The necessities of survival however, brought him to the gym as a personal trainer, the classroom as a children’s art teacher and even to the casino as a dealer – until he stumbled upon the WSQ Diploma in Animation from the 3dsense Media School.
Steep Learning Curves
“After having worked in various industries for almost two years, I realised I really want to pursue the arts. The WSQ Diploma had given me the opportunity to convert my traditional skills into digital ones, which enabled me to fulfill my dream,” Cong shared.
The initial months at 3dsense Media School were very trying for Cong. Coming from a fine arts background, without any knowledge of 2D or 3D software, he found the 3D technicalities extremely difficult and had to put in extra effort to learn the tools.
“But being surrounded by passionate classmates and great instructors in a supportive environment really made a huge difference in the learning process. It spurred me to go all out to better myself,” he recalled. “What I truly appreciate about 3dsense were the important lessons taught about the industry and the appropriate measures to undertake. Without those, I'd definitely be less prepared for the opportunities that have come my way.”
Apart from providing hands-on experiences and theoretical knowledge, the diploma has also steered Cong and his course mates towards being and staying employable.
They were guided on how to prepare their portfolios and demo reels, as well as advised on what employers are looking for. During assessments, they were not only given guidance on their works and the direction they should be heading towards, they were also shown how to be more productive and practical.
“Now that I am in the industry, I feel that time-management is extremely vital. The WSQ training has definitely shown me how to better manage my workload and identify the priorities of each assignment,” Cong explained.
Carving His Niche
Shortly after graduating, Cong landed a job as a Modeller at Sunwoo Asia Pacific. He was assigned to work on a Disney project to create accurate models from single-angle concept art works. It was an immensely tough experience for his budding skills. He had to deal with technical difficulties, while ensuring his models could be used for Disney’s style of animation.
After accumulating greater confidence and more proficient skills, Cong moved on to Gumi Asia Singapore, where he now conceptualises and develops characters, designs environments, and renders final illustrations for games.
“I've always wanted to illustrate card games and now I'm creating mythical creatures and fantasy worlds. I depict characters such as unicorns, legendary birds and amazons - painting their weathered skin, incandescent glow - and set them in their mesmerising worlds and captivating situations,” Cong shared.
“Just another mountain”
Today, Cong is thankful to be able to pursue what his heart desires, despite the many challenges he has to deal with at work.
“I regularly face issues that people trained in concept school are less likely to encounter,” he explained. “As a concept artist, I need to design, not just any design, but interesting, cool designs.”
Cong recalled an instance where he had to paint an archer in the mountains. Initially he painted the mountains as he would do in fine arts, a calm and peaceful one. But his art director commented ‘just another mountain’. Immediately he realised how boring it was, and that led him to think deeper.
While there are no ready answers or clear-cut directions that Cong can draw from, he would never give up what he is doing for something simpler or more straight-forward in his creations.
“The best part of my job is - I get to dream and imagine myself as the character I’m creating. What would I have done in the situation? What accessories would I use? It may take me years to attain recognition, but I hope to get better with my dreaming skills and be able to skillfully depict my characters as life-like as possible.”
For more information on training opportunities in the Creative Industries, click here.
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