I've met a few graduates of SCAD and it's definitely raised my opinion of the school. Ringling is more rigorous though, in workload, quality demands, and grading. If your work doesn't cut it or you miss too much class you fail. They've got higher standards and they will hold to them. That said, SCAD still has a good program and good teachers and a lot of the resources you need. The students that succeed there (as with any school...) must be self motivated and push beyond what they do in class. I've also got to attest to Ringling's hire rate... most of my friends had jobs/internships lined up before we even graduated, and people are still getting them. A big reason for that is that Ringling runs such a tight ship. You don't get as much freedom to explore and work outside of the parameters of assignments - but you get the experience and skills to enter the industry pretty immediately. I can't tell you what to choose, but how I see things. ...Another option, if your heart is really set on Ringling's Computer Animation department, would be to wait. You could wait and see if you get in. You could wait a year, take community college class in art and knock some of your liberal arts credits out all the while hauling butt to push your drawing skills to make sure you make it in next year. People with weaker drawing/observation skills are more likely to struggle in the program than others. I've seen a lot of people fail and leave, repeat a year, or switch to another major - it's not uncommon at all. Failing sucks, but it's not like game over, it just means a person wasn't ready to move on and people who repeat classes have better work to show for it. You can also accept motion design and try to switch in animation around the end of freshman year (may or may not happen, it's still portfolio based) - but you will have to repeat your freshman year if that happens (which might not be a financially viable option and the whole thing is a gamble anyway.) I've heard good things about the motion design department, but I haven't seen much of the work. It's a newer major and the first class will graduate next year. It seems like a really cool major, but is very different than computer animation. Motion design tends toward a greater variety of methods and emphasizes commercial work while computer animation is strictly computer animation and emphasizes work for film. by the way, what is is exactly that you REALLY want to do?

Oooh this sounds fun! I'm always up for some speed challenges.lizzybeth_dot_net@yahoo.com This post was edited by Elizabeth McMahill at May 30, 2012 1:21 PM PDT

worry first about image, second about control. Drawing with a desk or lapboard setup can affect your proportions because you'd be looking at your paper skewed instead of flat on - so you're not accurately perceiving what you're drawing. Drawing at an easel is great, especially for anything larger than your typical piece of paper. Plus, it makes you stand up, be more physically engaged and aware, and draw with your arm and body. You can also ready take a step back from your work that way. Taking a step back will help you better judge your accuracy and the image as a whole - so it's nice to be able to do while working. That being said, do what you're most comfortable with! I like working with a lapboard or prop my sketchbook up on the drawing horse vertically while drawing, kind of like an easel so I can get that range of motion with my arm. But yeah, try drawing a different way for a day, you might find it helps.

-yes, in general watch proportions. Just skimming, the head is an issue but so is the torso at times. Maybe give sight measuring a try with your pencil and see if that can help you with accuracy and break past some of the conventions your mind is putting on your drawings.  Accurate proportions might not be entirely necessary, but you should be aware of them and capable of using them.  So practice accuracy.  Also practice deliberate distortion.  How far can you take something before believability breaks?  What visual relations tie together distorted images and which ones break them? -watch your forms, how they layer, fit together, and relate in 3d space. Some of your forms don't relate well, feel cut off, etc. -Don't get hung up on making outlines - and don't let lines restrain expressiveness if at times they conflict. In the abstract you are looking to portray the energy/idea of that unique model in that particular pose at this point in life - that goal is different from the goal of a representational drawing. -This more classical stuff is good, but push yourself outside of that area too. Try drawing with different goals, methods, and media to broaden your skillset, ideas, and the way you observe. Experiment. Not that this stuff isn't good - keep working on this sort of drawing, it's in a good place but you need to get better at it, but also set aside a chunk of this drawing time to experiment and play - see where it takes you. This post was edited by Elizabeth McMahill at May 23, 2012 3:05 PM PDT

Size doesn't matter so long as the portfolio can be readily handled and can appropriately showcase your work. I sent in a 8.5x11 paper portfolio with a mix of 8.5x11 and 8.5x14 work tucked in neat plastic sleeves. No one seemed to care at all.