accepted animation portfolio walkthrough! | calarts, sva, accd, risd + more :D

[@wrappedonigiri]

more tips i forgot to mention: in my experience it’s good to spend school breaks (esp during summer) getting all the ‘thinking’ done for upcoming projects and essays - concepts, stories, what skill you want to show, essay outlines (like your answer to those ‘why did you choose this major’ questions) - so you can focus the rest of the portfolio grind when school starts on ur execution/bringing the projects to fruition; the thinking/brainstorming part usually took me the longest time for my pieces 😭 and i often did Not have the energy to think abt my pieces properly while school was in session… but also everyone has their own process and pace + remember to rest during breaks, as that’s really important too! as long as you get it done then i think that’s enough 😌 (also where are these views coming from. im scared)

[@Junqi0]

oh my gosh, thank you so much for this video. It's really hard to find an accepted portfolio where the artist really explains everything and with advice. I'm a rising senior and am also aiming for some top animation schools and this video not only brought me info but also some comfort :,) Congratulations on CalArts, you'll do amazing!!!

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@Junqi0 i was a bit worried i may have overshared haha but i’m glad you found it useful 😭 being a rising senior is one of the toughest times of the portfolio prep in my experience - good luck with it all, and thank you very much!! ❤️

[@m00ki_i]

Dude you don’t need art school…art school needs you !

[@wrappedonigiri]

😭daww i appreciate it, but there's definitely a lot more i still need to learn 😤💪

[@Mag1cA]

you are amazing! I was also accepted to an animation school in my country a couple of months ago and will start my degree in October, and I can definitely understand why you have so many schools wanting you and offering scholarships. good luck on your degree and art journey :)

[@wrappedonigiri]

thank you so much, and ayee that's wonderful to hear! it sounds quite nice to be able to study in your own country, i'm a bit nervous about having to go somewhere so far away 😭best of luck to you too!!

[@Mag1cA]

@@wrappedonigiri don't want to make it political but I live in Israel so going far away sounds kind of nice tbh 😂 jokes aside I'm sure it'll be fine! it's just an experience for a few years than life goes on :) and regardless I can assure you a person with your talent/experience will do just fine 👍

[@hanaisacartoon]

omg I’m going to calarts char anim as a freshman next year too!! this showed up on my explore bc I’ve been so sucked into calarts yt for so long 😭😭 BUT THIS PORT IS SO BEAUTIFUL IM CRYING SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU THIS AUGUST AND CONGRATS 🤝🤝🙈🙈

[@linachuwu9219]

You're so skilled ahhh!!! I'm currently working on my portfolio for an internship for 3D game art animation, and it's so fun seeing how different our portfolios have to be!

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@linachuwu9219 an internship sounds exciting, good luck good luck!! and thank you very much haha, it really is cool seeing what people from different fields specialise in 😤

[@ozzypants7660]

oh wow i need to step my game up to get into these colleges 😓😓 CONGRATS ON ALL THE ACCEPTANCES AND SCHOLARSHIPS!!!!

[@wrappedonigiri]

highkey this is what i also thought when i was getting into the grind of portfolio prep, looking at other accepted portfolio videos 😭try not to let it discourage you, let it motivate you instead!! thank you and good luck 🫡 !!

[@DeaconBlu35]

As an art student going to MCAD in a few weeks, it’s crazy how you’ve been able to develop something so professional before even going into college. How are you able to keep yourself accountable and motivated? I generally find that I have stretches of days where I don’t draw at all and have zero direction with what my next project will be. I also have a very hard time motivating myself to keep a physical sketchbook. How do you keep consistency with your practice?

[@wrappedonigiri]

first off, thank you!! and i actually don't know if i'll be able to replicate this amount of grinding ever again 😭 a lot of it was due to the stress of the deadlines, but i also had weekly meetings with my art teachers who kept me on track! the portfolio was also completed over like 3-4 years, so it's more like i was able to slowly amass a large portfolio over time rather than being super efficient. having periods of time with low motivation is totally normal, pretty much all artists get art blocked! in my experience it's not great to push yourself, and i remember my teachers would recommend taking time off - gain inspiration from watching movies or reading books, playing video games, visiting art galleries, doing research into topics that interest you, talking to friends and teachers, and just going out there and living life in order to have experiences you can draw from which can inspire your work! you can make a moodboard of artwork/stories/styles/anything that inspires you, which i do and find useful. 'per aspera ad astra' and 'this is not a place of honour''s stories took at least a month just to brainstorm, and only through those methods did i finally find a direction to go with them. i still struggle to come up with concepts/directions for my work tbh ;; but this kinda boils down to your own artistic voice/beliefs/morals imo, you could ask yourself what things you believe in/want to represent/pay homage to? things like 'i love my family and want to draw something that represents that', 'ayo nuclear radiation is scary', or 'i believe in the indomitable human spirit!!' were some thoughts that inspired my work/stories. the practice of keeping a physical sketchbook is definitely a habit that needs to be built up (i wasn't huge on keeping observational sketchbooks until i started preparing for calarts!) i'd say start small, like setting time aside to draw one object you see in front of you each day. apologies for the lengthy response ^^' i hope it helps somewhat, good luck on your art journey! remember that rest periods are necessary in the grand scheme of things, so don't be too down on yourself if you're feeling unmotivated!

[@DeaconBlu35]

@@wrappedonigiri thanks so much dude! This was super helpful and I wish you the best!

[@NiqDucoteArt]

Can’t wait to meet ya at CalArts in the fall! 🎉🎉🎉

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@NiqDucoteArt i could say the same!! and thank you 🥰

[@oliv8386]

thank you!! I really like ur art, they're all so pretty

[@Plotow.18]

THATS AWESOME SO UNDERRATED BTW I LIKE YOUE EDIT STYLE AND THE MUSIC IS SO GREAT GOODJOB

[@wrappedonigiri]

THANK YOU THANK YOU!! i'm glad you think so, i spent a day stressing over what music to choose haha

[@disfiguredproportions_art]

Wowie-you’re insanely talented!

[@wrappedonigiri]

thank you very much!!

[@roro7332]

Congratulations!!! I think it’s too late for me to congratulate you now () I am also a student applying for Calarts, I kind of lost about the intro video, can you share some topic that you talk in the intro video? Thank you so much! And have a nice college year!❤

[@wrappedonigiri]

no worries, it's never too late ahaha i appreciate it! for me, i mainly introduced myself, like where i'm from, and what inspired me to pursue art. i also included some fun facts about myself (like how many pets i have, what i like and dislike, etc), then concluded it by talking about my love for animation. i'd recommend talking about what your inspirations are, and include some fun things about yourself that you may not have mentioned in your artist's statement! the video introduction doesn't need to be anything really fancy - i assume the admissions officers just want to see what you're like as a person, but it's definitely not the most important part of your portfolio, so don't stress out too much about it!

[@roro7332]

@@wrappedonigiri omg! I’m so surprise you answered me so fast! Thank you for the advice!! It’s very helpful! I will try to record my video again! I already watched this video 10+ time, I really appreciate you explaining many things very clearly! Hope we can meet at calarts one day😭

[@lorrainesworld281]

My mom knows your dad irl, really my opinion: Slayyyyyy!!! I don't think I can do that YET, but ill try to work harder. (Also the yapping part ✨✨✨)

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@lorrainesworld281 YAPPING MY BELOVED 🗣🗣 but daang thats awesome!! i remember my dad showing this video to others when it was first published ahahaha, also yess you'll be able to reach this level and go further beyond for sure 😤💪

[@bthoughtdaughter]

if possible can you do a short video talking about how you documented your work, like taking good pictures of your physical media and such? Im finding it hard to take good photos from home of my work? Loved your video a lot

[@wrappedonigiri]

thank you so much 🥰!! i was fortunate enough to get the photos done in a studio, where they had professional equipment - there are definitely ways to diy that kind of setup within your home though; if you search up 'how to photograph your art' by sketchbook skool on youtube, that video has some pretty good tips and is basically a more home-made approach to the setup in the studio. try to find a consistent light source (daytime is the best) and make sure your camera is level with your work, and afterwards you can make adjustments through apps like photoshop or your phone's built-in photo editor). photo taking is definitely difficult, but i'm sure most schools won't be expecting extremely professional-looking photos - as long as it's a clear photo of your work, then you should be all good! good luck!

[@abigayspence3223]

No girly you make my portfolio look like a joke omg this is amazing wow well I have to start over my portfolio

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@abigayspence3223 nooo it’s no good to think like that 😭😭 everyone has their own strengths and i’m sure your portfolio is wonderful and speaks to your own abilities!! don’t give up and don’t completely start over (or at the very least keep your old art, your future self will want to look back on it)!!

[@abigayspence3223]

@@wrappedonigiri thank u I was speaking to my teacher about it and he said same things sometimes I overthink so

[@whisp4937]

this is so awesome!

[@cowcowbh]

Hello! Congrats on getting into art school! I am currently trying to get into art school but I am a bit worried about not having enough time to complete my portfolio. Question: since you didn’t have access to a live model you used the internet right? I also don’t have access to a live model. I want to a calarts qna and said the model needed to be in person if not then it’s not life drawing. They said it didn’t matter if the model is clothed. What should I do?

[@wrappedonigiri]

thank you thank you!! time is definitely a big issue, maybe you can try to set a schedule with goals for yourself to hit? a portion of my portfolio (mainly the observational work) was crunched during the september-december period, so there's definitely still a bit of time even after summer ends (as long as you're willing to possibly sacrifice your grades for it 😭) about the life drawings - honestly i feel like i cheated by using online models, they definitely would prefer if they were live but i guess they were lenient with my portfolio? in my sketchbooks i made sure to include actual live models so that may have made up for it, but tbh sometimes they might not be able to tell if it's online or not 😅 you can ask your friends and family to pose for you, and base your life drawings off of them! in the sheridan summer course i asked this question to the instructor, and that was his advice. just drawing them when they're doing something casual like laying down or watching tv should also count towards your figures. (if you want less of a chance of being suspected of using online models, you can look through your own photo album and try drawing from there!) in all honesty, i do think i'm struggling with life drawing due to my reliance of online models; i've been trying to make up for it by drawing my parents and pets daily lol so hopefully yours won't mind/will understand! best of luck to you!!

[@cowcowbh]

@@wrappedonigiri thank you so much for responding! Means a lot!

[@wrappedonigiri]

​@@cowcowbh no problem!! i've also just remembered that there's a playlist on youtube by joshua jacobo called 'friday evening figure drawing' - they're recordings of real life drawing sessions, so it should be able to give you a good feel of what they're like. i didn't find those videos until i was already almost done with my portfolio ;0; but maybe you could give that a try!

[@bugtheblasee]

your art is great! im curious, what were your extracurriculars and was there a gpa requirement if you dont mind me asking? congrats on getting in!! (also sorry for being so clueless about college applications)

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@bugtheblasee ahhh thank you so much, and no worries - the application process is super convoluted 😭 i didn’t have many outstanding extracurriculars tbh, i mainly joined clubs in my school that were relevant to my major (so like art and animation clubs)! and i’m not sure if the schools had any specific grade/gpa requirements, but i would assume having a higher gpa would give you an advantage. a lot of more technical application information can usually be found on school websites, so make sure to do your research 💪

[@ms.taylortot5850]

I’m currently compiling all my pieces for submissions but I was going to ask, how did you scan your physical pieces and make them look so clean? Did you take photos and edit them in adobe? Or scan the pieces on a printer/take high resolution photos? This is a super helpful video, and a great portfolio!

[@wrappedonigiri]

i was lucky enough to have access to a professional studio to take the photos, and yes i edited them using the photos app editor as well as adobe indesign/photoshop (unfortunately, my scanner made things look quite blurry 😭)! there are a lot of youtube tutorials on how to take good photos of physical media by DIY-ing your own setup though! sketchbook skool's 'how to photograph your art' as well as art prof: create & critique's 'ultimate guide on how to photograph your 2d art' has some great advice. my main tips would be to find a consistent light source (such as taking photos using natural sunlight and during daytime), and making sure your camera is level/aligned with your work. good luck, and thank you!!

[@ms.taylortot5850]

@@wrappedonigiri thank you so so much for your time! I really appreciate it!!

[@smoothandsoft]

Omg this is so cool! Thank you!

[@youtubemensch8793]

Wow so good! 😍

[@YejooKim-jw1nl]

WOW U R SO COOL

[@wrappedonigiri]

OMG KZbin USER YejooKim-jw1nl MY COOLEST SUBSCRIBER?? THANK YOU 😌🫵

[@YejooKim-jw1nl]

@@wrappedonigiriWOW DO U SEE THIS EVERYONE IM COOLER THAN U

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@YejooKim-jw1nl ok let's not get too cocky now >:(

[@YejooKim-jw1nl]

@@wrappedonigiri 😾

[@felyciaed266]

Holy crap youre so good, I am scared of picking up my pen ever again my basics arent even that good and I only have a year left. Can I ask if the specifics of how you manage your time while doing this since school usually takes up so much of my life (the IB is horrid)? Otherwise, congrats on getting into the top unis!!

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@felyciaed266 a lot can change in one year, keep at it and you’ll do great!! i can definitely relate with school getting in the way of portfolio prep 😭 i’d say i’m kinda lucky bc a-levels allowed more time for me to work, at least more than what i heard ib is like,, as for time management - i had weekly progress checks with a teacher through online sessions which kept me on track, and i mainly spent the weekends drawing; i was fortunate enough to have a lot of free periods during school that i used to work on my portfolio as well haha, but on weekdays i often didn’t have much energy to do much esp after completing homework 😭 you might have to prepare yourself for possible grade drops, but hang in there + you got this!

[@felyciaed266]

@@wrappedonigiri i see, thankyou so much for the advice! I dont have a teacher that can supervise me but yeah i should probably prepare for some grade drops. Thankyou for replying, I hope the best for your art journey!

[@xignitex5256]

Congrats !!! I am so amazed that you have achieved so much in such less time. Also, I have a question for scholarship regarding SCAD, how was the scholarship ship given, was it given after reviewing your portfolio or your Gpa. I am currently interested in applying to SCAD so any reply would be helpful. Thank you.

[@wrappedonigiri]

thank you thank you!! as for scholarships, i think for most schools you are automatically considered for a scholarship as soon as you submit your application (although i remember SVA needed you to submit by a certain deadline in order to be eligible) - SCAD notified me of my scholarship amount in my email of acceptance. my school didn't calculate grades based off of a GPA, so my guess is that at least for art schools, they mainly look at your portfolio to determine how much you get in scholarship money - hope that helps!

[@SinisterIsBad]

Is there any kind of template that you might recommend for typing out your descriptions for each piece? I've been watching a lot of videos on other people's portfolios and how they typed out their descriptions, and some go for a more story oriented explanation, while others explain what their inspiration/experimentation were behind each piece. Is there a route you would suggest, and if colleges are looking for a specific one?

[@wrappedonigiri]

(if i'm going to be honest i don't even really know if colleges read through each and every description 😭it's definitely a lot of tedious work on both our and the reviewers' part...) i wouldn't exactly recommend a template since it can get pretty repetitive if you re-use one for all your descriptions, so i guess it really depends on what piece you're introducing! for observational pieces that don't necessarily have a story behind them you can go with something more brief and just describe what you're drawing/what materials you used; for creative pieces you would probably go more story-based and talk about your inspirations and process. some general guidelines that i kept in mind were to 1) try to keep them brief, between 100-200 words 2) state the concept/intention behind the piece (*this one's important!) 3) discuss artist references and inspiration (if applicable) 4) talk about the medium i used, and explain how this medium helps to convey the concept 5) (optional, if you have words to spare:) challenges faced while making the project/how i think i can improve it ...and then i would switch up the order of which i talked about these things for each description! very long answer but i hope it helps, feel free to dm me on instagram if you need someone to look over your descriptions, i'd be happy to help : D

[@SinisterIsBad]

​@@wrappedonigiri Thank you for taking time out of your day for this! I will dm you if I have any further questions about this subject matter!

[@artimation3808]

First off i like to say thank you for making this I'm currently working on making my portfolio as well and this was pretty inspiring to see and pushes my to keep working. I have a few questions tho first of im you portfolio development did start with creative works first and did the more technical pieces like the observations and life drawing later on or was it a mix of the two? Secondly are there and sites or channels that aided your portfolio development? Finnally how long did it take to fully complete your portfolio, i plan on completing mine over the summer but i feel its not enough time thnks for the advice!

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@artimation3808 i’m glad it helps!! to answer your questions: 1: yep, that was my general process - my observationals were done mainly in the last 2-3 ish months of my portfolio development since they took the least amount of time to do + my skills were more developed then, although ‘catfish’ was an outlier bc i also did that project towards the end 2: i didn’t use it /that/ much but i heard that the calarts hopefuls discord can be quite helpful, along with any hopefuls discord server of schools you may be interested in! they often have current students and other applicants who are willing to help. i would also look at the portfolios of artists i admired for inspiration (some of them post theirs on youtube or artstation), and i also had two portfolio teachers that i would consult for advice on my pieces, and another one who gave advice on my essays. 3: i was kinda working on it on and off for like 3 years? but the grind of it didn’t really start until around august-december 2023; i’ve seen people start their portfolios in september and do really well 😭 not sure if that’s recommended though, and depending on how much you already have completed you’ll probably have to continue working into the school year, but that’s kinda normal in my experience. good luck!!

[@nikolinatrogrlic]

Hi if you don't mind me asking what softwares do you use for your portfolio I'm currently working on one right now but struggling to find softwares to use

[@wrappedonigiri]

to make the artwork, i usually worked on procreate to create my digital pieces - for the layout and formatting, i used adobe indesign! i also used my iphone photo editor + adobe lightroom + photoshop to edit photos of my traditional pieces. a lot of these programs require money/takes time to learn, though, so i'd recommend finding free alternatives; any vector-based design program would be good (like canva, which is a free and can be found online!)

[@hmwong88]

Good for you to choose CalArts!!! Way better than shitty Sheridan.

[@emryslaurel]

Man, im so stressed out about my portfolio 😭 i have so many things i wanna say and show them and i have so many stories, but im scared that my actual work wont "live up to their expectations" or that ill run out of time... Any advice on this 😢

[@wrappedonigiri]

ayee it's a great thing that you're full of ideas! but yeah i can totally understand the stress of time and expectations ;0; i'd recommend picking out just a handful of what you would consider your best stories (maybe around 3?) for your portfolio pieces, and include the rest of your ideas as sketches/character designs/storyboards and notes in your sketchbook - imo admissions officers have so many portfolios to go through that a more focused portfolio might be better than one that's overly extensive (i can't say for sure though, since i'm not an admissions officer lol 😭but you can also do what i did and create one piece for each story, but showcase a different skill each time) time was always a big concern for me, but overthinking it makes it worse - sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and dive right into it, it's almost always easier to keep going once you've started. anxiety about expectations is normal, but i feel like art schools are more interested in your potential and passion than 'perfection'; they're there to help you hone your skills and help you improve, after all! just focus on what you can get done, and if they end up not accepting you then it's their loss 😤apologies for the lengthy reply but i hope this helps!

[@ennasy7997]

SO GOOD OMG, how did u get the scholarship?

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@ennasy7997 thank you thank you!! when you submit your application you’re immediately considered for the scholarships (i think SVA required you to submit by a certain deadline to be eligible?), i didn’t apply for any scholarships (since i’m an international student and couldn’t qualify for a lot of them 😭) the amount is decided by the school itself!

[@faroohakhanb2104]

What software did you do the short animations in? the one where the ball turns into a man and the others similar?

[@wrappedonigiri]

those were done on roughanimator (a paid app, i used my ipad), but you can really make animations on any software that offers it!

[@GuardianSpirits13]

it is lost on m why RIT is so picky about its animation program, I took a handful of animation courses there and they're pretty par for the course, nothing like I'd imagine CalArts to be like!

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@GuardianSpirits13 it was a humbling experience to say the least 😭 i asked my friend and she suspected that they assumed i would be aiming for other universities and wanted to save a spot for people that were more likely to actually attend RIT....hope you had a good experience there though!!

[@RRpickle]

Is it possible to add an MP4 file among the portfolio images of SVA?

[@wrappedonigiri]

it's been a while since i've used slideroom, but to my knowledge yes i think they accept mp4 files!

[@RRpickle]

@@wrappedonigiri thanks❤️❤️🥹🥹

[@anabelle2034]

The GENSHIN music 😩

[@wrappedonigiri]

NEUVILETTE PFP 🫵 i don't play it much anymore but man the music slaps so hard

[@mojoryse7836]

jeepers nice work :o

[@redgoose0]

Wait... did you by any chance go to the SVA 2022 summer pre-college course?

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@redgoose0 no i did not ^^’ was there another student with the name celine :0?

[@redgoose0]

@@wrappedonigiri no, sorry! it's just that the snippet of your animated short looked very similar to a classmate's! thought you might have been them, glad to meet a new artist tho!

[@edgarpena7503]

What programs do you usually use for your projects ?

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@edgarpena7503 i mainly used procreate for the digital art, edited photos in adobe lightroom, and formatted everything in adobe indesign!

[@cyancat8633]

Cool might go vieodswith failed and succus ful artist tk seeif their styles means anything

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@cyancat8633 sure, why not! it's a bit hard to judge just from watching videos though, since there are often other outside factors that might influence a portfolio reviewer's decision that we don't really know about 😭 i've seen some phenomenal artists get rejected sometimes and i have no idea why

[@LisaChe-sn9ot]

I live in Canada, Sheridan or calarts

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@LisaChe-sn9ot ooh that's a difficult one to answer 😭😭 i think it definitely depends on what you're looking to take away from either school; to me sheridan is very technical and a great place to improve your draftsmanship and art skill, as you might be able to tell from their portfolio requirements - since you're a domestic student you'll also have a slight advantage as the cutoff percentage is more lenient (and the tuition fees are lower)! with calarts it feels more 'laissez-faire' so to speak, the portfolio tends to put an emphasis on life drawing but the rest of the portfolio is very free game, though they definitely want your fundamentals to be fully developed. i'd say that calarts also encourages more actual film-making, so perhaps it depends on whether you want to develop your skills in technique and draftsmanship (not saying that calarts doesn't help you improve these skills, but i feel like there's less of an emphasis) or to exercise more of your creative muscles and make films? hopefully that helps! (feel free to dm me on instagram if you have follow up questions, since for some reason i can't reply to youtube comment threads 😭)

[@koichimi8475]

idk if you said it in the video but what website did you do this portfolio on??

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@koichimi8475 i did my layouts using photoshop and adobe indesign, but i think any vector-based design program should work, like canva for example! you’re right i forgot to mention it in the video 😭 edit: not sure why youtube decided to delete my response to your other question bUT no worries about asking!! iirc on the common app there's usually a separate section under each school where they'll provide a link to their SlideRoom (which is what i'm referencing at 10:11) where you'll need to make an account and upload your artwork; some schools might need you to make an account and finish your application + upload your work on their own website! hope this helps :D (feel free to hmu on insta bc youtube often forgets to notify me of replies ^^')

[@koichimi8475]

@@wrappedonigiri and i’m a rising senior and still very confused on the application process a little bit but where did you upload it after you made them? like was there a section in common app or somewhere bc i just don’t know where to actually attach and upload mine .. IM SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS.😭

[@trixie5135]

WOW! 60k for Scad is amazing! Did it cover your entire tuition?

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@trixie5135 thank you!! iirc it was enough to cover a little over 1 year of tuition but not for the entire tuition 😅 art school is expensive :,D

[@trixie5135]

Oh yikes! Well, it’s still amazing! Keep up the amazing work 😊

[@chlouyan]

im sorry for ever picking up a pencil

[@wrappedonigiri]

@@chlouyan nahh come on man don’t think like that 😭 i’ve been there and sometimes it can be overwhelming when you compare yourself to other artists but try not to give into self deprecation!! ik this comment might not be that serious but i believe in you 💪 don’t give up and keep picking up that pencil 💪

[@murbixart]

amazing portfolio, your figure drawings are incredible! Good luck in CalArts! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧