{"id":820946,"date":"2025-09-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=820946"},"modified":"2025-09-03T15:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:44:36","slug":"should-you-go-to-art-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/should-you-go-to-art-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you go to art school? Creative professionals give their advice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This fall thousands of students, many of them artistically inclined, are going back to the classroom \u2013 and many of them are looking ahead to college. Often, a major question looms: Should I go to art school? <\/strong>There are so many options to pursue art as a career: teaching oneself, studying part-time at a community college, studying art at a traditional college, going to art school, or even going to an atelier or apprenticeship route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, we've interviewed countless working artists about their creative journeys. One question we almost always ask is their opinion about art school. Many of them went to art school, but some didn't. Some loved their art school experience, and some regretted it. Some wished they had gone to art school, and some are glad they didn't.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether or not to go to art school is a difficult question, and not just because it can often be expensive. Below, we've collected a handful of opinions from artists we've interviewed over the years. If you're asking yourself this question, then maybe their insight can help you make a decision!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carolina Pel\u00e1ez: \"College is a place of expansion and openness to possibilities.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\"I do believe that college is a place of expansion and openness to the possibilities that exist in the real world of creativity,\" says illustrator Carolina Pel\u00e1ez<\/a>. She loved learning, and having a supportive, structured place to do that. \"In my case, I\u2019ve greatly valued the support, professional seriousness, and knowledge I\u2019ve received from past teachers. I was always aware that I was the one who enjoyed acquiring that knowledge and saw creative potential in that information.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, experience is a better teacher than instruction, she says: \"On the other hand, I do believe that we should take charge of our learning and expertise, nurturing our skills and interests in a self-taught way, with discipline. I think that\u2019s what makes the difference between a very good artist at what they do; they have surely dedicated a lot of time to studying and practicing their craft. Some knowledge is not acquired in college, but through experience.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carolina Pel\u00e1ez on her nature-inspired vector illustrations, art school, and why she prefers freelancing<\/a><\/blockquote>