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Art
Skool Part 2 of 2
14 JAN 08
The
1st year of school was basically droning about color theory and
being introduced to art materials like Air brush Compressors, Rotring
Graphic Pens, Copic markers and Panda brand watercolor. I usually
frequent Takashimaya, but I realized that Bras Basah is THE place
for all art students to buy materials. And I thought that place
is only good for badminton racket restringing and grandpa styled
watches. I don’t know how much money I dumped at that place…
My school fees alone cost $300 a month. Some of you guys may afford
it but I was barely paying on time. So much so that the school have
this “shame list” plastered at the lobby for all to
see- my name was always on it. I guess they learnt their debt collecting
tactics from Tailongs. |
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I
remember a project that required me to buy a set of Guache. Guache
is just a fancy, better quality poster color. Guache is made from
the finest dyes from Switzerland, each handled with care by Swiss
ang moh ladies. Poster colors are made by kidnapped slave children,
in a hut somewhere. On top of the expensive Guache, I have to
buy an expensive brush.. I can’t be painting with my fingertips
can I?
But since this is art college, you gotta buy a paint brush made
from sable horse hair.. not the armpit hair you can find at Popular
book store. A Fine Arts friend of mine even resort to mixing spices
like paprika, cumin and skittles with water just to get the desired
color and using it as an alternative to paint. Oh well, all I
can say is that the minute I learned Photoshop, I haven’t
touched a brush for a very long time.
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My
art lecturers were also a breed of their own. Most were ex-designers
themselves.. and although they have experience to share, the problem
was that their design expertise are not up-to-date. Another lecturer
was a foreign talent straight from China and he can’t even
speak a word of English. And thus I have to rely on my classmate
translator and hand gestures. Another lecturer was so cocky that
she failed everyone in class and you can only pass after she “touch
up” our work using her color pencils. But when an exhibition
came up to showcase every lecturers work, she can hardly produce
any. The worst lecturer I’ve encountered was this guy who
grunts instead of saying the basic “Yes” or No.”
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Getting
our ideas rejected was norm but one day a friend of mine decided
to test one of the lecturers. He was working on an ad for Mac
computers and he STOLE a really good tagline from a Mac magazine.
Mac multi million marketing teams went through a lot of meetings
to come up with this so we want to know whether this tagline
would be approve by our local lecturer. It did not.
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| Oh well,
I guess the only one thing I like about the whole school was the
fact that I got to meet a lot of talented students. Secondary school
is just a mish-mash of kids having different interests. But over
here, I get to meet people who have design in their mind 24/7. Their
brain revolves around color schemes, typography and the expert use
of white space. Just when I thought I was pretty good with my skills,
I am exposed to people who could draw better and faster than me.
It was kinda intimidating
and refreshing at the same time. And to add to the stress, we
are all very competitive and cunning…. Every one likes to
play down their work but when dateline comes, the whole classroom
will be in a display of extreme eye candyness. A simple logo project
would turned into a mini Chingay festival. Come to think about
it, it was like playing a game of Survivor; everybody back-stabbing
each other at the possible last minute.
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| Apart
from catching datelines and not sleeping, I was hanging around Peace
Center with my friends, feeding tokens to them arcade machines,
buying comic books, and showering myself with art and design. Looking
back, I didn’t really learn much from teachers as much as
I did from friends. I get to be acquainted and recognize works by
famous artists… from Keith Haring to Julie Bell, from Dave
McKean to Simon Bisley. |
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| But soon come 2nd year, I was already losing
steam. My weight dropped significantly because being a “perfectionist”
that I am, I try to give my best work every single time. I was sick
of bias incompetent lecturers, the school didn’t have enough
computer time, the CORE of Graphic Design.. I have to learn Dreamweaver
and Flash elsewhere because the school was just teaching Photoshop
at that time. I even skipped the graduation ceremony. But ironically,
even after what I have gone through, and the messed up design industry
and all, I still have this longing desire to work towards my next
ambition that is; to learn 3D animation.. you know what that means… |
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