I've read another manga based off art school exp and it's different what I expected since it takes place during the final HS year vs actual college days. I like how the art stands out and each character has a different art style/design to stand out from one another. The MC starts off as a boy who is uninterested in like which I can relate to as a HS student in the past and slowly he joins art club.

There's many moments where as the reader I can see how much he is struggling w/art and how he copes with being a avg artist in a class where there are amazing artists. It's much more believable than having the MC to be a art prodigy from day 1. It does follow a similiar shonen formula of leveling up his skills but I liked how the art teacher focused on how his improvment is from his self-dedication vs skill.

I have no idea how this manga reads to someone who has never taken art classes, but as someone who did (for fun) and as someone who's pursuing another artistic medium (writing), this series really resonates with me.

It's a series about fine art, and not in the usual bombastic, exciting "genius" way or the "tortured artist" dramatic renditions, but in the painstaking way that young artists, who are trying to turn their artistic leanings into a future, actually have to work. It's meticulous in its depiction of "art as a learned skill" rather than "art as a talent", which I really appreciate (though it certainly doesn't skirt from the reality that some people just start out more ahead than others). And it's jam-packed with super great advice to aspiring artists about actual, tangible ways to improve on art. (Practice!)

The characters are also all genuine and real people. Especially the protagonist, who starts the series with little to no knowledge of art but grows to love it, even in spite of all its pitfalls. (Oof, that feeling he got when he started to plateau with his improvements--relatable to anyone who's ever had to learn a skill.) He's "ordinary" (in relation to art) but in a good way.