Frequently Asked Questions

Draw something you are looking at in real life, not in a photograph or on a screen. Try to make it look just like you see it. Even if you don’t know exactly how, try your best. Be thoughtful about where you’re placing the parts of your drawing, rather than just drawing one thing stuck in the middle of the page. Spend a long time on your drawing, at least an hour. Drawings that you took a long time to work on are more useful for us to see than quick sketches.

Your homework each week for Ryman Arts will take you about six hours. If you spend six hours on two application drawings, that will be about the same as one week of homework and will give you an idea of the rigor of our program. Drawing from observation, which means drawing something you are seeing in three dimensions (not a flat image on a screen or paper) is at the heart of our program, and of most foundation drawing programs. Seeing how you draw when you are looking at a person, place or thing in real life gives us the best indicator of how you will do in our program.

Yes. Call the office ahead of time to make sure we will be here. (213) 629-2787.

If you draw in your free time and are committed to learning how to be a more skilled artist, then you are a good candidate for Ryman Arts.

Make sure students understand the three parts of the application (form, essay, and drawings) and review each portion with them to make sure it is complete. Also, write a specific recommendation, whether you are doing so on the paper form or by recommendation email. While students may turn in a class assignment for one of the application drawings, we will get a better sense of their individual potential if they submit their own work for one or both drawings. Please make sure drawings submitted were done from observation (not photographs or imagination).

Make sure they understand the three parts of the application (form, essay, and drawings) and look over each portion to make sure it is complete. Make sure your teen has the time, space, and materials to work on the application drawings. Talk to your child about the commitment of attending weekend classes and completing homework each week, and let him or her know that you will be supportive of this commitment.

While applications vary semester to semester, our average acceptance rate is about 50 percent. If you are accepted, you know you are one of Southern California’s top art students.