In this very digital and technology oriented world, we often wonder if art and creativity has any place. With people’s time-span reducing with time and most content being reduced to a few seconds, thinking if art will thrive is a valid thought. However, people have proven that art does thrive and is accepted. Fine Arts is about embodying and embracing artistic expressions and aesthetics to convey messages and even, in today’s context, channeling the same for social justice. In this blog, we will explore concepts of fine arts, careers you can pursue and courses you can take up.

Fine Arts Education – Benefits of Fine Arts Courses

One may assume that fine arts is only about arts, drawing skills, artistic techniques and creativity. The field of fine arts is vast and more dynamic than we can imagine. Fine arts courses do equip students with artistic skills and technical knowledge and with that these courses also teach students to conveying emotions through art, artistic expressions, finding oneself through art and conceptual understanding.

Benefits of Taking up Fine Arts Courses

• Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills

Fine Art classes require you to learn art history, analyze artwork, come up with artistic solutions and also includes knowing project management along with marketing skills required to promote your work.

• Creativity and Innovation

Although your degree and classes require you to try pre-set art techniques and art work, you are also taught how to come up with your own unique ideas and concepts. Innovation and creative thinking are also required when it comes to problem solving.

• Personal Development and Self Expression

Through art, you learn to express and find yourself. Channeling your feelings, thoughts and emotions via art can help you with personal development. There is no one way that works for everyone. Art is also a tool for healing and self-expression.

• Building a Good Portfolio

Most leading institutes and colleges that offer fine arts degree or certifications also integrate workshops and internship opportunities in their curriculum. This poses as a space where you can potentially work with a team, learn from industry experts, get hands-on experience and handle projects. All of these opportunities serve as an added advantage when working on your portfolio.

• Enhancing Technical Knowledge

Art is more than just drawing on a canvas, there are different genres that one can pursue such as sculpting, photography, architecture, music, poetry, performing arts and much more. While learning theories and history, certain genres and sub-sections require the knowledge of being aware of materials and techniques.

Features of Fine Arts Courses

• Specialized Courses

As your courses progress or if you have already graduated from a program and are looking to specialize in a certain field of art, specialized courses and certifications are the right way to go. These courses help you focus on a path of your choice and equip you with in-depth knowledge regarding the same. This can be digital art, painting, sculpting and much more.

• Foundational Courses

As the name suggests, foundation courses lay the foundation or framework for more advanced studies. In these courses you learn the basic principles of the field of study you have taken up, applied techniques and methods. Everything you learn in a foundational course are the fundamentals and preliminary learning for all your studies going further.

• Workshops, Internships and Practice

Your fine arts education would be inclusive of individual projects, team-work and other group projects. Most of these workshops and studio practices are led by industry experts and specialists. This is an ideal space for a student to learn outside the classroom and to know what work in a studio or in the field might seem like.

• Peer Reviews and Constructive Criticism

To understand better, in most writing classes, workshops or groups, participants/students are given writing assignments. Once these assignments are done, students are encouraged to read out their pieces out loud and the listeners can put forward their opinions, suggestions and thoughts about what they heard. Art thrives when you are open to inputs and trying new things. It requires you to step out of your comfort zone. Peer reviews and constructive criticisms can help you with that.

• Communication and Presentation Skills

Working in the spectrum of fine arts, requires you to learn how to network, communicate with people and present your art. Most educational programs require or urge students to exhibit their work which mandates them to present and explain the thought behind their art and what meaning it implies.

Careers in Fine Arts

• Art Associate

Art associates deal with the managing of art projects, handling budgets, working on scheduling timelines for projects and they also work on dealing with marketing for projects.

• Illustrator

An illustrator draws and creates digital art using various digital softwares. They work on creating art for posters, sketches and art for books, banners, brochures and much more.

• Graphic Designer

Now, this may seem similar to that of illustration. However, Graphic Design is more about the entire picture and meaning behind it. Illustrators work on art while graphic designers work on concepts. 

• Photographer

Photographers work around various kinds of photography. One can take up niche specific photography such as portrait photography, landscape photography etc. or photography variations that require different kinds of techniques such as wedding photography, wildlife photography, commercial photography etc.

• Art Director

An art director can be found in non-artistic disciplines of work as well; their primary job being – hiring and overseeing artistic teams to work on art and visual projects for galleries, exhibitions, advertising, branding, media outreach etc.

• Videographer

As a videographer, one can work in studios, TV shows, take up wedding videography, work in journalism and any kind of video/media production. They also undertake and are a part of post and pre-productions.

• Concept Artist

A concept artist works around storytelling. They are responsible for researching, visualizing and planning conceptual art for characters and environments for the purpose of storytelling. As a concept artist one can work in advertising, branding, galleries, film productions and much more. 

• Art Teacher

An art educator, as the name states, teaches and guides students in art. Art in a more broad sense can be painting, sculpting of different kinds, drawing, art therapy, sketches, digital art etc. Art teachers can work in schools, colleges, study-camps, art-schools etc.

• Art Therapist

Art therapists are mental health specialists who use expressive methods to help people emote, feel and heal. They help people express emotion through creative and conceptual art oriented methods. To become an art therapist, it might require one to major in arts and then take psychology or go for a course that exclusively offers art therapy as a program or specialization.

Conclusion

Taking up fine arts as a career can be a life changing concept for a lot of people. Through art, you get to express yourself and achieve pinnacles of personal development. Art is changing, growing and evolving like never before offering spaces for more art enthusiasts to grow and exhibit their art. With the right guidance and course, you can become proficient in the art you choose. Leading institutes in Noida, Delhi NCR such as AAFT offer fine arts courses and classes with a well-curated curriculum. You can read more about AAFT’s School of Fine Arts.