Animation Foundation: what is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a folder containing your work and research.
Whether it is created with the aim of being accepted onto an Animation Foundation course or at a major school, it comprises various elements and must, above all, reflect your personality, but also your creative potential, your skills and the means of communication that you use.
In most cases, a portfolio is necessary in order to be accepted onto an Animation Foundation course and to the top animation schools.
What goes into a portfolio? What is the difference between the portfolio needed to enter the Animation Foundation and the one presented to major schools? Corinne Destombes, visiting staff for production and broadcasting at Atelier de Sèvres, gives us all the answers.
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is something of a prerequisite for all art and animation students. As it is subject to very few rules, it is usually up to you to compose it as you see fit, while respecting some basic criteria.
As such, it is a compilation of your recent work and research, brought together following a logic that you will be asked to explain when presenting it to the teachers of the Animation Foundation course or the examination panels of the major schools.
"A portfolio is a tool enabling you to share your creativity with as many people as possible. You must ensure that it makes people want to work with you, to know more about your creativity and your individual universe. It's a bit like an artist’s painting: we see it and we want to share it and to know more about the person behind it." (Corinne Destombes).
A portfolio for admission onto the Animation foundation course
To join an Animation foundation course such as that at Atelier de Sèvres, you will need to create a portfolio that you will present during an individual interview.
At Atelier de Sèvres, we do not restrict the type or the amount of work you include. We leave it up to you to choose what you think is relevant. Sketches, drawings, paintings, or even video clips — everything is acceptable and accepted, as long as your portfolio is an accurate representation of your work.
In other words, the purpose of the portfolio is to enable the Animation Foundation teachers at Atelier de Sèvres to get a better understanding of you and your work. When you present your portfolio, we will also evaluate your motivation, the only true criterion to be accepted onto the Animation Foundation course at Atelier de Sèvres.
A portfolio for admission to the best Animation schools
A portfolio is also required for entry to the prestigious animation schools, which are in very high demand. For them, your portfolio is like your passport: it is a way for the examination panel to learn about you through your art, to judge your capacity for work (Animation requires an ability to work at a certain pace), and to assess if you able to present your work and your projects in a suitable way, using the appropriate vocabulary.
In contrast to the Animation Foundation course, the major schools are much more demanding in terms of the portfolio presented. It is important that you find out about the specific requirements of the Animation school to which you are applying.
For example, some schools – such as Gobelins – also ask for a personal video. Others, like École Emile Cohl, value the portfolio and practical aspects to such an extent that they no longer include competitive exams, conducting only an oral interview during which candidates present their portfolio. As such, the theoretical notions of the discipline are replaced with a focus on the candidate’s work and an assessment of their place within the school.
During your Animation Foundation year at Atelier de Sèvres, you will learn how to create a high-quality portfolio, in parallel with your training for the competitive entrance exams of the top animation schools.
Atelier de Sèvres prepares you for competitive exams while developing your portfolio
The Animation Foundation year at Atelier de Sèvres is centred around theoretical and practical courses on disciplines related to Animation (drawing, storyboard, narration, computer graphics, etc.), but also focuses on the development of your portfolio.
With the support of an academic advisor all year long, you will learn to develop your portfolio from start to finish and improve it so that it will impress the major Animation schools.
During the Animation foundation course, teachers at Atelier de Sèvres will also teach you to refine your portfolio according to the schools you are targetting and to present your work in a coherent way.
"At around the middle of the year, a review of your personal work with the teaching team is organized, which allows you practice for the oral component of the competitive exams and to take stock of the work you have produced and where you can improve." (Joel, Atelier de Sèvres Animation Foundation alumnus, accepted at Gobelins.)
If you have any other questions about the portfolio or our Animation Foundation course, please call the reception desk at Atelier de Sèvres.
