Category Archives: Courses

Check out some of the courses we offer to high school and middle school students!

How can FIT’s Precollege Programs help you on your Artist’s Journey

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The painter Chuck Close is quoted as saying “Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work.” To be a professional artist takes skill and studio discipline. Workshops and courses taught by artists will help you develop the studio practice you need to be a full-time artist.
11-session Precollege Courses
We recommend a high school Precollege Live Class:
  • Basic Life Drawing –  learn how to draw the figure from a live model.
  • Design Composition and Color Theory – explore design principles and color mixing in a studio art environment.
  • Fine Arts Portfolio – get your portfolio ready with an assessment from a college professor and create any pieces missing for a dynamic application.

Summer Precollege Session   Fall Precollege Session
Spring Precollege Session

4-day workshops
We recommend a high school Precollege Workshop:
  • Observational Drawing for Portfolios – learn how to draw what you see, not from reference photos, for portfolio development.
  • Portraits for Portfolios – from self-portraits to drawing a person from observation, portraiture is a critical skill for artists and usually required in art and design portfolios.

Summer Session   Fall Session   Spring Session

1-day Creative Career Series
On Saturday March 30th, spend the afternoon with artist Melissa Starke. Melissa will go over her journey from art student artist and gallery curator and director!

Wherever you are on your journey, there is a Precollege learning experience for you!

How can FIT’s Precollege Programs help you on your Photographic Journey

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Photography is such a versatile skill. In our increasingly visual world, being able to take a well-staged and well-edited (#notwithafilter) photo is practically mandatory.
Artists, designers, and makers of all sorts – photography classes are for you too! Being able to photograph and edit your work for print and web is essential in your fields as well!
11-session Precollege Courses
Learning from professionals in FIT’s labs and classrooms is an excellent introduction to the craft. We recommend a high school Precollege Live Class:
4-day Workshops
Another way to sharpen your photo skills is by focusing on a specific type of photography, such as fashion or portrait. Take a fun 4-day Workshop learning in FIT’s darkroom or photo studios.
  • HSX 109 Photographic Darkroom for Beginners
  • HSX 110 Photography Portrait Workshop
  • HSX 111 Fashion Photography Workshop                                                   Summer Session   Fall Session   Spring Session
1-day Creative Career Series
Saturday April 6th, photographer Megan Madden will be discussing her photography journey from FIT graduate to photographer for Refinery29.

Wherever you are on your journey, there is a Precollege learning experience for you!

How can FIT’s Precollege Programs help you on your Fashion Journey

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Fashion designers from all over the world get their start at FIT. Many come back to learn even more skills, to stay on the cutting edge of fashion design and development. FIT has concentrations in menswear or womenswear.
Whether you’ve been creating your own fashions since you were a tiny tot or just decided yesterday you were meant to be a designer, Precollege can get you set up with the skills you need to start or improve!
11-session Precollege Courses
We recommend a high school Precollege Live Class:
4-day workshops
We recommend a high school Precollege Workshop:
  • Designing a Fashion Mini Collection – learn how to develop a womenswear collection using mix and match techniques
  • Menswear Fashion Illustration – learn how to translate your ideas into a menswear collection.
  • A Week in the Life of a Menswear Designer – shadow a menswear designer to see how the design world works
  • Simply Sewing – get the basics of sewing on a residential machine.
  • Introduction to Draping Using Half Scale – ease your way into fashion draping using easy-to-manage small scale mannequins.
  • Fashion Design Finding Inspiration – go from idea to mood board, to creative collection for evening or ready-to-wear.
  • Costume and Couture Rendering – learn how to use markers and colored pencils to make your designs look realistic.
  • A Week in the Life of a Fashion Designer – shadow a womenswear designer to see how the design world works.
  • Wearable Technology: Fashion Meets Function – learn how to add the latest tech innovations into your fashion collections.
    Summer Session    Fall Session    Spring Session
1-day Creative Career Series
On Saturday, April 13th, spend the afternoon with fashion designer, Christopher Uvenio. Christopher will go over his journey from fashion school to working for design houses such as Todd Olham and Anna Sui.
Wherever you are on your journey, there is a Precollege learning experience for you!

How can FIT’s Precollege Programs help you on your Interior Design Journey

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Interior Design is one of the most popular majors at FIT. Interior designers create worlds inside walls with their creative layouts, material and lighting choices. But don’t confuse design with decorating. Interior Design is essentially interior architecture and is in the field of technical design.
We recommend a high school Precollege Live Class:
We recommend a high school Precollege Workshop:
  • Model Building- make a basic architectural model, either as a hobby or as the 3-D model building component required for many admissions portfolios.
  • Exploring Interior Design– delve into the interior design industry, learning how to create aesthetic environments. Develop client boards and take trips to showrooms to immerse yourself in the world of a New York interior designer.
    Summer Session   Fall Session   Spring Session
On Saturday March 30th, spend the afternoon with interior designer Shannon Leddy. Shannon will explain her journey from interior design student to owner and principal of her own firm, Shannon M. Leddy Interior Design.

Wherever you are on your journey, there is a Precollege learning experience for you!

Instructor Spotlight: Stephen Savage

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Stephen Savage is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator whose accolades include a New York Times Best Illustrated Book (Polar Bear Night), a Geisel Honor (Supertruck), and a Sendak Fellowship. His picture book Polar Bear Night was a New York Times bestseller. In addition to children’s books, he illustrates for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, and Entertainment Weekly. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Instagram: @savageillustrator

 

Steven Savage Teaches:

Teaching Philosophy:
I encourage my students to make art that COMMUNICATES by combining pictures and words. Some great examples of this type of art are children’s books, comics, graphic novels and advertisements. These art forms “speak” and dialog with the viewer. They’re like language! And your job as an artist is to learn how to send a clear, strong, simple message to your audience. Your tools are color, composition, texture, scale and DRAWING!

Industry Experience:

Artwork by Stephen Savage
THE BABYSITTER FROM ANOTHER PLANET  Published by Holiday House
TWITTER: @savageartist
INSTAGRAM: @savageillustrator