Portfolio REQUIREMENTS

NYC visual arts programs require students to demonstrate observational skills, creative thinking, technical proficiency, individual expression, and types of work. AEA provides expert instruction to help students meet portfolio requirements while developing the technical skills, creative thinking, and individual artistic voice needed to create strong, original work.

Students develop observational drawings, including a self-portrait, still life, and figure drawing, demonstrating proportion, perspective, anatomy, composition, line, value, and texture. They also create additional original artwork that showcases their interests, creativity, and artistic potential. Students applying to designated arts high schools must also complete a Fantastical Sandwich drawing that demonstrates imagination, visual storytelling, and composition.

Piece 1: Observational Self-Portrait

• Students draw a self-portrait from direct observation using a mirror, graphite pencil, and paper. The drawing should demonstrate accurate facial structure, features, proportions, and tonal range.

• How AEA Helps: Through expert instruction in observational drawing, facial anatomy, proportion, shading, and tonal values, AEA helps students develop their technical skills and create a realistic self-portrait that captures their likeness and demonstrates their understanding of form and light.

Piece 2: Observational Still Life

• Students compose and draw a still life of at least three objects using graphite pencil and paper. The drawing should demonstrate perspective, composition, detail, line, value, texture, and an understanding of a single light source.

• How AEA Helps: Through expert instruction in observational drawing, perspective, composition, shading, and rendering techniques, AEA helps students develop their technical skills and create a carefully composed still life that demonstrates their understanding of form, light, and spatial relationships.

Piece 3: Observational Figure Drawing

• Students draw a live model using graphite pencil and paper, demonstrating realistic proportions, gesture, anatomy, facial features, clothing details, and an understanding of light, value, and line. The composition should include foreground, middle ground, and background elements that place the figure in an environment.

• How AEA Helps: Through expert instruction in observational drawing, anatomy, proportion, gesture, shading, and composition, AEA helps students develop their technical skills and create a detailed, realistic figure drawing that demonstrates their understanding of the human form and environment.

Pieces 4–7: Additional Portfolio Artwork

• Students create additional original artworks using any medium or format, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional work.

• How AEA Helps: With expertise in design, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration, animation, photography, and glass, AEA helps students explore diverse materials and techniques, develop original concepts, and create compelling artwork that showcases their individual interests, creative vision, and artistic potential.

Piece 8: Fantastical Sandwich Drawing

• Required for applicants to Art and Design High School, Bayside High School, LaGuardia High School, the High School of Fashion Industries, and/or Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.

• Students create an imaginative Fantastical Sandwich drawing using pencil and paper, exploring unusual ingredients, creative concepts, and visual storytelling. The composition must include a background and fill the entire page.

• How AEA Helps: Through expert instruction, AEA helps students develop original ideas, explore imaginative concepts, and strengthen their drawing, composition, perspective, and shading skills to create a visually compelling, detailed, and unique artwork that expresses their individual creativity.

Piece 9: Artist Statement or Video Interview

• Students select three original artworks from their portfolio (including Pieces 1 and 2) and submit a video or written explanation discussing their creative process, inspiration, influences, techniques, and artistic decisions.

• How AEA Helps

  Through individualized instruction, AEA helps students strengthen their drawing skills, explore materials and techniques, develop original ideas, and make thoughtful artistic decisions. Our approach helps each student create a portfolio that meets application requirements while expressing their unique personality, interests, and creative vision.
  • Portfolio Selection: We help students select and sequence their strongest work.
  • Professional Photography: We professionally photograph and color-correct all portfolio artwork.
  • Video Interview: We help students prepare a script and record and edit a three-minute video discussing three artworks: their self-portrait, still life, and one student-selected piece. Discuss subject matter, materials, motivation, techniques, influences, and the decisions behind each piece.
  • Written Artist Statement: Alternatively, we help students develop a written explanation of up to 500 words covering their artistic process, materials, motivations, techniques, influences, and creative decisions.