What is a portfolio review?

When you apply to a course in a creative subject like animation, we ask you to send us a link to a portfolio of relevant work for us to review.

The portfolio review helps us understand whether we are able to offer you a place on the course you’ve applied for. Your UCAS statement and portfolio provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your creative experience, potential ability and enthusiasm for the course you’ve applied for.
 
If your application is successful you will receive an email inviting you to submit a link to your portfolio. 

Having a portfolio review doesn't mean you're guaranteed a place on the course – your UCAS personal statement and reference, contribute to us making our decision.

How will my portfolio be reviewed?

We will be accepting portfolios through digital submission. Read our guidance on linking to your portfolio. Please refer to the invitation email for details on where to upload your link. Please ensure there are no viewing restrictions.

If you are not able to submit your portfolio in this way, would like further support, or to arrange an alternative way for us to review your portfolio, please email myportfolio@shu.ac.uk and we will contact you to make alternative arrangements.

What should be in my portfolio?

As part of your portfolio, you will need to answer two specific questions as written text. Your answers to these questions should be included in your portfolio as text. How much or how little you write in response to these questions is entirely up to you. The questions are:

1. Why do you specifically want to study animation at Sheffield Hallam University?

2. 5 years after you graduate, what would you ideally love to be doing in the animation industry?

There are no right or wrong answers to these two questions. Simply be honest, the answers just help us get an idea of where you’re headed, who you are and why you want to come on our course.

Four pieces of your best work

The Animation Team have viewed hundreds of large portfolios over the years and more often than not, the most discussion happens around just four examples within the portfolio – those four examples always happen to be the four pieces of work the applicant loved working on most.

So, instead of asking you to send us 10 or 20 examples of your work, we only want to see four pieces, whether they are life drawings, photography, pictures of something you have sculpted or modelled, sketches or video based work (animation or live action).

It might seem difficult to select just four pieces of work to show us but don't worry, all you have to do is pick four things that you are most proud of, excited about or simply enjoyed making whether that example was created as part of the work for a course you are on or something that you did in your own time.

To submit any online work, please paste a URL link into a single text document and upload this along with your other portfolio pieces.

Drawings

We love to see drawings in a portfolio, especially life drawings. They help us understand how you draw or ‘mark make' and observe. We can tell a lot from just one drawing whether it has been done digitally, in pencil, charcoal, biro, crayon or felt tip.

Character designs

If you want to show us an example of character designs as one of your four pieces, please make sure that they are your original designs and refrain from including fan art of existing characters.

Paintings

Paintings help us understand your use of colour, observation and detail. Try to pick a piece that is complete, but if it's a work in progress and you love how the painting is turning out so far, please feel free to photograph it and use it as one of your four pieces of work in the portfolio.

Photography

Choose photographs that help portray your sense of composition, subject matter, texture or scenario. No selfies and no casual photography - a good example should convey a lot of different photographic abilities to us.

Sculptures / modelling

This can cover both 3D and physical sculpting or modelling. This type of work will really help us see how you perceive objects in three dimensions. You can show off a prop you built or a sculpture you did out of clay or plasticine as a photograph, or if it is a 3D sculpture, you could render it rotating and include it as a piece of video based work.

Sketches

We love to see raw, unfinished sketches. Sketchbook sketches, the private ones you keep that you don't want anyone else to see – let us see! We can tell a lot from your sketching style, your ideas and form of line.

Choose your favourite page from your sketchbook, scan it in or clearly photograph and use it as one of your four portfolio pieces.

Video based work

This can cover animation, live action or mixed media work but basically if it's time based, it can be put together and uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo and this can count as one of your four pieces of portfolio work. Don't worry if your submission doesn't have video work, it's just an option.

Text descriptions

To accompany each piece, you are welcome to write up to 200 words to put the work you are submitting into context. You might want to explain how you made it, how you came up with the idea for it, what you did on it if it was something created as part of a group, or simply why you wanted to show it to us.

What are we looking for?

Overall, please don’t worry or second guess about what to send. There are two basic criteria for what you should send:

• do you love the pieces of work you want to show us?
• are the pieces of work clear and easy to see?

Also, don’t worry about not sending in specific animation work as part of your portfolio submission. Remember that you are applying to an animation course and there are things that we will teach you how to do, so it’s not a fundamental requirement to have already created animation work.

Who is on the portfolio review panel?

Sheffield Hallam University Art & Design academic staff.

What else can I experience at the University?

All students are encouraged to find out more about the university at one of our open days. It’s your chance to find out what we’re about. It’s your chance to find out what we’re about – how we teach, how we support you, and what facilities and activities are on offer on our campuses. You can also discover more about your new home of Sheffield which is a lively, friendly, scenic and affordable place to study.

You can also chat one-on-one with our students and staff at any time.

I'm disabled and require support with the portfolio review. Can you help?

Sheffield Hallam University welcomes applications from disabled people and is proactive in ensuring equality of access. If you have a disability (this includes sensory and physical disabilities, dyslexia, mental health conditions and medical conditions) and you feel that you will need some support during the portfolio review process (for example, materials provided in different format), we strongly recommend that you contact the events team on +44 (0)114 225 5584 or email recruitmentevents@shu.ac.uk in advance of submitting your online portfolio.

The selection team will then be able to make any reasonable adjustments so that you can fully participate in the portfolio without any disadvantage.

Disability advice whilst studying at the University

You may or may not have indicated that you have a disability on your application form. In either case, the Disabled Student Support Team is keen to hear from you. If you would like to meet or talk to an advisor to discuss, in confidence, possible support whilst studying, please email disability-support@shu.ac.uk. 

Inclusion at the portfolio review

We welcome everyone to Sheffield Hallam University and want to be as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you wish to disclose any information with us, such as a change in name or any other personal status that you feel is relevant this will be treated sensitively and fairly, ensuring you are represented impartially in your portfolio review. Please contact our events team on +44 (0)114 225 5584 or email recruitmentevents@shu.ac.uk.

What happens after my portfolio review?

After the portfolio review our offer will be communicated via UCAS track, so please check your account regularly.

You will receive one of the following decisions:

Conditional offer for the course that you have applied for – you must fulfil certain criteria (usually based on the qualifications you are currently taking) before you can be accepted on the course. If the requirements are met, the offer becomes unconditional.

Unconditional offer for the course that you have applied for – usually made when you have already completed your qualifications and met the academic requirements we are asking for.

Contextual offer for the course that you have applied for - we take into account a range of additional factors when we assess applications. Find out more about why we make contextual offers and the criteria on which we base our offers.

Change of course offer for the foundation degree. If your portfolio reviewers decide that you are not ready to make a successful start on the degree course that you have applied to, you may be offered a place on this course. This takes the form of a foundation year, run in-house by our tutors, with the aim of building your creative skills and attributes. If you complete the foundation year successfully, you will automatically progress onto your chosen degree course.

Unsuccessful – this means that unfortunately we are not able to offer you a place on the course as your portfolio reviewers do not feel that you have the necessary skills or experience to be successful on one of our courses. However, this does not prevent you from applying in the future, should you undertake further study to develop your skills and experience and portfolio.