Alrighty, I will do my best. I’ll probably have a lot to say, so I’ll just put it in categories.
Professors- Every professor here has something different to offer, so your experience depends on your professor. They are all artists themselves, and all the ones I’ve had are still actively making their own work. I saw my favorite professor’s work in NYC when I was home on break which was really cool to see.
I’ve loved the professors I’ve had so far. My first semester was very challenging with the amount of work I was given and the quality of work I was expected to do in such little amount of time. Even though it was stressful, I learned the most from this. My drawing skills improved immensely, and even though I was sleep deprived I was very happy. My drawing teacher from this semester was Tom Mills and this man is a legend. The way he speaks, the work he does and the things he teaches you give you the chance to make some of the best work you’ve done so far, and if not then, then later on. I really can’t stress how grateful I am for having him as a teacher. He inspired me so much and helped bring me to a different level. I seriously can’t stress how much I loved that class. My other two classes that semester weren’t as good in comparison to my drawing class. My design teacher was very abstract, and I don’t like abstract work. If it looked like something, she said that wasn’t good, which annoyed me because I’m all about illustration. My 3D class was very free and fun, but just with the amount of work from my drawing class, I had to put my priorities in line; Drawing came first, and then I’d worry about the other two. (Sometimes that’s the only way to handle the workload; you have to pick one class.)
This semester I feel much more relaxed since I know how to manage my time thanks to my first semester. And this semester I’m getting more out of the other classes besides drawing as well. My design teacher knows exactly how to push people and gives them an opportunity to create what they want. She showed us ways to get the best out of an idea we have and abolished my fear of color. I can mix colors extremely well now. My 3D teacher is just great as well and I’m very proud of the work that I’m producing from the class this semester. She helped make 3D something that can be related to every major. And my drawing teacher is fantastic as well. Combined with the skills I learned last semester in drawing, and my teacher from this semester’s approach, I’m loving what I’m making.
Classmates- Just like every other place, there’s always going to be one or two pretentious douches. Luckily for me, I haven’t had a class with one yet. The people I have studio with I’m very good friends with. I’m not sure if you know the system here at RISD or not, but I really like it. You have all your studios with 19 other kids, which really allows you to bond with them. I’ve gotten to know my classmates very well and we go out to dinners, have reunions from our first semester, and it’s just pretty much like having a second family. It was really nice to have people to go through hell with during the first semester too, which probably brought us all even closer. Everyone here also has something to offer. You can learn a lot from just your classmates here. And even though you’ll have that one slacker in class most likely, everyone here I know genuinely cares about learning a lot and making the best damn art they can.
Classes- I guess I kind of covered that in the professors section, but something I’d like to mention is WINTERSESSION. THE GIFT FROM THE GODS THAT IS WINTERSESSION. We have six weeks in which you can take 1 or 2 classes in whatever class you want. Some of the classes are really crazy too. I took a comics class, which was incredible since we got to meet many people working in the industry and it was just tons of fun. There’s this really cool class called creature creations where you design and make a creature costume that you wear. They have a show to show all the students costumes which is really cool to see. There’s plenty of freetime during wintersession as well, which I took the opportunity to take road trips and make some personal work, which was a nice break.
Since I’m only a freshmen, the only other classes I can really vouch for are the foundation classes. Yes, studios are 8 hours long, but it’s nice having so much in class time to get help and learn.
Facilities- I really have nothing bad to say about the facilities. The studios are big, some newer than others, but that doesn’t really make a difference. One of my favorite things here is the nature lab, which has taxidermy animals and a skeleton room. It’s just a really nice resource to have. The library is GORGEOUS. And for anything we don’t have, Brown does, which we have full access to. Not to mention we can take classes there!
Oh, one thing I should mention is freshmen living conditions. All the freshmen live in the quad and every floor is connected, so you really don’t have to go outside to get to a friends room. Living in the quad is just really nice since you don’t have to go far to meet up with friends or see new people.
Social Life- I just really want to mention this. RISD has a crazy amount of clubs, sport teams and events. One of my favorite things about this place is the things that go on around here. We just had Thunderdome, which is where people build armor out of cardboard and ducttape and there’s battles and it’s awesome. We have Z-Day coming up which is where everyone (Brown included) gets dressed in zombie garb and goes into the city. There’s also concerts at Brown that we can go to as well. Just a whole lot of fun stuff happens here.
Whew, I just have a lot to say about my school because I love it.
Yeahhhh soooo, pretty sure that’s all, but if I missed anything, pop me another ask.
