Portfolio Preparation Short Course

Portfolio preparation courses at Kingston School of Art run annually as follows:

• Autumn 8 week evening class 2.5 hours per week
• 3 day intensives run in October, November, December and January.

Kingston University is one of the top creative institutions in the UK and we pride ourselves on our accessible, "thinking through making" ethos to all areas of art and design. Building on the long-established reputation of our foundation, degree and postgraduate courses we provide a series of flexible, constructive and relevant portfolio preparation courses.

The portfolio preparation course develops visual, practical and technical skills to give you the framework to build a varied portfolio that showcases your strengths, creativity and interests. Through a series of structured projects and workshops you will develop a broad understanding of the areas of art and design you might want to study further on foundation, at university, or beyond.

You will be taught by tutors with a wealth of experience teaching at this level and will receive advice about what constitutes a good portfolio folder, what should be included in it, and the range of drawing skills needed. You will deal with a range of approaches to drawing- from large scale from observation, touch and sound and with a range of materials, perhaps previously unused by you. Looking at image and text, connecting fine art practice to graphic design.

There is a history both in communication and fine art of using type and image in an exploratory and imaginative way. You will be encouraged to make your own decisions, focused on your area of interest, as to how you wish to incorporate the two areas. This should invest your folder with your personality and aspirations.

Mono printing from a human figure, with high quality results that are good for narrative sequential drawing and metamorphic transfer from one object to another to produce, with student application, 2 large drawings for your folder. Sketchbook work, and on-going research, will form an integral part of the preparation process, with the tutor showing you examples of current foundation students' sketchbooks to set the tone, whilst giving you research-related tasks to perform each week.

It is important that our staff can get to know you, and focus on your strengths and weaknesses in order that the most ground can be covered by each individual student. Staff working with you are thoroughly knowledgeable about the requirements of a good foundation folder, and will advise you for the duration of the course.

This course is designed to be completed in time to comply with the regulations for Foundation level entry, which mostly insist on a deadline of 31 January for applications. Whilst we cannot guarantee that the work produced will result in a place at your chosen institution, we can point to our expertise and wealth of experience in this field.

At the end of each portfolio preparation course you will be well underway with your plans for fully developing your portfolio.