I came into UTRGV during the fall of 2017 with two years’ worth of college credits from high school.
I was excited to start learning more about my passion and build my portfolio.
My classes for the first semester were great for the most part.
The teachers are all passionate about what they teach and are more than willing to help their students out when they’re in need of help.
Despite there being an option to major in graphic design, the department feels more geared toward traditional art than digital. If you look at the degree plan for all the visual art majors, you’ll notice that there are more traditional classes offered than digital.
In fact, a lot of graphic design courses were pulled from the department after the university changed its name from University of Texas-Pan American to UTRGV, which has led some students to substitute classes for the courses that were pulled.
In my animation class, the instructor did not teach us how to operate the Adobe programs, assigned the class papers as project grades, did not know what a “story board” was, in terms of animation, and did not allow the class to use the Wacom Cintiqs (digital monitor tablets used to draw digitally). It left a lot of my classmates wondering what made her qualified to “teach” animation. The professor finally did teach the proper fundamentals; however, it was not taught by her. Instead, she showed us some tutorials on YouTube and expected us to follow along.
I feel as if there is a lack of freedom in individual creativity. A lot of classes offer fundamentals, but there is not a class where you can do as you please. It’s important that after graduation, your portfolio is not comprised of class assignments but your own individual work.
The obvious solution is to make time for individual projects; it’s easier said than done. All art classes take up 2½ hours of a student’s schedule. This is due to assignments being done in class. This can be difficult because becoming a full-time art student interferes with a person’s work schedule. It also doesn’t help that classes can’t be converted into online due to their obvious nature. Three classes alone will take up the entire day and that’s one day of work you could be missing out on for school.
Some students must work full time in order to support themselves and perhaps others, but it can be hard when dealing with art projects that require a lot of their time. Art can be a lengthy process for some, while others can get by easily. There have been instances in which you may need to turn in a rushed job due to time.
Overall, I will continue with my degree and try to do everything that I want to accomplish within that time frame. I look forward to learning more and networking with future clients.
