Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA): Courses, Scope, Jobs, Salary

Are you passionate about sketching, drawing, and bringing your creative ideas to life?

If yes! then, a Career in Fine arts could be the best career option for you.

A fine arts refers to creative visual art that focuses on developing an artist’s creativity, conceptual thinking, and technical skills to communicate ideas, emotions, or messages through visual and performing mediums.

A Fine Art is indeed an aesthetic and creative career choice. Aristotle once said that the major objective of art is to exhibit the inner creativity of things and not the outer significance.

In a simple words, fine arts is defined as:

“Fine Arts is the study & making of visual works of art. It can be in the form of dancing, paintings, photography, film, architecture, etc.”

What does fine art include?

The main form of fine arts covers film, dancing, painting, photography, architecture, pottery, conceptual art, sculpture, music, printmaking, interior design and drama.

The fine art teaches and prepares students to become artists and to follow other practices that are associated with the making of art.

According to some scholars, the concept of Fine Art was developed during the early modern period in the West. Larry Shiner, in his book “The Invention of Art: A Cultural History,” traces the origin of Fine Arts to the 18th century.

Fine Art Courses

Candidates interested in fine arts can pursue from a certificate, diploma and degree level courses. The duration of these courses varies, the certificate course last 6 months to 1 year.

The diploma program takes 1 to 2 years and the degree programs like BFA takes 4 years. Candidates can pursue these programs as part time or full time from a recognised university or a college.

Here is the list of popular fine arts courses:

Diploma Course

A diploma in fine arts is one year course. This course can be pursued after class 12th.

• Diploma in Fine Arts
• Diploma in Visual Arts
• Diploma in Painting
• Diploma in Art and Craft
• Diploma in Applied Arts
• Diploma in Sculpture

Undergraduate Courses

• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) General
• BFA in Painting
• BFA in Applied Arts
• BFA in Sculpture
• BFA in Visual Communication
• BFA in Animation and Multimedia
• BFA in Photography

Postgraduate Course

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA) – General
• MFA in Painting
• MFA in Applied Arts
• MFA in Visual Communication
• MFA in Sculpture
• MFA in Art History

Also Check: Arts & Humanities Courses

Some of its specialized fields are:

• Dance & Choreography
• Photography
• Comics
• Printmaking and imaging
• Conceptual Art
• Painting and drawing
• Architecture
• Sculpture
• Acting & Theatre
• Visual Communication

Candidates can also pursue bachelor courses through correspondence and distance education. The top institutions offering fine arts course in correspondence are IGNOU and School of Open Learning at Delhi University.

Skills Required

To pursue a career in this field, candidates must possess the following skills:

• Creativity and imagination
• Strong drawing and sketching skills
• Good sense of color and composition
• Knowledge of art tools and digital software
• Observation and attention to detail
• Communication and presentation skills
• Marketing and networking ability
• Portfolio development skills
• Time management and discipline
• Adaptability to different art styles and mediums

Also Check – Web Designing Courses

Admission Process

The admission in undergraduate programs like BFA are based on university specific entrance exams. Some of the famous entrance exams are:

• JNAFAU Entrance Exam
• LPU NEST
• JMI Entrance Exam
• MH AAC CET
• CUCET

The admission in diploma program is done on the basis of polytechnic entrance exam. The admission process involves qualifying an entrance examination, submitting a portfolio of your artwork, then appearing in personal interview or practical work.

Top Colleges

Some of the famous colleges that offer UG & PG courses in Fine Arts:

• College of Art, University of Delhi, New Delhi
• Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai
• Faculty of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi
• Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi
• Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan (West Bengal)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU), Hyderabad
• Amity University, Noida
• Chandigarh University (CU), Punjab
• Lovely Professional University (LPU), Punjab
• MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU), Pune
• College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru
• Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara
• Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai
• Sir JJ School of Fine Arts, Mumbai
• Rachana Sansad College of Applied Art and Craft, Mumbai

Top Colleges in abroad offering Fine Arts:

• Northeastern Illinois University, USA
• University of New South Wales, Australia
• University of Auckland, New Zealand
• Newcastle University, UK
• University of Southampton, UK

Career & Job Opportunities

Today, the opportunities in Fine arts are diverse and expanding across traditional and modern creative industries.

After completing graduation, candidates have a choice to work as an artist, graphic designer, animator, art teacher, artist consult or photographer. You can also start your career as a freelance worker & go for direction, clothing, photography, television and fashion.

Professionals can pursue career in academia, architecture and film industry. You can join creative departments of magazines, advertising agencies, and newspapers in the publishing or the textile industry.

Also Check – Career as a Fashion Designer

Fine art graduates may also apply for mainstream graduate employment and training in a broad range of industries, for example, banking, art gallery, insurance, media and public relations.

The fine artists work is to produce artwork by using a wide variety of media and illustrative techniques.

You can display your work in museums, private galleries or have a private collections and get rewarded for your work. The artwork created by you will sell in studios, auctions, stores or at arts and crafts shows.

The scope in fine arts is quite good, you can earn respect & money both under this professional career. The multimedia artists and animators are paid handsomely in the motion picture or video gaming industries.

Some of the Job profiles are:

• Art therapist
• Multimedia programmer
• Drawing Teacher
• Set Designer
• Production Artist
• Music Teacher
• Creative Director
• Editor
• Furniture Designer
• Art Director
• 3d Artist
• Animator

Employment Areas are:

• Advertising companies
• Boutiques
• Art Studios
• Theatres
• Tailoring Shops
• Fashion Houses
• Education Institutions
• Television Industry
• Animation
• Teaching
• Textile Industry
• Sculpture

Salary Package

The salary of an artist vary depending on their project, experience, skill level, and the organization or client they work for.

A graduate in fine arts can start their career in between Rs. 4 to 5  lakhs per annum working as a full time employee. Whereas a freelance artists may earn per project and that can vary between few thousand per project to lakhs.

Candidates working in government museums, media firms with good experience can earn in the range Rs. 7-12  LPA.

Books & Study Material

• The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro
• The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
• Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing by Margaret S. Livingstone
• History of Art by H.W. Janson
• Wall and Piece by Banksy
• American Painting by Donald Letcher Goddard
• The Paintings Of Samuel Palmer by Raymond Lister

FAQ’s

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