I am already signed up to begin school in August. I am going for a bachelors of art with the concentration being graphic design. The bad thing is I am not interested in learning pottery, ceramics, all that crazy stuff. I just want to excel in photoshop. Would love to mess in Dreamweaver and all related programs also. But every graphic design degree I see contains all that crazy stuff in it. Is there anything, any school, even online, that allows you to exceed in just like photoshop, dreamweaver, flash, any of those programs?

This is pretty good if you want to excel in photoshop your learn a lot from it, hope it helps you out.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008...rials-best-of/

I feel the same way you do. My major at one point was graphic design...because I wanted to be a web designer, and there aren't really formal degrees for web design/development. I HATED art history, and did not like my drawing class. Don't get me wrong, I like to draw, but I loathe drawing with charcoal...and that is the only thing we were allowed to draw with in my drawing class. I just wanted to learn the computer side of graphic design - and maybe some things about design principles and color.
So I ended up changing my major to "general studies". Basically, I make up my own degree as long as I meet the general studies and general education requirements. I took a couple of classes called "design tech" that taught a little about photoshop, illustrator, and indesign. I also took a basic graphic design class.

My suggestion would be to find classes at a vo-tech about photoshop or illustrator. You might even think about doing an associates degree in graphic design as those aren't as intense as bachelors degree programs. You might have to pick a degree that will let you be flexible - like general studies - and take as many classes dealing with photoshop as possible. You will probably have to learn a lot on your own and take smaller classes on the side.

Good luck!

Kristy don't dismiss some of the classes that don't seem interesting. Many people were forced to learn something as part of a degree and ended up turning the subject into a career. You never know if you might like one more than you think.

You can also gain a broader understanding of design in general. Pottery design is certainly different than web design, but both are still based in many of the same design principles. Some of those principles may make more of an impression on you while creating ceramics than they will working in Photoshop.

However if all you really want is to learn Photoshop it's possible the degree isn't so important to you, which is fine. You don't need a degree to have a career working with Photoshop. You can go for an associates like Stephanie mentioned or you could just spend more time working with Photoshop. Ultimately your Photoshop skills are going to come from using the program.

Beyond the general studies stuff, this is the courses to do with the art. Not sure if anyone understands this stuff without the course description, but just let me know if you need to know more.

Major Courses .................................................. ............. 37 Credits
ART 110 2D Design (3)
ART 121 Basic Drawing (3)
ART 123 Basic Digital Design (3)
ART 212 Introduction to Painting (3)
ART 223 Figure Drawing I (3)
ART 230 Introduction to Ceramics (3)
ART 231 Introduction to Sculpture (3)
ART 321 Ancient to Medieval Art (3)
ART 322 Renaissance to Modern Art (3)
ART 353 Introduction to Printmaking (3)
ART 400 Art Thesis (1)
ART 410 Art Criticism (3)
ART 442 Contemporary Art (3)

Restricted Electives......................................... ................. 21 Credits

Select from one of the following areas: Art History, Ceramics, Graphics, Painting, Printmaking, or Sculpture

3. Graphics
ART 222 Advanced Drawing
ART 226 Typography
ART 330 Computer Imaging in Visual Art
ART 352 Commercial Art
ART 391 Computer Graphics in Fine Art
ART 440 Basic Photography
ART 481 Computer Design for Multimedia

Online you can attend New Your Institute of Photography (nyip.com) they offer PS courses mainly for photographers, but it's a great learning experience.

Whats funny in High school I was a painter and cared about nothing else and had no intentions of learning anything else until I took a photoshop class at SCAD. And well 4 years later thats what I do and unfortunately painting has taken a backseat.

Anyways... Steve is right in what he said and I would take it a step further I would say no one could be a master at photoshop/graphic design with out a solid knowledge in art as a whole.

There ARE art schools that have programs for graphic design that a focus on programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and such. However, if you want to be a well-rounded designer, you do need to learn design principles, color theory and 'boring' stuff like that.

My degree is Digital Media which covers graphics (including typography), web, video, photography and interactive stuff like flash, as well as all the design principles. It was perfect for me, as I wasn't really into Painting etc..

Unfortunately if you go into 'art', most Universities kind of make you learn 'art.' I know it's strange. I went to school first for performance piano and I was pretty pissed when they wanted me to play duets, and group playing etc.. Universities educate you broadly in your field until graduate school and I think technical school is better suited for web design than University.

I always thought going to University for web/graphic design would be a waste of time becuase
1. everything you need to know (in this field), you can teach yourself
2. University training in modern web design standards can be lacking
3. Webdesign is one of the only fields you can do professionally without a degree. No one asks for one, expects one or... even has one.

If web design/graphic design is your passion, then you can spend time teaching yourself or go to technical school.

Go to University for something where you can get a degree that you can actually use (Like most all the others). You may want a University degree in Web design, but you don't need one... something to consider.

Get your money back and move to Florida!

the best school you can go to in this field is here!

www.fullsail.com

Originally Posted by Convert2Steve

Get your money back and move to Florida!

the best school you can go to in this field is here!

www.fullsail.com

lol. Maybe tomorrow.

Kristy,

Here is a link to some internet schools. http://topinternetschools.com/

you can see if there is a school near you as well as one that would teach strictly graphic design.

However, that being said I must advise you as an elder and one who majored in Dance and Theatre in College. (Of course I volunarily took art, pottery, art history, etc..) It would be in your best interest to at least try some of these courses your school is offering. Art not only teaches you how to draw, paint, mold, etc... but in the process of learning all of these things you develop tools that allow you to explore your creative side. You will need these tools as a graphic designer - especially for web. You will need to learn to think outside the box (if you don't already) - being immmersed in art education is one of the best influences for creative thinking.

The majority of web designers out there are not educated in art, art history, etc... You would have a major ADVANTAGE as a designer, if you have that knowledge under your belt. Who knows, you might find out that you really like some of the stuff!

Good Luck in whatever you decide!