Sometimes pursuing your dreams is the best step forward for your career, and that’s exactly what Leos Ng Hong Mun did with a Diploma in Digital Visual Effects and Animation from 3dsense Media School.

By Philip Tnee

After Leos Ng Hong Mun graduated from polytechnic with a diploma in internet computing, he made a re-assessment of his career path and realised a change was needed. “During my time in the army, I realised the IT industry was over-saturated… So I felt if I wanted to work, I might as well do something that I like...”

Leos had developed a passion for drawing while serving his National Service (NS), and was inspired by the art of Takeshi Obata, the artist behind many notable comics such as Death Note and Hikaru no Go. Spurred by his interest after completing NS, he decided to apply for an internship at Imaginary Friends Studios, where he now works as a full-time Digital Artist.

Making new inroads
Following his internship at Imaginary Friends, Leos set about looking for a course of study that would complement his flair for drawing. He was introduced to 3dsense Media School by a friend, Kingston Chan, who was lecturing there. Kingston specialised in next Gen Game Art development and had six years’ experience working for game companies such as Sega Japan and KOEI Singapore.

Leos adds that it was his friend’s industrial expertise that persuaded him to take up a Diploma in Digital Effects and Animation from 3dsense Media School. “It wasn’t just because I knew him personally, but because I knew how good he was at what he did,” he said.

No cakewalk
Many students have the impression that private schools are the “easy way out” when it comes to furthering your studies. This certainly wasn’t the case at 3dsense Media School.

“At the beginning, the timetable was really packed. It was intense and therefore time management skills and the ability to prioritise were critical,” Leos described. The programme was so intensive that he couldn’t find time for part-time work on the side. He was indeed getting his money’s worth.

A well-rounded education
The curriculum at 3dsense Media School comprises four core terms—traditional, software, specialisation and application. In fact, the 12-month, full-time Digital Visual Effects and Animation programme was co-developed with renowned local artists, academic professors and Hollywood animators including Andrew Gordon from Pixar Animation Studios. It covers essential fundamentals from traditional skill sets like Life Drawing and Clay Sculpting to animation skill sets such as Character Modelling and Principles of Animation.

While Leos was made to practise traditional drawing from the very first day of school, he also received software training and learned to use industry-relevant programmes such as Maya, Photoshop and ZBrush.

Meanwhile, the specialisation term enables students to focus on developing their areas of interest. In Leo’s case, the “Games Modelling and Digital Painting” specialisation was the obvious choice.

When it came to application skill sets, Leos was made to apply everything he had learnt through completing of a group film production from concept to final digital visualisation.

Preparing students for careers in the film, multimedia, gaming and computer graphics industries, the programme also teaches students the essence of 2D and 3D animation methodologies and critical application techniques, ensuring that they excel as professional digital animators or artists.

However, Leos stresses the most important aspect of his education at 3dsense Media School was the hands-on nature of the programme. “All the projects really challenged us with their tight deadlines,” he recounted. He recalled his final film project, where he and his group mates were tasked with producing a digital film in three months. It was an experience at the deep end of the pool for Leos, but definitely a growing one.

Industrial relevance
The mark of a good school lies in the links it has with the industry. “We had quite a number of mentors from the industry who would share their experiences with us, and tell us what is needed to survive in the industry,” said Leos.

The teaching staff at 3dsense Media School includes industry professional artists and production mentors from Pixar Animation Studios such as Andrew Gordon and Victor Navone, who were behind films like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

Of talent and hard work
Leos pursued a Diploma in Digital Visual Effects and Animation from 3dsense Media School because his previous diploma wasn’t relevant to his field of interest. But for those who have a polytechnic diploma similar to that offered by 3dsense Media School, Leos had this to say, “The only issue is National Service. The two years is a blank, you become rusty and the industry moves on without you. If you want to keep current, this diploma would serve as an excellent refresher.”

Unlike most other fields of study where paper qualifications are essential to securing a job, Leos believes that a career in Digital Visual Effects and Animation is entirely based on the skills of the artist or animator. It was on this premise that he felt a diploma from 3dsense Media School is more relevant as it equips its students with relevant skill sets to excel in the fast-paced digital media industry.

With the right tools now in hand, Leos puts the formula for success in simple words, “It’s down to hard work at the end of the day.”

Singaporeans and PRs are now eligible for the new Workforce Skills Qualifications subsidy of SGD12,000, a continuing education and training system under an initiative by the Workforce Development Authority to train computer graphics talents for the growing Digital Media industry.

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