Core77 has a back to school guide up for all you designer type students out there. I especially like the “Classmate Designertypes” section, because it’s just too easy to stereotype art students.

Even with the silly content they still do have some good advice, this most of all:

If you’re not serious about documenting your work from the get-go, don’t even go to school. Hell, don’t even read this feature. Okay, you can read this feature, but then go buy a camera. A good one. You know, with f-stops and everything.

Seriously, you’re spending like $75,000 on this education; surely you can spring another $600 to keep a record of it.

So you want to go to school for art do you? Why? Perhaps you want to be an art major because in high school you were the artsy kid, always getting attention for you paintings, doodles, or whatever. Or perhaps you like drawing in your spare time. Or maybe you think you’re “so deep” that people can only understand you though your art. Maybe it’s just because you have a unquenchable desire to create.

Art and design is a weird major; the nights you would spend studying biochemistry, engineering, or history are replaced with nights spent with a brush in hand, knee deep in Photoshop or Maya, or even pulling some fresh prints in the print studio. Your professors spend less time obsessing over your written papers and spend more time obsessing over your use of color, your use of form, and your composition.

For whatever reason you decide to pursue art for a career, these following words I have for you are things you should take into consideration if you are thinking about becoming an art major.

1) The art major should enjoy spending the night in the art building after staying late to work on projects till 3am. The art majors art building will become a second home.

2) The art major should love color (and what effects colors can have on the viewer) and obsess over composition.

3) The art major should not care about having money because they’ll be throwing it away on art supplies and lord knows they won’t be making a terrible amount in their profession.

4) The art major should enjoy building and polishing their portfolio.

5) The art major should relish the fact that they’ll be taking no fewer than 13 credit hours but spending 23+ hours in class each week plus putting countless more hours into assigned projects.

6) The art major should put themselves into their work.

7) The art major should have personal projects in addition to the assigned projects.

8) The art major should always be able to explain their reasoning for their work.

9) The art major should always have a sketchbook within arms reach.

10) The art major should never become complacent.

11) The art major should be decent at creating art.

Does that list describe you? If so, then smile, for you probably have what it takes to be an art major.