Submit your portfolio Belfast School of Art Portfolio Submission

Generally your portfolio should include designs and development towards animated / screen-based media. It should showcase interest and understanding of animation or visual storytelling. It does not need to be complex or advanced as all the practical skills are taught from scratch on the course.

Could include for example:

• Storyboards
• Character designs
• Asset or Environment concept art
• Simple 2D animation A bouncing ball for example
• Flip book
• Simple 3D Modelling A simple character
• asset/scene using simple shapes
• A short stop motion animation
• A simple Film Edit/compositing/VFX

While a formal qualification in Art & Design will not be required, an interest in art and design in general will be expected. Applicants MAY be interviewed prior to entry. For Animation, the portfolio requirement is somewhat different to other Art & Design subjects. Many of our applicants and students are working with a wide range of 2D and 3D digital media, traditional media, technical design, and computer sciences.

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• Applicants should be aware that suspicion of plagiarism or the use of Generative AI within the portfolio may necessitate a request for the submission of original project files.
• You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.
• Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc.
• If you are submitting larger video files, these can be shown through an online video link (YouTube/Vimeo) or a shared download link of the video itself, copied into the PDF. For 3D work you should submit images or video renders of your models or a Sketchfab link rather than the file itself.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

We have put together a suggested list of free tools that you may find helpful for developing your portfolio. Please note that these are suggestions. It is NOT a requirement to use or have prior knowledge in using these tools before entering the course.

2D applications/software

• Krita (Win & MAC)
• Procreate (iPad)
• Storyboarder (Win & Mac)
• Rough Animator (Free Trial for Win & MAC)

Stop Motion Applications

• Stop Motion Studio iOS
• Stop Motion Studio Android

3D Modelling & Sculpture Software

• Blender
• ZbrushCoreMini

Please also see below for some links that might help your portfolio development:

• Doug Compton - Animator - Has some great drawing lessons on shape and forms for animation
• Etherington Brothers - Some quick tips on forms and shapes
• Luis Escobar - Simpson's storyboard artist - A great article about drawing forms
• Think With Forms, Not Lines: Take Your Drawing to the Next Level
• Ron Doucet - TV Show animator - Article about line of action and posing of character forms

And if you want to try some animation out:

• Blender
• Intro to Blender
• 3D Animation in Blender

You are invited to submit a portfolio of your own work, consisting of between 15 – 20 slides maximum. Please ensure your images are placed large enough on the page to see your work clearly, don’t overlap images.

You will be offered a place on the course based on your portfolio. Please note, all portfolios are to be submitted digitally.

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.
• Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

This portfolio should demonstrate how you explore and express your ideas and interests in Art and Design. We are interested in final outcomes, but the development of your work is of equal importance to include as it shows how you research and make decisions. We want to see how you experiment and express your ideas as well as resolve a piece of work.

We are looking for students who are passionate about following a career in Art or Design or Digital Design, can work independently, are willing to collaborate and to share experiences; to write, research and to present.

You can illustrate this by including whatever type of work best represents you and your passion to study Art and Design.

We look for work made from first-hand sources that shows experimentation, inventiveness, innovation, exploration, and a willingness to push beyond comfort zones.

Content

The portfolio should include a range of work, such as:

• Work made from first-hand observation, such still life, life drawing (human figure) or sketches
• Developmental work, such as sketchbook pages, worksheets, notebooks, material samples, and experimentation
• Images of completed 3D project work: ceramics, sculpture, product design, mock-ups, textiles or fashion
• Images of completed 2D work: drawings, paintings, printmaking
• Visual and contextual research, such as sketchbook pages, annotations or written notes
• Your own Photography
• Animation or video work (hyperlink must be pasted in the PowerPoint if your animation or film is on Vimeo etc).

Top Tips

• Show us your best, most up-to date work – be selective! It’s better to have fewer slides of quality pieces to show us rather than lots of work just for the sake of it
• Clean Layout: 1 image per slide/page with a caption – scaled up (otherwise we cannot see your work or understand what it is we are looking at) on plain white background to make it easy to view. Keep it professional.
• Take clear photographs of your work. Consider the lighting and avoid busy backgrounds that detracts from your work (cropping tool can help with this)

We look forward to reviewing your portfolio. Best of Luck!

The Foundation Team

Why do we ask for a digital portfolio?

We look at portfolios to help us in our selection process. Seeing your portfolio gives us an idea of your skills and helps us understand if you will enjoy studying with us, have the potential to thrive on the course and to make sure that BDes Hons Design is the right course for you. Your digital portfolio is a way of presenting to us the collection of visual imagery and projects that you have made. The most successful portfolios show a range of skills from initial sketches and ideas to research, experimentation, use of materials and techniques to your creative outcomes. We are very keen to see these sorts of approaches to show us your commitment to generate great work.

A good portfolio should contain quality work, it’s not about quantity. Be selective about what to include and avoid repetition, we would recommend 15 to 20 pieces.

How to format your portfolio

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.
• Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

What are we looking for?

Depending on whether you’ve been studying Art and Design, Technology and Design, or indeed both, your portfolio might look quite different. Regardless of content we’re looking for the same things:

• A passion for, and basic understanding of, product design/ceramics/silversmithing & jewellery/metals involved in undergraduate study.
• An enthusiasm for making that demonstrates your creativity and imagination.
• Drawing and thinking skills – in the broadest sense.
• Your ability to generate and develop ideas within an exploratory theme or design brief.
• An awareness of collaborative practice/team working.
• An experimental approach to handling and developing materials and processes.
• Who or what inspires you in in the field of Art and Design, particularly Designer Makers, Craftspeople, movements or styles and objects.
• Who are you reading about, who inspires your work? Remember also, the course has a significant written component in history and cultural theory, so writing ability is also a useful indicator for us of your research interests.

Above all, we are looking for your potential to learn and progress, and that you have ambitions for a future in the creative industries.

What should your digital portfolio contain?

Drawings, Sketchbooks, Source Material, Photographs

Your portfolio needs to demonstrate drawing skills in the broadest sense and should include any of the following: analytical observational drawing, visual recording (collage, printmaking etc.) life drawing, design sketching, solutions to problems. If, as part of your study, you keep a sketchbook we would like to see examples from that showing how you think and develop ideas relevant to the real world.

Pages from your sketchbooks reveal how you research and utilise imagery and how you develop concepts to finished ideas through experiment or by following a design process. They will show us how you approach a project as well as the subject matter that inspires you - think about reasoned development as well as its resolution.

You should, if possible, include some examples of primary and secondary research, source material, such as exhibition visits, study trips abroad, and what might influence your own aesthetic and practical development. Include visual references to contemporary artists and designers, and references to contemporary and historical practices that show your interest in making and designing and craft in the widest sense.

If you study Technology and Design we are keen to see the sketch pages that underpin your final designs, show us how you frame a problem and then explore and resolve it through drawing.

Making

Evidence that you enjoy designing and using materials. We want to see 2D to 3D design development and experimentation with materials. Bring two to three examples or photographs of your 3D work, maquettes, models and finished designs that you are confident in are helpful and informative to review.

Projects

We want to see how you develop an idea and how you research and respond to a project brief. Show evidence of a project in your portfolio that demonstrates creativity, a deep involvement in your work and your conclusion or final idea. This could be any art or design project, either as part of your course or an independent project. Please feel free to include any projects you have taken on outside of your studies as this shows you can work independently, without being driven by a brief or a deadline.

We look forward to seeing your portfolio!

Shane Porter & Howard Wright

Course Directors, BDes Hons Design

This practice based course is for those who want to create the next generation of apps, websites, and digital experiences. Our graduates help to shape the world through the design of everything from products like Spotify to digital services dealing with global security. You will be introduced to innovative creative skills as well as the technical know-how to support you in a rapidly changing industry.

What is Digital Design?

BDes Digital Design at the Belfast School of Art spans web, app, and digital product design, branding, user experience design and research, user interface design, typography, visual storytelling, service design, virtual and augmented reality experiences, emerging technology and the exploration of designing with Artificial Intelligence. As digital designers we are primarily creative problem-solvers. Enthusiastic and adaptable, our students explore the potential of digital design in our ever-changing world.

What is a digital portfolio?

Your digital portfolio is a way of presenting a collection of visual images and projects you have created. The most successful portfolios show us your range of skills from initial sketching of ideas, to research, experimentation and the use of different techniques and materials to your final creations.

What should I include in the Digital Design digital portfolio?

We suggest your digital portfolio should comprise a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 images/slides of work. Select work that you are passionate and confident about, work that demonstrates how you apply practical skills to explore different media and creative processes. We are interested in how you develop your ideas through sketches and visual concepts. Let the work speak for itself and be proud of what you have created.

What format should the digital portfolio be in?

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.
• Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

Thank you for your application to the BA Hons Fine Art course at Belfast School of Art, Ulster University. We seek applicants who are creative, dedicated and enthusiastic about art, and open to new ideas and approaches.

Please submit a digital portfolio that best represents your artwork, interests and research.

Digital Portfolio Guidelines

· Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept other file formats or multiple attachments.

· You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.

· Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages, etc.

· Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

In your portfolio you should include:

Short Statement (a single A4 page)

· Tell us about your work. Explain the images, objects, and other artworks you have made, the media and materials you have used, the ideas and subject matter you have explored and why you want to study Fine Art.

· We would like to hear about artists or artworks that interest you and galleries and exhibitions you have visited. You can tell us about art books, catalogues or films about art you have looked at.

· Also tell us about your wider interests, which may not be directly related to art but which may be sources of imagery, ideas or inspiration, e.g. films, books, sports, music, places, etc.

Images

· 20 to 24 pages of images of completed artworks (paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs, ceramics, videos, installations, performances), drawings and sketchbooks.

· It is useful to include examples of sketchbooks and experimentation alongside the documentation of more resolved pieces. Sketchbooks may include drawings, diagrams, notes, and evidence of research and ideas.

· If you have videos, animations, short films, websites, or online projects, include as screenshots, and/or by including web links to the sites or to YouTube/Vimeo.

· Photographs of work should be in focus without distracting backgrounds. A dry, overcast (but not too dark) day is usually the best light to document work either by a window or outside. Include the year, media used, dimensions (and title if there is one) under the image of the work. Tips on sketchbook photography can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKgWIzvm3Hs

If you have any questions, please contact the Course Director at  c.mchugh@ulster.ac.uk

We are interested in communication, through language, lettering, typography and images – the latter may be handmade, photographic, illustrated or other. Enthusiastic and adaptable to change, our students explore the potential of graphic design in response to contemporary society, communication needs and the various, in this digital age, platforms for communication. We encourage our students to develop their individual creative voice and visual language. Graphic Design at Belfast School of Art spans a broad range of skills and arenas, including typography, advertising, branding, art-direction, image-making, motion graphics, interface design and publishing, for traditional, digital and emerging contexts.

Thinking, idea generation and developing work through research, sketches, thumbnails and prototyping are central to the production of final graphic design outcomes. We encourage professionalism, broad cultural awareness and an international perspective. Our analytical approach enables us to engage with exciting graphic design challenges, to react to a rapidly changing industry and to develop as sensitive and intelligent practitioners.

We have criteria, which we use when assessing the portfolio of work and each criterion is graded. These are:

• Visual investigation – exploration in how you communicate themes, such as the use of language, images, lettering, colour, form, shape and/or space etc., evidence of inventiveness, creativity, imagination, willingness to experiment and push outside of comfort zones.
• Conceptual thinking – clearly demonstrates the development of ideas through practice e.g., worksheets, sketchbooks etc.
• Realisation of ideas – evidence of a range of outcomes.
• Creative selection and utilisation of materials – drawing, photography or writing to demonstrate core skills.
• Cultural awareness – evidence of knowledge of historic and contemporary practitioners within the field.
• The quality of organisation – design and presentation of the portfolio.

Digital Portfolio Guidelines

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• Your PDF should be no more than 20 pages e.g., 15 pages of recent project work and 5 pages of work from your sketchbooks. If you want to include moving image or animation work, please include a sequence of still images only.
• You can save most file types as a PDF – check the file-save-as options e.g., You could use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images. Select your images, import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages e.g., include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc. You do not need to include any written information in regard to the images.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

Textile Art, Design and Fashion (TADF) encourages you to develop skills and ideas for careers in the creative industries, as textile artists, textile designers and for roles in the fashion industry.  You will explore our 5 specialisms: embroidery, knit, weave, fashion, and print in well-equipped studios and workshops, using a range of digital and traditional technologies. You will gain skills in colour theory, drawing and collage and will learn about the historical and cultural significance of our subject along with possibilities for future careers before specialising in second.

Your digital portfolio should show us what inspires you, what you are enthusiastic about, how you develop ideas and complete work. You are applying for TADF so if you have textile or fashion work, show us, but we want to see broad art and design skills too.  We would like to see your interest in art and/or design so if you are inspired by specific artists and designers, include a page on them.

• Please send your digital portfolio as one PDF. We do not accept any other file formats or multiple attachments.
• You can save most file types as a PDF. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to create a presentation of your images.
• Select your images and import into PowerPoint. Take some time to make sure that you are happy with the selection and order of the material and the layout of each page. You may want to vary the layout of your pages, e.g. include several images on one page and one or two images on other pages etc.
• Label your PDF with your full name and UCAS ID (10 digit number) only in this order: SURNAME, FIRST NAME, UCAS ID.

Show us a range of work

Your digital portfolio should have a minimum of 15 pages or slides and maximum of 20.  You may need to be selective but try to show a breadth of work, skills and interests.  Several small images of different work could be grouped together in one page/slide to maximise the opportunity to show us your work.  Experiment with page layouts as you create the portfolio.

Show us how you think and develop your ideas

We are interested in how you start, develop and finish a project.  Include these stages, from the initial starting point or source of inspiration through to the finished piece.  You could include sketchbook pages, development sheets, preparatory sketches and the finished pieces.

Show us your practical skills

Select work that shows your ability to experiment with different media and materials.  We will be looking at use of colour, exploration of media, and personal style.  Include drawing, which could include observational, still-life, portrait, life drawing, abstract or expressive drawing.  We like to see collage and painting so if that is your strength, include it.  You could also show us 3D work, fashion illustrations and/or photography if relevant. If you work in photoshop or illustrator, include that, if you have textile sampling or evidence of your ability to work with fabric, yarns or threads include that too.  We are also interested in work you create outside your current school or college course.

Clear, in focus photographs or your work are important in the creation of a successful portfolio.  Photograph your work regularly and practice.  Try to take photos in natural light and if you don’t have a camera, a smartphone is fine.  There are many YouTube tutorials offering advice, we think this one is useful https://youtu.be/SOg4a1Ge-Ds and you can use photo editing apps too.

Your portfolio is communicating for you, so short captions/descriptions on each page are a good idea to help us understand and appreciate your work.

We want our applicants to be enthusiastic about art and design and textiles and fashion, so show us that enthusiasm and thank you for applying to TADF.

Don’t panic about the suggestions above, just take great photographs of your work and arrange them coherently.

We look forward to seeing your portfolio.

Good luck.

Hazel Bruce

Course Director for Textile Art, Design and Fashion.

Follow our instagram at tadf_insta and we have some excellent student testimonials on our prospectus pages. https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/textile-art-design-and-fashion-41248#video-gallery-2-3