| I graduated from art school and am now a software engineer. I went because when you're really good at drawing in high school--everyone tells you that you should be an artist, regardless of what else you may be good at. I believe my degree was worth it. If you want to learn technical skills, this article is spot on and has some great advice. There are some great resources he gives for learning this stuff fairly cheap. What I learned in art school was critical thinking, problem solving, perception, and observation. The most important things you get out of art school that are applicable to software: 1. How to critique work and talk about your work with others. Most studio classes are basically just a long critique of everyone's work. I use these skills everyday in software in code reviews and in my role as a manager mentoring others. 2. Problem solving. We regularly had assignments like "Draw a sequence of images defining density" or "Create a sculpture that defines the space between an architectural space and your body" or "Create an invention and build it with only brown paper lunch bags." It takes some novel thinking to come up with creative solutions to that shit. 3. How to deliver. You need to get stuff done and produce a volume of work to get good. Of the good friends I had in art school: - One is a paper sculptor and has made work for Facebook, Apple, Google, the Queen of Jordan, and has been a guest on Sesame Street. He also works with research scientists on solar cell development.
- One has been the visual effects supervisor for the Harry Potter films, the Dark Knight, and Star Trek Beyond.
- One is the director of a glass blowing school.
- One is a executive creative director at a large design agency. I would guess that every one of them would attribute part of their success to the art school they attended. |