• Mission

    The Visual Arts department at SCPA offers a fine art and digital studio pre-professional experience. Students develop and master art and design skills and techniques, explore personal expression and hone their craft in various media. The high school Visual Art department is a Career Technical Education (CTE) program in the Arts and Communication pathway. The program stresses a strong emphasis on observational skills, developing processes based on research, concepts, ideas, craft, and technique. Our programs of study help each student grow into a holistic learner who thinks pluralistically with strong critical and problem-solving skills. 

    Curriculum

    Areas of Study include:

    • Drawing & Illustration
    • Painting
    • Digital Art
    • Design
    • Digital Photography
    • Sculpture & 3D
    • Ceramics
    • Fibers
    • Mix Media
    • 2D Animation
    • Motion Design
    • Printmaking
    • Character Development 

    Students have the opportunity to earn Industry Recognized Credentials through certification in Adobe programs. A student earning certification has approximately 150 hours of instruction and hands-on experience with the software and is familiar with product features and capabilities, as well as relevant career concepts.

    SCPA students can earn certification in: 

    • Adobe Illustrator
    • Adobe Photoshop
    • Adobe InDesign
    • Adobe After Effects
    • Adobe Animate

    Activities

    The Creatives Club provides Creative Writing and Visual Arts SCPA students with additional opportunities in and outside of the classroom to grow and develop professional creative writing and visual art skills. It gives students opportunities to network with other students and industry partners to start building professional relationships.

    Auditions

    Students interested in attending SCPA as part of the Visual Art Department must pass a visual art audition. For more information on the audition process or how to sign up, please visit the  Audition Process & Procedures page. 

    Visual Arts Auditions Requirements for prospective students:

    • 6-8 works of artwork from the last two years
    • All work should demonstrate the student’s ability to translate lines, shapes, forms, texture, space, perspective, and proportion into a composition utilizing a strong grasp of craftsmanship. 
    • Work should demonstrate various techniques that include drawing/painting from observation, design, creative work, colorwork, and sketchbook drawings.
    • Small sculptures may be carefully packaged and brought in, otherwise take quality pictures from multiple vantage points.
    • Traced work is not acceptable.
    • Cartoons or anime submissions are NOT allowed for the audition.
    • Frames and mats are NOT required. Place an overlay sheet to protect the artwork medium that is not permanently fixed and may smudge.
    • Visual Arts Resume
    • Include name, age, address, phone numbers, parent e-mail, schools attended, extra-curricular activities, classes and workshops attended, awards, exhibitions, and special interests/talents.
    • Resumes are in outline form and must not exceed one page. We will keep this copy of your resume.
    • In-person Audition process
    • Students will complete one still-life drawing during their in-person audition. The Visual Arts department will provide materials for this.

    Boards

    Proficiency assessments known as Boards are given each year in a student's artistic discipline. These assessments take various forms depending on the department, but are designed to test skill and knowledge progression in a student’s chosen arts field. Students who fail to pass their boards with a satisfactory rating will be placed on arts probation. Students who fail to pass 2 out of a series of 3 boards may be asked to leave SCPA, change or drop one of the artistic disciplines they are studying, or complete an arts intervention plan. For full policies and procedures, please see the Artistic Handbook on the Handbooks & Forms page.