in kids take more risks and a sense of confidence in their projects because they don’t feel pressure if they finished products doesn’t look exactly like all the others.

We can conclude that art programs focus their efforts in helping their students to make possible all its aspirations, offer their students the necessary infrastructure for their development as artists; they offer personalized classes in order to give them more attention which helps them greatly to develop their own skills.

Art is undoubtedly beneficial for everyone because it allows developing our creativity and unleashing our imagination, an education or an art program is beneficial because offers to the people who want to pursue an art career a well structured and well-planned curriculum designed by experienced teachers.

For those without such intentions, there are more basic art programs which a student can take to improve their personal or professional life.

Financial Aid

Perhaps you have always dreamed of being a great artist or maybe this is a new decision for you. In any case, once you decide to study a career related to art and have chosen a school, the hardest part will come. You’ll need money for the art school. Fortunately most of the schools and universities actively recruit students.

Often, the art schools also approve several programs through students can apply for financial aid, there is a diverse mix of student loans and scholarships available for this purpose and these institutions will work with you to help you find the money you need in order to attend their institution.

At the same way, universities and institutions have areas of financial aid and personnel who assist students in applying for the aid they can qualify. Finding financing for a higher education can be easy, especially if you know where to look. The first step is simple: complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), this can even apply through their website.

Art Scholarships

Scholarships are a great way to help fund an education and can come from many sources such as schools, businesses or professional groups. Remember that you must possess great determination in order to locate and you should try to find the right one for you. When you apply for a scholarship, must be prepared to confront a tough competition.

A great number of available scholarships recognize the artistic achievements as well as academic performance, some scholarships may come with pre-qualification requirements, including attending to a specific course of study or active involvement in an organization or group, but in general a certain grade point average (GPA) must be maintained in order to access these grants.

Besides professional associations, many of the scholarships may come from religious organizations, large corporations, small businesses, private and public schools, community groups, philanthropic foundations or generous individuals, and so on.

Art Careers

The best way to choose an art career, is taking account of our skills and abilities that we could have, for example if you have an innate talent for developing works related to painting, drawing, sculpture, design or writing, you will be in the right path, then, what it takes to be a true artist?, what is necessary to make a career in art?, what path to follow?

However as almost any profession you choose, it takes effort, determination, talent and sacrifice to become a recognized artist.

The field of Art is big business, but the art careers can typically organized in four groups:

Art Directors: Many of them work in advertising and they are responsible to translate ideas into reality, develop the concept and supervise the creation and production process of media pieces.
Craft artists: The majority of them work in own projects, using all kinds of materials like ceramics, glass, textiles, wood, and metal among others. They usually work in coordination with museums and galleries.
Fine artist: They are people who make art pieces, self employed and they work commissioned by clients and display their works in museums and galleries. Some art jobs in this group include: museum curators, magazine consultants, fine art directors, etc.
Multimedia artist: Considered as one of the best paying careers, people are hired by multimedia art making motion picture studios and video gaming and advertising companies. For example for purposes of animation they draw by hand and then use graphic designing software to create SFX.

According to some recent statistics made by Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is estimated that jobs related to art career will increase the job opportunities the next seven years, especially in the area of multimedia (including growth for video producers, animators, and video game designers). The top art careers for the next years include:

Graphic design
Multimedia Artist
Animation
Museum Technicians
Interior Design
Museum Curator

This list includes some other careers where to start and looking for the best art careers that suits all your needs:

Architectural Graphic Designer
Architectural Renderer
Art Critics
Art Teacher
Airbrush Artist
Art Dealer
Art Consultant
Art Therapist
Copywriter
Cartoonists
Caricature
Costume Designer
E book Cover Artist
Fabric Designer
Fashion Designer
Fashion Illustrator
Fashion Photographer
Freelance Artist
Fine Art Photography
Fine Artist
Fashion Illustration
Graphic Artist
Illustrators
Layout Artist
Letterer
Museum Director
Monogram Artist
Photographer
Painting Restorers
Print-makers
Sculptors
Sketch Artists
Set Design
Video Game Design
Web Design

The list of art careers could increase in many ways and is no way an all-encompassing one, no doubt with innovations and creativity you can tread a path that has never been touch.