In your portfolio, you present a selection of visual work you have made. You don't only show the final result, but also the creative sketching process and how the work came about. What was your idea, which choices did you make while developing it, and why? You can show between 10 and 25 works in your portfolio. A work can be a single painting, but also a project consisting of multiple images or objects.
Your portfolio has room for all types of art and design. This could be objects, photos, films, games, animations, fashion and accessories, furniture, scale models, drawings, sketchbooks, posters, and paintings. But also campaigns, installations and performing arts, collaborations, sculptures, and anything else you have made, designed or come up with.
You don't need to hand in a polished, professional portfolio with only final results. We don't expect that, and we don't find it interesting either. We're curious about who you are, what interests and inspires you, how you view the world, what ideas you have, and how you communicate them (visually). That's why we ask you to include your inspiration, experiments, sketches, notes, and other documentation of your creative process.
Check out this video to see an example of a sketchbook or click here for portfolio tips & tricks by WdKA students.
If you don't have much work to show yet, you can complete (some of) these assignments. Choose assignments that suit you and best show what you can do. Make sure to document and share the steps in your process.
PORTFOLIO: WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
When you apply, you choose one field of study (major). In your portfolio, you can show which skills you have, and you may use any technique or medium. Keep in mind that we do want to see your interest and skills in the field of study you have chosen. (For example, moving image and sound for Audiovisual, 3D work for Fashion, Product and Spatial Design, storytelling for Animation and Illustration, photos for Photography, and so on.) If you can't show this in your portfolio yet, we recommend focusing on this field in at least one of the assignments you complete.
SKILLS AND QUALITIES
Below you'll find an explanation of what we look for during the admission process. We don't expect you to have fully mastered these skills yet. You come to the academy to develop your skills. But we do look at what you can already do, and at your ideas. We look at how you make these visible, and we want to know what your ambition is.
We also want to know how you respond to the world around you through your work. What motivates you to make art? Which subjects fascinate you? Are you interested in developments within and outside your field? Which artists, designers, exhibitions or festivals inspire you? How broad are your interests? Can you explain what you think is good, what you think is bad, and why? Ultimately, what we want to know is how you are connected to your environment.
How do you start a piece of work, such as a painting or an animation? How do you develop an idea, and how do you make it as convincing as possible? Once you've started, do you keep thinking about the choices you make? Do you try out as many materials and techniques as possible? How do you make sure the work is truly yours? We'd like to see and understand the steps you take along the way.
Of course, there is also the question of how your work comes across to others. Do you think about whether and how people understand you?
HOW TO PRESENT AND UPLOAD YOUR WORK
Create a digital document with a clear overview of your work (for example, by numbering it) and add the documentation of your process (text and images). All this needs to be in one file, either a PDF or a PowerPoint. When uploading your portfolio in the online environment, you can enter links to videos and websites separately but make sure to include these links in your digital portfolio as well. Remember to add your name to the file name!
For example: JANJANSEN_PORTFOLIO.PDF
Maximum file size: 50 MB
Accepted file types: PowerPoint or PDF.
VIDEO
Keep in mind that the assessors have limited time for each admission. They can't watch long videos or many different videos. If you have several videos, or videos longer than 5 minutes (for example, for Audiovisual or Animation), we recommend making a showreel that gives a compact overview of your work. That way, you decide what the assessors get to see, instead of them scrolling through your videos themselves and possibly missing important parts.
ONLINE
If your portfolio is online, make sure you give us the direct link to the right page, and that the assignments are visible and recognizable. The assessors will not browse through websites.
MEDIA WE DON'T ACCEPT
We don't accept Google Docs links, Dropbox links, Word files, separate images, files larger than 50 MB, zip files, WeTransfer links, or any other method that requires downloading your work.
LANGUAGE
If you choose to use text, this can be in Dutch or English.