Portfolio Prep:
Explore Your Creative Potential

Planning on applying to one of Art Center College of Design’s full-time degree programs? Diving deeply into a specific field is integral to the intensive Art Center experience, which means you’ll need to commit to a major beforehand.

Before making that critical decision, experience Art Center’s wide range of art and design possibilities with ACN. Take an introductory course to sample a discipline or, if you’ve already chosen a major, take related courses to strengthen your portfolio.

Art Center’s Admissions staff strongly recommends ACN because:

It is the most compact, intensive and direct way to prepare your portfolio for admission; 30—50 % of students accepted to the degree program have developed their portfolios through ACN.

Courses are taught by Art Center faculty who consider the College’s admissions requirements when structuring assignments; they provide you with the skills and direction necessary to develop a great body of work.

Use these course sequences to the right as a guide to plan your Art Center education. If you have questions, Admissions or ACN staff can assist you with course selections. After evaluating your current work, they’ll recommend a path that is right for you.

Although taking any or all of these classes does not guarantee admissions to Art Center, students who successfully complete ACN courses are well prepared and gain a sense of the competitive spirit, expectations and rigors of the College.

Classes may not be transferable to Art Center’s degree programs; some classes are not offered every term. See Transferable Courses and individual course descriptions for more information.

• Advertising

  • Introduction to Advertising

  • Introduction to Copywriting

  • Build Your Book: Intermediate Advertising

  • Introduction to Graphic Design

  • Digital Design 1

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Creative Sketchbook

  • Introduction to Figure Drawing

  • Sketching for Designers

  • Typography 1

  • Mastering Color for Illustrators and Designers

  • Mastering Composition and Design

  • Make it Great: Drawing and Design Concepts

• Entertainment Design

  • Introduction to Communication Sketching

  • Introduction to Figure Drawing

  • Perspective

  • Introduction to Entertainment Design

  • Introduction to Product and Transportation Design

  • Transpor-Tainment

  • Quick Sketch for Entertainment

  • Visual Communication and Form Development

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Creative Sketchbook

  • Costume and Fashion Design

  • Introduction to Environment Design

  • Basics of Interplanetary Flight

  • Spaceships and Robots

  • Courses in Photoshop, Illustrator or Painter

• Environmental Design

  • Introduction to Environmental Design

  • Intermediate Environmental Design

  • Furniture Design

  • Lighting Design

  • Introduction to Industrial Design Modeling

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Visual Communication and Form Development Tools

  • Courses in Photoshop, Illustrator, 3D Alias or Maya

• Graphic Design

  • Introduction to Graphic Design

  • Make it Great: Drawing and Design Concepts

  • Mastering Color for Illustrators and Designers

  • Mastering Composition and Design

  • Digital Design 1

  • Introduction to InDesign

  • Typography 1 OR Essential Typography

  • Graphic Design

  • Introduction to Package Design

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Creative Sketchbook

  • Basics of Digital Photography

  • Letterpress courses

  • Advanced Photoshop

• Film

  • Introduction to Filmmaking

  • The Art of Storytelling

  • Premiere Pro

  • Storyboarding

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Basics of Digital Photography

  • Documentary Filmmaking/p>

  • History of Cinema

  • Film Production Design

• Fine Art

  • Passion for Painting

  • Painting: Techniques OR Painting: Strategies

  • Printmaking Studio

  • Abstract Painting

  • Color and Light in Painting

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Materials of Art and Design

  • Studies in contemporary Sculpture

  • Introduction to Figure Drawing

  • Intermediate Figure Drawing

  • Introduction to Modernism

  • Contemporary Photo Practices

  • Installation Concepts

• Illustration

  • Introduction to Figure Drawing

  • Intermediate Figure Drawing

  • Basics of Painting OR Introduction to Painting

  • Mastering Color for Illustrators and Designers

  • Mastering Composition and Design

  • Illustration Techniques and Concepts

  • Composition and Painting

  • Head and Hands

  • Experimental Illustration Workshop

  • Courses in Photoshop, Illustrator or Painter

  Additional courses to supplement your development:
  

  • Perspective

  • Head Painting

  • Creative Sketchbook

  • Love for the Drawing Line

• Interaction Design

  • Introduction to Interaction Design

  • Web Fundamentals (Interactive Design 1)

  • Intro to Processing

  • Design Ethnography

  • Introduction to Graphic Design

  • Product Design: Basics

  • Product Design: Process

  • Physical Computing with Arduino

  • Storyboarding

  • Scenario-Based Design

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Service-Based Products: Designing the Intangible

  • Art of Storytelling

  • Motion Design 1

• Photography and Imaging

  • Basics of Digital Photography

  • Exploring Light

  • Photographing People

  • Intermediate Photo methods

  • Contemporary Photo Practices

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Basics of Photography

  • Courses in Photoshop or Illustrator

  • Creative Sketchbook

• Product Design

  • Introduction to Product and Transportation Design OR Product Design: Basics

  • Introduction to Communication Sketching

  • Perspective

  • Visual Communication and Form Development

  • Product Design: Process

  • Introduction to Industrial Design Modeling

  • Intermediate Product Design

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • History of Industrial Design

  • Shoe Design

  • Tools

• Transportation Design

  • Introduction to Product and Transportation Design

  • Introduction to Communication Sketching

  • Perspective

  • Visual Communication and Form Development

  • Transpor-Tainment

  • Intermediate Transportation Design

  • Introduction to Industrial Design Modeling

  • Advanced Vehicle Design

  Additional courses to supplement your development:

  • Basics of Digital Photography

  • History of Automobile Design

  • Tools