The traditional concept of art has generally only included activities such as drawing, painting and sculpting, the best art schools in the country today offer courses in a much broader and more exciting range of arts subjects. Culinary arts, architecture, graphic design and animation are all examples of newer art subjects which have opened up further options and scope for individuals to find a course they wish to take in order to further hone their skills and abilities or to learn completely new and fresh ideas. There are many courses now that offer applicants the chance to study the subjects in depth all the way to professional level. The best art schools offer the chance for people to enhance their hobbies or to take their hobby and turn it into a rewarding and fulfilling career.In order to get accepted into courses in the best art schools in the country, a lot more than basic intelligence and knowledge of the subject is needed. In order for the admissions officers to specifically pick you out of thousands of other applicants, you need to stand out from the crowd as unique and special as well as proving your skills and strengths in areas outside of academics. It is important to find out what is required from the applications and admissions department of the art instruction school so that you are able to prepare yourself for the requirements and create the perfect application for the school.As well as artistic talent, design arts schools will look at the portfolio of the applicant, their referrals and recommendations, admissions essay and academic standing. This will allow them to see the technical skills of the student and makes it possible to observe the history and patterns of the applicant’s academic history. In the US, talent in the subject of art is not the only factor that impacts the decision of the admissions office. Being skilled in the arts requires character, dedication, patience and passion. These are all factors which are looked for in the interview and applications process. Once a candidate has shown that they are committed to the work and have a dedicated and artistic soul, then the process will conclude with a positive decision as to whether they are accepted or not.Some of the highest ranked art and design schools in the country are offering modern and interesting art education degree courses in varied subjects such as interior design, photography, fashion and graphic design. These courses are designed to teach students to take a normal, everyday item like a photograph and adapt it to become a beautiful work of art. Graphic art applies to many different areas and fields of industry; it can be used in everything from architecture and car design to animation and animatronics. The best art schools in the country offer a wide variety of different courses and with such extensive choice available, you are sure to find the ideal course in the perfect location which will suit your specific and personal needs and interests.

In the first decade of the internet empire, mainstream book publishers have been notoriously slow to explore the possibilities of putting literature online; but with Google proposing to upload every book on earth to the internet, their moment of truth is surely approaching.Over recent months a gargantuan legal showdown has been brewing between Google Inc. and the American publishing industry, relating the former’s ‘Google Print Library Project’, which will involve scanning and uploading the contents of virtually every book on the planet. Many book publishers have been outraged by this attempt to infringe upon their intellectual properties, fearing that the products they have traditionally sold for profit will soon be ‘free to air’ for anyone with an internet connection. But at a deeper level, the very existence of Google’s project only highlights the fact that traditional publishers have failed to address the possibility of digitally distributing literature.Meanwhile, a few of the more progressive publishers are taking up the challenge, and making their own moves to put literary content online. According to John Mansfield, webmaster for the avant-garde small press Total Cardboard Publishing, ‘Most of the book publishers have basically ignored the possibilities of the web. I think they’re ignoring it because they’re happy with how their business is running, and a little bit afraid of losing control of their publications. But if you keep ignoring it you’re just going to get left out. You can’t stop the future.’A minority of book publishers have started making serious moves towards online content, in parallel with traditional print distribution. Total Cardboard, for example, has established an ‘Online Reading Room’, where many of their publications are available in full as web pages. Asked if he is afraid that people will not buy their books when they can read them free online, Mansfield says ‘No, not really. Physical books still have something special to offer that will never be superseded by the internet, as far as I can see. We just see the Online Reading Room as a way for more people to be able to read our publications. If anything, I think it might increase sales, by increasing exposure.’With the world wide web still evolving faster than anyone could hope to predict, only time will tell if Mansfield’s confidence comes from foresight or imprudence. In any case, publishers will have to start facing up to online content soon, if Google are to be prevented from gaining an insurmountable advantage in the distribution of digital literature.The Total Cardboard Online Reading Room can be viewed at www.totalcardboard.com.