Exhibit by College for Creative Studies has standout students leaving their mark

"You can see the technical skill and the storytelling," said Tim Flattery.

Flattery shows off the student exhibition at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit - he's the dean of undergraduate studies there as well as a graduate of CCS - whose own career flourished as a concept designer in the movie industry.

"I do a lot of Marvel movies - I just finished 'Black Panther 2' - which comes out in December - also 'Thor Love and Thunder,' which comes out this July," Flattery said. "I've designed the Bat Mobile - designed and supervised the construction of the Bat Mobile for 'Batman Forever.'"

He's done more than a hundred feature films - and now he's helping CCS students discover their dreams and unleash their talent - so much of which is on display and open to the public right now at their two campuses.

The exhibitions feature ceramics to glass blowing, photography to fashion design, from automotive to animation, and the list goes on.

"It's a little scary when you decide I'm going to go to art school because you're not sure if it's going to work out," said Sarah Yangley. "But, if you just take the risk and really give it your all, and put yourself out there - it can be very rewarding."

Yagley just graduated from CCS and is working at an illustration and animation studio in Detroit. Justin Summersett just graduated as well - and creates entire worlds for the video game industry.

"The starving artist thing I feel is a thing of the past," he said. "There's always going to be a need for artists in the world and regardless of what you do - illustration, game design, animation - you are needed."

"There's more opportunity in the entertainment industry than any other industry for a career path," Flattery said.

Think movies, gaming, theme parks, animation, live action - all of these growing industries need artists and designers.

Instructors say there are so many fields of study and so many opportunities out in the real world - these students are working - they're not starving artists.

And more than three thousand people came through CCS on the exhibit's opening night to see their work - which is also for sale. All of the proceeds go directly to the students, as these artists already are leaving their mark.

"The great thing about College for Creative Studies - we have a full range of art and design - from really high-tech concept design and animation and gaming to glass blowing and ceramics and painting," said Don Tuski, president of CCS. "So it's really quite the art school when you can do that range of work at such a high level."

And right in the city of Detroit - the exhibit runs through Friday afternoon but will also be available online at collegeforcreativestudies.edu