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BFA Portfolio Requirements

How to Develop Your Portfolio

• Start early. The more time you allow yourself to create, the more work you will have to choose from when preparing your portfolio. Ultimately, however, quality of work is more important than quantity.
• Challenge yourself. Take advantage of resources available at your school, in your community, and on your own time. Supplement your high school art experience with outside opportunities.
• Maximize your summers. Summer programs are a great way to build your portfolio.
• Include observational drawings. Most art and design colleges prefer that the majority of drawings submitted in the portfolio be derived from direct observation, which means drawing or painting from still life, figure models, or landscape. VCUQatar prefers observational drawings rather than drawings from photographs or from your imagination (such as fantasy characters or anime).
• Explore ideas in your work. Strong portfolios typically include work that demonstrates solid technical skills and reflects thoughts and concepts. Consider including work that speaks to your personal experiences, your culture, and so on.

How to Get Feedback on Your Creative work

• Get outside opinions of your artwork before the year in which you plan to apply. It is important to show your work to others and to ask for critiques with enough time to benefit from the feedback. This will help you be aware of your progress, as well as areas that may need further development. Teachers, other artists, designers, mentors, and college representatives can offer this type of informal review.
• Practice discussing your work. Don't be afraid to talk about your work and what it means to you. Select a couple of pieces to discuss. Think about when and why you created the work, what the work is about, and what media were used. Share what you like about the pieces and what can be improved.
• Meet with college representatives. Admissions counselors meet with students on campus, visit many high schools and community colleges, and host special events for prospective students.

BFA Portfolio Requirements

All applicants are required to submit a portfolio along with the required university application materials. The portfolio must consist of ten projects including the five mandatory portfolio exercises listed below, as well as five additional examples of your best and most recent work that show your current interests, an awareness of formal visual organizational principles and experience with a variety of tools, media, styles and approaches.

Online Portfolio Submissions

• Submit no more than ten projects (not to exceed 15 images)
• Images must be submitted in JPG format
• PDF documents are not accepted by the online application system - please upload images of your artwork in JPG format instead.

Mandatory Portfolio Exercises

Each exercise must be completed on a separate sheet of white A4 size paper. We recommend that you use good quality paper.

1. Make a work or a series of works (Up to 5 pieces of work) in response to the idea “Journey”. Use any medium that you feel appropriate.
2. Select three or more pieces of fruit and vegetables and arrange them in a composition of your choice. Draw or paint the composition using paint, color pencil or color pastel. You are expected to use color in this exercise. We will look at your use of color, light and composition.
3. Draw your own hand using pencil. The pencil should be 2B or softer. Consider how you position your hand so that it creates an interesting composition.
4. Crumple an A4 sheet of plain paper and place it under a strong light. Make a black ink drawing of the crumpled sheet. We will look at your understanding of light, shading and composition.
5. Take a plain piece of fabric (no patterns allowed) and drape it over a solid surface. Light the fabric with strong light. Draw the draped fabric paying close attention to tone, line, form and shape. Use a pencil 2B or softer.

Please note:

• Drawings must be done from looking directly at the object and not from photographs or other published material. Copies of anime, graffiti or tattoos will not be accepted.
• Candidates will be required to take a drawing test should inconsistencies appear in the quality of work submitted. Academic honesty and integrity are the standards expected and adhered to at VCUQatar. Candidates suspected of plagiarizing or including work done by others will be barred from admittance into VCUQatar.