Laguna College of Art & Design

There’s been recent public resentment posted about this great school’s culture and facilities, so I wish to put in my two cents on what LCAD means to me.
This school is quite possibly one of the best things to happen in my life. Coming from a town where there’s little mobility for artists, the location of this school provides immensely incredible access for networking and connecting with industry professionals. I have put time into growing my social circle here not only with the wonderful faculty and students, but with talented people working directly within the industry, thanks to the connections made through LCAD’s Game Art program.
Big Bend may be small and low lit in some studios (due to frequent use of projectors, a common feature in any classroom with projectors), but the facilities provide a great amount of resources through well equipped computers and access to other students and faculty who are eager to help with a project. It is always full of energy and back and forth feedback. The teachers are always happy to sit down and help a student in need. Students are passionate within the studios and encourage work to be shared. We help each other grow. When you ask for help, there is always someone there to support you, and I think that’s pretty amazing.
I don’t know who the previous reviewer has been working under, but my experience with faculty has been some of the most supportive and encouraging interactions I’ve encountered. If you have a dream job or a certain goal, the teachers will do their best to help you along your path. When they see true passion and effort made towards a dream, they do all they can to guide and give moral support. There are some instances where teachers give tough love through stern critiques, but it’s all a part of growing as young artists. Tough critiques and reality checks are all a part of becoming stronger as professionals. When you clearly put in your best, it is recognized.
When it comes to students leaving the school, the majority of cases I’ve seen happen because either A.) Financial reasons B.) They wanted a more specialized course of learning and decided to take online courses through smaller institutions. C.) Their work ethic wasn’t strong enough to continue the program. It has not been because the education is not up to par. Sometimes students are looking for something else, and LCAD may just not be right for them. It happens everywhere.
The school is what you make of it, it is not the faculty’s job to spoon feed everything to the students. Students have a responsibility to take control of their education and make the best of each opportunity given to them. As young adults, we have the capabilities of being proactive with our time in school. As LCAD students, we are given unique opportunities through the job board and special guest workshops that give us a big step forward in our careers. Sometimes the semesters can be tough! Most art schools provide challenging courses, and learning new mediums within the game art world can be especially challenging. The LCAD community is one that promotes immense individual growth as artists, as professionals, and as long term industry associates. I am truly honored to be a part of this school, and as a representative of Game Art, I will be creating more opportunities for students to find ways to stay healthy, happy and on top of their game. This school is proud to have such talented students and teachers working together. We are a small but amazingly strong community.

This school is awesome! You learn so much and the staff is really nice. I don’t get why people are giving bad reviews when they haven’t even attended.

This school was a mixed experience. Basically, it’s a small school. Most of the school’s unique attributes stem from the pros and cons of the size.
There are lots of pros due to the small size. Some are, of course, lots of personalized instruction, close-​knit community, a sense of family. There is a high level of academic rigor. This school is a safe and encouraging environment. Everyone knows everyone, and for the most part, people help each other. Teachers and students know each other by name, friendships are formed and there is a sense of mutual respect among students.
The cons of this? It’s easy to let «close-​knit» become «unprofessional,» and to my knowledge the school does virtually nothing to prevent inappropriate interactions or even overt favoritism. Friendships between students and teachers, admin, or other authority figures have opportunity to turn into unethical intimate relationships. Add into that mess the multi-​faceted roles many teachers and admin must take due to the small size of the school, and there are lots of problematic situations involving conflict-​of-​interest.
Someone who occupies both a teaching and administrative position, who interacts closely with students and also controls some school resources, should not be involved in a personal way with any student. I witnessed special resources and opportunities allotted to students who were in intimate (or, sometimes just close) relationships with employees of one kind or another, as a direct result of their relationship.
The troubling part of this, as a student, was knowing this was happening, and understanding that it was not a secret. Everyone in an administrative position had full knowledge of these instances. This was pretty par for the course during my time at LCAD: constant conflict-​of-​interest issues of varying degrees that were never addressed or admitted by anyone, but simply passed over as though nothing was wrong.
Let me say that at LCAD, there are some absolutely great teachers with excellent knowledge, professional practices, a real desire to instruct and guide, and an ability to encourage students to produce great work.
Some teachers mean well, but apparently don’t realize that extending even smallish favors (like unlimited excused absences) to one ‘extra-​special’ student actually hurts everyone.
I learned good craft from some good people, and I don’t regret my choice to attend LCAD. This could be such a stand-​out college if the school took steps to limit rule-​bending and keep things professional.

The classes are pretty small which is pretty good. Parking is small-​bad. Libary closes I think around 5pm or 7pm-​bad Im used to 24 hour rooms. When I had homework to do I had to go to my freinds school which was a cal state fullerton to work on my stuff. If you want to work extra on your work they say thats okay just ask a teacher of the next class if its ok to stay, I always got the prick that told me no. Like any other school there are some great Instructors and then some really crappy ones that are like how did you get a job to be an instructor? I wont say who the shitty ones are but I will say who the great ones are, the good thing about this school is there is a lot of great ones such as Jonathan Burke, James Dowdall, Marshall Vandruff, Nathan Rholander, Scotty (dont remember last name just know the dude teaches perspective and he’s realy cool at teaching to a dumb shit like me.) Im from the Anaheim area so getting to school was a B*tch with morning and evening traffic. All the places to go shopping around there are kind of pricey, i really detest there art store they had around the corner they were way more expensive than art supply warehouse, then again thats a review for another time, i guess. I stopped going to LCAD in May of last year due to finances. Im currently taking 6 units at a comunity college and getting A’s. During my last semester at LCAD I was failing all my classes cuase each class is like 2 units which is sad cause the work the instructors make you do isnt 2 units worth of work. Other than that yea I like this school just because its small and I hate L.A. Traffic even more that i can grit my teeth to OC traffic. When I have finnces again I will go to LCAD this time armed with CASH and just take 2 classes which is sadly gonna be considered as 4 units.

I visited the college and I am planning on attending next year! The location is wonderful with many nature paths it’s great for drawing in nature! (Not to mention the beach is only about 5 minutes up the street!) Everyone at the college is extremely nice and helpful, from the advisers to the dean! On the tour the dean of animation just happened to be walking around so we all got to talk to him one on one and he was really nice and funny! I freaking love the adviser I have! I must email him 2 times a week with new questions and he is always more than happy to answer all my silly questions and he always gives me a lot of helpful information! Even the students I have talked to all seem to love the school. The student to teacher ratio is awesome! Every class we went into the teacher was working hands on with the students (I went during finals week). The courses seem awesome, there are classes where they draw animals and they will even bring the animals to the students one day during the semester for all students to draw. I found a clip of it on youtube, they had a bear and a tiger! The only down side is because it is a small campus they do not have a cafeteria of any kind. The closest thing to that on the campus would be a vending machine. You would have to go into the town on the beach to get food (which again is only about 5 minutes up the street). Or just be prepared to bring something from home. As for traffic it really is not all that bad. It is about a 30 minute drive from where I was staying with no traffic. Of course by the time we left it was about 3 in the afternoon but it still took us about 45 minutes to go back, so it really is not too bad.

Someone earlier gave LCAD 3 stars, but never attended the college, had to imagine what traffic would be like, and commented that the library was tiny. Well, as an alumni, an employee and a current grad student, I have a lot more information to offer.
First I will address Ai’s issues. LCAD is a small school, averaging about 350 students. While parking can sometimes be an issue, traffic usually isn’t. I live in Costa Mesa and it only takes me about 15 minutes to get to campus during the morning rush. The canyon does get a bit busy during Laguna Beach’s First Thursday Art Walk and in the evenings around 5pm, but what freeway isn’t troublesome during rush hour.
As for the tiny library, this is partly true. The library is small (small school=small library) but it also happens to be one of the best art book collections in Orange County. In addition to this, students have access to books on any subject covered by the curriculum, internet resources free to students, periodicals, instructional dvds, gallery catalogs and much more. The librarian Peggy is constantly bringing in new materials for the students and faculty.
From our Website:
«Located in Laguna Beach for almost 50 years, LCAD is renowned in a city that needs no introductions. But our reputation goes well beyond the beautiful coastal city that has attracted artists for over 100 years.
Our campus provides connections to a far-​reaching arts community. Our relationships with California’s creative industry become your relationships.
Coming to LCAD means being among the most talented art students and instructors. It means being in small, intimate classes with cutting-​edge computer labs that enable you to integrate your classical training with leading technology. It means you receive the highest caliber of art and design education you can expect. Put simply, coming here means going places.
LCAD has redefined the modern college of art and design. At LCAD, art school is not just a place where you mostly learn the theories behind what makes art and design work. We are a college that teaches you specific skills with tangible outcomes. We lead the way in providing a skills-​driven education committed to fundamental principles.
Our track record proves that your mastery of classical skills and modern techniques will create unlimited opportunities. I invite you to join us in helping you create your own success story.»
Please visit our campus, you will come to love it as much as we do.

Courses are okay. I like the canyon but I could just imagine the traffic there when going to class. I visited my friends who were students here and was impressed by the large figure sculptures. The library is tiny! The staff is nice.

Beautiful Campus… Interesting Course offerings… Friendly staff… Nice Gallery. I’m not a student, but it looks like an interesting place to check out if you are looking for an art college.