"Drawing", in its broadest definition, is a key element of any folio.

If this is analytical or objective it should be from first hand sources, whenever possible (not from photos). This is the best way to show first hand observational skills and conceptual skills of translation and understanding. As well as studies of single objects the drawings should deal with issues of space, placement, context and environment.  Work can be of any scale. They should be investigative in nature both of the subject and the means of recording it. We do not insist that there must be life drawing, this is obviously difficult for some applicants, but some investigation of the figure either self-portrait or objective studies of class mates/family with a context is encouraged.

Drawing

• Drawing – Analytical, Objective, Expressive.
• Drawing skills – ability to record/develop/communicate information and to demonstrate some confidence in the selection and use of a range of media.
• Drawing/visualisation – evidence this through a range of drawing/mark making.
• Technical facility - to be seen through an applicant’s ability with a variety of mediums.

Media Exploration

Different visualisation approaches and techniques (might include photography and computer work).

Selection/application of media.

This relates to the appropriate use of media for a given idea or context.

Experimentation/innovation

Some evidence of technical drawing is useful but not essential. Some evidence of CAD but not essential.

Info gathering

Ability to research both primary and secondary sources. Evidence of ability to gather research material (visual or otherwise) in response to the applicant’s own interests or to a specified brief. Important to see a wide range of investigation methods.

“Drawing” should also be evident throughout the folio within the development of ideas.

This drawing should be inventive and playful and a driving force behind idea development. It should evidence the playing around with ideas, proportion, composition, colour, different points of view and perspectives. Drawing can encompass many differing media and formats (paint, collage, ink, CAD, etc). Aim to show how you manipulate ideas through a series of drawn options or experiments. Question yourself on how each one will evolve. Fully resolved pieces are important for us to see resolution and commitment. However you can think of your folio like a math's exam, all the emphasis is not on the final answer, evidence of how the sum was solved plays an important part. The same goes for the folio, seeing how ideas were explored and developed allows us to see how the applicant works with and visualises ideas. We like to see complete projects showing research, development through to final outcome.

A willingness to experiment with media, take risks and to be inventive should be evident in work.

Any process (printmaking, photography, CAD etc) that the applicant is using should be used within the context of a relevant project. It should show more than just their acquisition of a technique.

Definitions:

Investigation /development

• Ability to come up with original/lateral/appropriate ideas.
• Ability to analyse and select the potential within your Visual research for development purposes.
• Development – ability to see the potential in ideas and how some decision making/selection/development.
• Evidence of "critical visual thinking" – evidence of your questioning of a theme or set of ideas (through worksheets and within sketchbooks).
• Evidence of ability to resolve basic problems (through 2d and 3d development and experimentation).
• Ability to integrate thinking across activities.

Analysis and selection

• Evidence of ability to gather research material (visual or otherwise) in response to a specified brief and (ideally) also in response to the applicant's own interests.
• Evidence of ability to apply some analysis to this material.

When looking at folios we are very keen to see your individuality and evidence of your imagination.

We are very keen to see the applicant's individuality wherever possible. How they think, how they look as well as  what excites and interests them - evidence of their imagination. It's a tall order to get all this over in a folio so we do look at sketchbooks or an  equivalent as a key element to show this. The sketchbooks should combine drawing with research and information gathering and be a place, without pressure, for mistakes and experimentation. A sketchbook can show how you like to explore media, what you like to draw, how you  see and observe the world and what you want to say about it. Many students use their sketchbooks as visual diaries, they can also show us what artist you are looking at and how you have related them to your own work.

Personal Vision/interests

• Evidence of personal interests in sketchbook form.
• A sense of the person – a personal and original approach to visualising ideas.
• Evidence of a sense of personal direction, evidence of commitment and tenacity in pursuit of a solution.
• A sense of enjoyment and intellectual enquiry.

Context

• Knowledge of current contexts – it would be good if applicant showed a working knowledge of current and past practice (gallery visits, interests in art/design/film/dance/literature/theatre).
• Study in depth of topics / themes or issues.

Sketchbook are mentioned in a few of the previous sections.

Quite often the first thing a member of staff will pick up during an interview is a sketchbook. This is a good indication of their importance.

If they are used in a free and experimental way they have the ability to provide us with a valuable insight into the applicant’s thought process. The difficulty in advising applicants on their sketchbooks stems from our wish to see you explore your own creativity in your
own idiosyncratic way. What they should not be is a scrapbook, where drawings that don’t fit elsewhere in the folio are artificially collected together.
There are many possible ways to use your sketchbooks to reveal your creative potential, here are a few pointers;

• A collection of observational drawings, first hand recording of objects or external locations.
• A visual diary used on a regular basis to collate things, found or experienced, images and objects that inspire you, exhibitions and events you have visited
• An in-depth investigation of a theme, looking at the context of an idea and visualising it through a breadthof media investigation.
• A place with no pressure for resolution, where play, debate and experiment all thrive and are driven by trying out new ideas and techniques.

These could all happen in one or they could be separated out in to a number of books. The choice is yours, what best fits your creative process and lifestyle?

What drives your sketchbooks should be your natural desire to investigate the world around you, record, translate and communicate it. In your books you are the setter of briefs and tasks. Therefore the engagement should reflect this ownership of the content. If you deal with them in an honest and straightforward way where mistakes and happy accidents are part and parcel of the process they should reward  you with new insight into your potential.

What type of book you use or how it looks matters little. Hard backed or soft backed, bought or handmade. However, the best ones often have a character of their own that shows the journey the applicant and the book have shared. Sometimes battered, decorated or swollen with content they often become interesting objects in their own right. How many you submit is also down to the individual but including at least three should show us how well you have established a personal visual language and how committed you are to exploring it.

When mounting and organizing your work it may help you to group work together in themes and to arrange the work in chronological order which will highlight improvement in the work.

All portfolios are looked at within the context of the educational environment they come from. At the end of the day it is not the indefinable perfect folio that we are looking for but a teachable student with artistic potential. The advent of UCAS and Gray’s decision to interview all stage 1 applicants means that we are now better able to judge the student themselves and their interaction with the work in the folio they are presenting. This allows us to consider the person as an element in the whole package.

Applicants applying to stages 2 – 4 will have normally developed their folio within a college environment and will be more aware of the demands placed on a specialist folio.

These applicants will show a far greater degree of specialist folio work pertinent to the course they are applying for.

In the first instance we will request these applicants to put together a mini-portfolio. On the basis of this portfolio we will identify those that  will be offered an interview.

Not all advanced entry applicants will be interviewed. Interview is dependent on the mini portfolio 1st stage of selection.

Advanced Entry mini-portfolio guidelines

The mini-portfolio guidelines follow the principles of the guidelines identified in the general portfolio advice. These are:

• Visual research
• Idea exploration and development
• Personal and contextual awareness

You are requested to identify 15 images from your folio that represent these 3 key elements.

Please upload these images via a flickr account. Please make sure your images are high quality; flickr allows you to upload images of up to 150MB. Make sure that you read the privacy settings carefully. We will ask you to share the images with a designated email account at Gray’s once you have organized your minifolio as follows:

• Please title each image and provide a brief description. You may wish to identify groups of images that should be seen in the context of one another e.g. A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 etc. These may refer to specific projects or singular items.
• Please organize your 15 images into a ‘set’. Please title this ‘set’ as ‘Mini Folio / Gray’s / Course title /
• entry stage / your name’. Therefore the title of your ‘set’ could read ‘Mini-Folio / Gray’s / Painting / stage 2 / Joe Bloggs’.

Once you have organized your work into a ‘set’ and titled it, you are now ready to share your mini-folio with our admissions contact at Gray’s.

You need to share your mini folio with a.young@rgu.ac.uk

flickr will ask you to ‘enter a message’. Your message should include the following details:

1. Your full name
2. Your email address for us to confirm receipt of your flickr mini-portfolio.
3. The course you are applying for and the stage of entry
4. Your UCAS application form number
5. You must state in writing that the work that you have uploaded is all your own work.

Once you have included all details 1- 5 you can press ‘send’. Upon receipt we will confirm within 2-3 working days that we have received your miniportfolio. If we do not, it may be because you have not provided us with your chosen email address, or an incorrect address. Please make sure that you contact a.young@rgu.ac.uk if you have not received a receipt.

You will have one more opportunity to re-send your mini-portfolio.

Please note that is it vitally important that you make sure that you provide all the information required in 1 - 5.

If you are successful in being invited to interview, it will be expected that you bring along the actual work that you photographed and uploaded to your flickr mini-portfolio. We do understand that you may not be able to bring large or 3 dimensional work to interview.
In this instance it would be advisable to bring a larger range of photographic evidence to interview.

All mini portfolios should be submitted to the School between Monday 13 February and Friday 17 February 2012.

As we are interviewing you it is important that you know your folio well and that you are able and comfortable talking about your work.

It might be worthwhile practicing talking to somebody with your folio for about 10 minutes to see if you can articulate your thinking in a way that helps your visual submission. Don’t worry about rehearsing this but it may help you think on your feet when faced with an interview situation.

At Gray’s the “interviews” are very informal and chatty (some applicants have even said they like them). It is important to remember it’s the folio we are interviewing and we see you as a guide in that process. We are still interested in you as a person so be prepared to talk about any interest you may have mentioned in your UCAS statement or that might come up through discussing projects in your folio.

Contact Details:
Alison Young, Academic Administration
t: +44 (0) 1224 263648 e: a.young@rgu.ac.uk