OUR COURSES
High School Applications
and Skill Development Courses
VISUAL ARTS (HS):
Piece 1: A self-portrait using a graphite drawing pencil and paper done from observation (from observation means you draw yourself by looking in a mirror).
Piece 2: A still life of at least 3 items, using a graphite drawing pencil and paper done from observation (from observation means you draw objects placed before you on a surface in front of you).
Piece 3: A figure drawing, using a graphite drawing pencil and paper. You may pose a friend or a family member in front of you. Draw the human figure from observation (from observation means you draw a live person). If you do not have access to a friend or family member, see the tutorial on figure drawing on this visual arts portfolio resources
Pieces 4-7: Add 1 to 4 additional pieces to your portfolio. You may select pieces that were created using any material in any form. They may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional
Piece 8: (only for Art and Design High School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Art, and/or Frank Sinatra School of the Arts) “Fantastical Sandwich Imagination Pencil Drawing”
Piece 9: Video Student Introduction. Select three pieces of artwork from your portfolio (Piece 1 and Piece 2 must be included). Upload a short video about the three uploaded pieces of original artwork. Discuss your choice of subject and materials, motivation, and influences.
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DIGITAL ARTS, DESIGN (HS):
Piece 1: Self-portrait, Piece 2: Still Life, Piece 3: Figure Drawing
Pieces 4-7: Additional 1 to 4 pieces to your portfolio. You may select pieces that were created using any material in any form. Suggestions: Re-design 5 characters from your favorite live-action TV show or movie. Create a poster design promoting an upcoming event or advertising a new product. Include imagery and text. Create a book cover design of your favorite book: Include title and author. Redesign a logo from one of your favorite companies.
Piece 8: For Animation: Fantastical Sandwich. Using pencil and paper, stage an interesting scene of a character eating a sandwich in 3 phases. For Graphic Design: MTA Subway Poster Advertisement. (Image and brief description of the sandwich, Name of the restaurant and sandwich, Slogan for the sandwich stating why it is special)
*After applying, callbacks and live auditions are scheduled for selected students.
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PORTFOLIO REVIEW (Individual Session)
For the portfolio review, we'll start by discussing your creative interests and academic goals.
We can help to identify the best programs for you and then create a plan with a check list of the admission requirements.
During our meeting you will have a chance to share and discuss examples of your artwork. Based on our discussions we will work together to create a personalized plan that aligns with your goals and meets the admission criteria of your chosen schools.
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AEA Learning Goals:
1. Thinking Creatively: Explore various ways to express yourself artistically, going beyond literal interpretations. Experiment and take risks to develop new ideas, forms, and meanings in your art.
2. Utilize Resources: Use available tools and technologies to investigate your personal ideas in art.
3. Exploration: Play imaginatively with different materials, encouraging innovation and experimentation.
4. Develop a Personal Voice and Style: Use different materials and tools to explore your own interests and questions, creating art that reflects your unique perspective.
5. Developing and Manifesting Ideas: Generate artistic ideas through brainstorming and visualization, considering their personal relevance and potential cultural impact.
6. Reflect and Revise: Documenting and writing about your creative process, refining your artwork based on your vision and project criteria.
7. Critically Analyze and Discuss Your Artwork: Interpret the ideas, meanings, and emotions in your art by analyzing different approaches, forms, contexts, and media. Explore how societal, cultural, and historical contexts influence art, and how artistic ideas can shape cultures past, present, and future.
8. Art in Context: Connect your artistic ideas and work to personal meaning and external contexts, including social, cultural, and historical influences.
9. Synthesize Knowledge: Combine your understanding of social, cultural, and personal contexts with your artmaking approaches to create meaningful works of art or design.
10. Explore and Identify Influence: Investigate how art and design from different cultures or time periods influence each other and awareness of how you reference and are influenced by other artists.
11. Career Paths: Identify and explore careers where creative problem-solving skills are crucial for success.
12. Creating Work for Application Portfolio: Creation of artwork that meets the portfolio requirements of your chosen school or institution.
13. Create work that demonstrates the principles of art and design: Unity/variety, Balance /emphasis, Rhythm, Repetition, Proportion/scale, Figure/ground
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PAINTING (Concentration)
This painting course offers a comprehensive exploration of painting techniques, materials, and artistic concepts. Through theory, historical context, and hands-on practice, students gain insight into various painting styles, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and a deep appreciation for the art form. From foundational principles to historical perspectives, this course guides students on a journey to develop their skills and understanding of painting, providing a solid foundation for artistic expression.
Exploring Color Theory: introduction to the color wheel, color relationships, and mixing techniques. Learn how to effectively use and mix color to convey mood, atmosphere, and emotion in paintings.
Brushes and Mark Making Techniques: Students will master the use of different brushes and explore various brush techniques to create a range of textures and effects. We will experiment with different painting techniques to add depth and dimension to the work.
Still Life Painting: Students will make compositions to create observational drawings of everyday objects in still life painting. Explore composition, light, and shadow, perspective and how to compose still life arrangements.
Landscape Painting: Explore landscape composition, atmosphere, distance, lighting and perspectives
Portrait Painting: In portrait painting as you learn the basics of facial anatomy, composition, and proportions. Discover how to capture the likeness and personality of your subjects as you bring your portraits to life on canvas.
Realism and Representational Painting Methods: artists strive to depict the world as accurately as possible. Explore techniques for capturing light, shadow, and form, and learn how to create lifelike representations of objects, landscapes, and figures.
Abstract Painting: Students will experiment with non-representational forms and discover new ways to express yourself through color, shape, and texture.
Mixed Media Painting and Collage: Students will experiment with mixed media techniques to explore the intersection of painting with other artistic disciplines such as collage, assemblage, and multimedia installation. Learn how to incorporate different materials and textures into paintings to create visually dynamic and conceptually rich artworks.
Art History and Critique: Projects and research on influential painters and painting movements
Final Portfolio: Apply your newfound skills and knowledge to create a final portfolio that showcases your creativity and technical proficiency. We will develop a series of artworks that reflect your unique interests, inspirations, and artistic vision, and compile them into a professional portfolio that showcases your growth and achievements as a painter.
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DRAWING (Concentration)
Students will learn drawing techniques such as lines, shapes, forms, perspective, value, texture, rendering and types of composition. Designed to foster individual artistic development, our projects are chosen to emphasize students technical proficiency, mastery of various media, conceptual ablities and expression of ideas. AEA encourages students to explore and embrace their distinctive artistic style and personal identity. Our portfolio development class fully prepares the student for Auditions and Interviews.
Understanding the foundational art and design principles and it’s elements: Exploring concepts of line, texture, contour drawing, shape and form explorations.
Drawing Media: Experimenting with graphite, colored pencils, charcoal, ink and pastels
Shape, Form, and Value: Understanding basic shapes, forms, and drawing techniques for realistic rendering
Perspective techniques, composition and layout principles to convey depth in drawings
Principles of Composition: Exploring different compositional arrangements and layouts.
Expressive Drawing and Mark-making Techniques: experimenting with style for self-expression.
Integration of Art History, Color Theory
Example Portfolio Projects:
Self Portrait from observation. Proportional measurement of facial features, understanding the planes of the face and how to capture an expression.
Still Life Drawing: Developing observation skills, measuring using proportion, composition of objects within the picture plane, manipulation of graphite to render directional light and shadow.
Figure Drawing: Understanding of human anatomy and proportional measurements. Capturing gesture and clothing details using a live model. Composing the figure within a background environment.
Additional pieces in any medium, 2D or 3D, open subject matter chosen by student.
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GRAPHIC DESIGN and DIGITAL ART (Concentration)
For this area of concentration, students will be introduced to the foundational principles, tools, and techniques of graphic design. They will explore topics such as visual communication, design theory, and the use of industry-standard software to craft designs that are both impactful and effective. Throughout the course, students will enhance their ability to analyze and respond to design principles, while also developing their creative thinking skills and problem-solving abilities. The projects in the course will guide students through the stages of Creating, Presenting, Responding, and Connecting, providing a comprehensive learning experience in graphic design.
Students will be introduced to foundational Art and Design principles, tools, and practices of graphic design.
Projects engage visual communication and design theory: Students will learn about the principles of visual communication and design theory, including how to effectively convey messages through design.
Students will develop creative problem-solving skills, learn about the design process, design thinking and methodologies of design research, Our approach to learning fosters a creative mindset, encouraging students to think about their users and target audiences.
Students will improve their skills in typography, understanding how to effectively use fonts and text in designing compositions.
Students will learn to develop their ideas and utilize of various media to express form and structure across platforms and gain proficiency in industry-standard software including Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
Students develop a deeper understanding of who they are as a designer through critique, reflection and response. they will also research the work of designers and draw inspiration from historical and contemporary work in order to give context to their design practice.
Apply design thinking strategies to identify a problem and the create prototypes and documenting solutions.
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