A Student’s Perspective Studying At FZD School Of Design
A Pupil'southward Perspective Studying At FZD School Of Blueprint
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Professional person and aspiring concept artists alike should know about FZD School of Design. It's a Singaporean concept art schoolhouse teaching art fundamentals in a rigorous i-year curriculum. FZD was founded past the incredible artist Feng Zhu and his schoolhouse is easily one of the best concept art schools in the earth.
While researching the schoolhouse I stumbled onto an alumni named Darius Kalinauskas.
He's a former interior designer turned concept artist and was kind plenty to reply some of my questions nearly studying at FZD.
I've organized Darius' thoughts into this Q&A to help other artists that might be considering FZD equally an selection for moving into a concept art career.
If y'all've never heard of FZD I urge you to check out their earlier and later artwork gallery. Information technology really shows how much can happen in one year with the right teaching and dedicated practice.
Also to larn more than about Darius yous can visit his personal website or check out his artwork on ArtStation and Behance.
How did you notice FZD and what inspired you to utilize?
Well dorsum in 1997 or whenever I got Net at home, I stumbled upon Feng Zhu's artwork. I was amazed.
A lot of people see fine art like that and call back "I never knew this could be a career". Maybe being in a country like mine(Lithuania) you never retrieve beyond the borders. So information technology seemed like an unreachable goal at the time.
But I started following him very closely, as he was the but artist I knew. I ever felt like this is what I'd want to practise with my life.
Some years passed. I finished my studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts and constitute myself dreaming to work abroad. All of the best concept fine art schools were in the US and they were far as well expensive for me.
Then in 2009 FZD School of Design opened. At that time I was in London with literally 30 pounds in my pocket!
Only with support from my family I decided FZD was the school for me. So I worked my donkey of for iii years, sold everything I owned and went to FZD to pursue my dream of condign a concept artist.
Can yous explain the awarding process? What blazon of portfolio pieces did you submit? Is an interview required for applying to FZD?
Afterward graduating from my fine art academy I wasn't doing much fine art. I was working every bit an interior designer at the time, so I had no new portfolio pieces connected to this industry.
I sat downward and painted i new piece. It took me 3 weeks but I sent it forth with works that I had from my previous studies.
But beyond a portfolio I think the about important matter to evidence is your passion for concept art, since most of the fundamentals are taught at that place.
As for the Q&A it was very casual. Very pleasant staff and they merely asked general questions. After beingness accustomed yous have to transport them documents for your visa, but besides that cypher too complicated honestly.
What are some bare essentials that anyone applying to FZD should already have?
You need a disposition towards art and creativity. This is a large part of the professional concept fine art industry.
Financially you take to exist fix to pay the tuition obviously. I establish no way to go a loan without being Singaporean, so it tin be difficult for foreigners to come upward with the coin.
From a mindset or spiritual sense you take to be very determined and 100% sure this is what you want to practise for the rest of your life. A lot of people dropped out because they could not handle the pressure. You have to know that if yous desire to get in in the industry you will have to piece of work long hours. The lucky ones intermission in early simply hard work beats luck, or rather compliments it.
Your listen has to be strong willed, determined, and good under pressure. That is why, at to the lowest degree for me, I think information technology's harder for immature kids just out of school.
You lot really demand to know this is what you lot desire and you lot need to requite it as much effort every bit possible, both physically & mentally.
What was your feel getting settled in Singapore? Did you have whatever problem finding housing, nutrient, etc? Is the culture friendly to students from western countries?
Well that is very funny question. I will endeavor to keep it short.
Housing — It took me a month to find a suitable place. I just didn't want to alive with random people instead of students. I knew they would distract me and would not empathise what I was doing.
Besides I was non lucky enough to connect with many other people from my class before arriving to Singapore. I got in touch with one other person and we were looking for a place for 2. Let me say living ain't cheap in Singapore!
I went over budget a bit with that. Other students were communicating somehow and then they settled into cheaper places with four-8 of them I think.
Food — I found food to be either expensive(15-20 SGD/portion) and better quality, or cheaper(5 SGD/portion) merely just something to keep you alive… tasty but I wouldn't say salubrious.
Simply it was fast food and good enough for me. Since I'one thousand not a fan of rice the nutrient was very limited for me. But at that place's fresh juice(1.5 SGD) and other goodies that yous can buy.
I mean, you can find anything at that place it but depends on your pocket. For example my friend was eating McDonald's almost all the time. Proceed in mind different locations have different quality for chain restaurants.
People — I didn't like the general population too much. Reason being the commencement calendar month I had to pay different prices for the same things. For example, same juice aforementioned place ranged from one.5 – v SGD. I had to ask them to tell me the price that I would pay all year.
In general in that location are ~5 1000000 people only each one of them seems in their own world. I was on a packed metro and told the person in front of me that I was getting off at the side by side station. He goes "me too". Station comes up and he just stands there. I had no style to pass him, so he got off with me pushing him since saying excuse me didn't work.
But honestly that'due south but me. Other students were fine and maybe didn't encounter such situations, or they were OK with it. So accept it as my opinion and nothing more than.
Just there is no violence or bullying or bad looks. People are mostly kind and polite when talking to yous because in that location are a lot of international schools there.
How would you describe the environs at FZD? Is the campus like shooting fish in a barrel to navigate? Are teachers and administrators available for questions?
Keep in mind the schoolhouse has changed locations from when I attended. And then I'm not certain how it is now.
Just in full general everything was very clean. We had classrooms, reading/chilling areas. There are vending machines with drinks and java too.
Staff was always available for you lot unless in that location was a meeting. But even then they'd come up out to help if y'all needed something quick. Teachers could help a lot too, except Feng every bit he was often busy doing work or teaching a class.
Merely after class teachers were available and during form you could enquire annihilation.
Can you explain the work requirements for new artists? How many classes are required at one fourth dimension? What's the typical workload?
If I remember correctly you have v days and 5 classes, so you have 5 homework assignments per week in first term.
Basically if you don't exercise your homework the aforementioned day you will take time issues. You lot have to understand this is non a typical schoolhouse where y'all have a fixed amount of homework that takes everyone the same amount of time.
The amount of homework depends on how much you lot want to learn. The more yous practice the more you learn. And then it'south up to y'all if you lot desire to spend ii hours or ten hours.
As for me I was working around 18-22hrs on weekends and 10-12hrs during the calendar week. Classes ran from 9AM-5PM on weekdays. So 4hrs to 30mins of sleep on any given night.
Just that was my decision. I went at that place to acquire and clasp myself as much as possible.
Also go on in mind information technology depends on your skill level. If y'all take some fundamentals downwards it'll take less time to complete assignments.
But fifty-fifty if you're already skilled y'all tin always exercise more than to improve.
We had guys with like 4-half dozen years in the industry and one of them was really pushing himself trying to improve. Another one just did homework, and so one time once more it's a choice.
Y'all can easily become everything done and become 8hrs of sleep.
Decision: workload and homework volume is entirely up to you. The instructor volition requite you an assignment and you can button yourself beyond your capabilities, or yous tin can improve in micro steps.
That's a crazy sleep schedule. Was it difficult to live similar that?
Before FZD I was a sleeper! I slept similar 12-14hrs and it was skillful.
Then after I constitute out that people were not sleeping much I was in shock.
In any case I somehow adapted and 4hrs became a lot of sleep while in school.
Now I sleep 6-8hrs I guess, sometimes more. Then I'm all the same working 14-17hrs a day when possible.
I was almost always behind in work at the beginning of term one. Notwithstanding the 2nd term is the hardest in terms of homework and fourth dimension management. The more y'all're behind in homework the more stressful and depressing things get-go to become.
So every bit I said before, exercise it the same day or at least 90% of information technology and finish the rest on weekends.
Lifestyle was easy for me. I told all my family and FB friends I was off for a yr. I besides talked to my girlfriend who was very supportive of my situation. I honestly thought she would get out me because she was back in Lithuania!
Also side-note, I just remembered a tip one teacher gave the states at the first of school.
Take a chronometer and every time you are not doing homework put information technology on. I constitute out I spent 4-7hrs doing cipher! Yous can't contend with numbers.
That experience made things clearer for me. And then no Facebook, no friends, no going out, no movies and so on. Suddenly it's like I had all the time in the world haha!
But it's not working all year round. We got 6 weeks in total for holiday so during that fourth dimension we were doing whatsoever nosotros wanted.
Does lack of slumber become "normal" to nearly students' lifestyles?
I tin can but say this: I think I have pictures of all my fellow classmates while they were sleeping in class. Fifty-fifty me! I did it once, only somehow I managed to stay awake virtually of the fourth dimension.
For students in your class that made the most progress, which qualities do yous recollect helped them get the best FZD training?
Determination, not giving up, keeping a clear goal in mind, working hard as fuck and always trying to exercise improve work than the mean solar day earlier.
I think for me the well-nigh important thing that I held onto was request "why am I doing this?"
To be honest I wanted to quit mayhap 2 times. I was falling back in the grade for two semesters. Information technology was only in the last semester that I started to get meliorate.
And trust me I inverse the answer to "why am I doing this?" a couple of times. That is why I say a determined heed with a very clear goal is the key.
Volition FZD help students organize a professional portfolio later graduation?
Yes. But once over again how you present your portfolio is up to you.
They will definitely guide you lot and propose you lot on what should be in your portfolio, and what to leave out. But you demand to make the art.
Later on graduating I got some east-mails from FZD with suggestions for work opportunities. So if yous tin learn enough and build skills at FZD they volition refer you to potential jobs in the concept fine art industry.
In hindsight do you lot recall FZD was the best possible schoolhouse to nourish for learning professional concept art skills?
For me at that time YES. At that place were many factors, including that it was the cheapest school from the options I knew about.
I finished FZD after toiling all year and that was the first pocket-size pace to beginning something I dreamed of doing. I had a tough road ahead of me. I knew that school was simply the first stride and yet had mountains to climb, even still after 4+ years.
You really never end learning.
Do yous think FZD is more than benign than learning from an online course?
If you're a lazy-ass person then yes.
Nowadays there are so many online tutorials and other learning resources. Information technology tin can be incredibly overwhelming. Just if you tin force yourself to work then results will happen.
Unfortunately it'due south difficult to find data virtually fundamentals. Simply you tin notice some stuff if y'all look.
I now enroll at Learn Squared and their course is very detailed and informative. Just if you take no volition to practice the homework you will never learn.
After going to FZD School of Design I believe I have a stronger volition and can do the work easier. Simply before my FZD grooming if there were courses like that online I don't think I would've been able to forcefulness myself to piece of work 40hrs a week on homework.
If you demand to larn how to get into a routine then schooling with a professional is the best manner to go. If you can honestly manage your time well and put in the hours for yourself then online courses are a possibility.
Any other thoughts on FZD that you want to share with artists that might utilize?
I would like to share why I went to FZD and why I idea that school would be the all-time option.
As I mentioned Feng Zhu was the artist who introduced me to the idea of concept art. He taught me that this industry existed and I've ever been inspired by him.
I went through wonderful sessions of Level Upwardly and a lot of folks from my generation had the same matter. They saw Feng'southward works and Gnomon tutorials online as that was the only learning source back in a day.
I respect that Feng shared his knowledge on YouTube for costless every bit well. It was important to people from, er, let's say "not-so-fancy" countries.
Funny that the second persona I found was, every bit I like to say, the "male parent of our industry" Syd Mead. I mean his work all the same blows me abroad today.
In whatsoever instance I had my career as an interior designer and I was already working 9 years at it. And then in my mind changing careers was a very risky thing. I knew if I was going to practice information technology I needed to invest as piddling time every bit possible to get started.
That'south why I thought traditional concept art schooling would exist the all-time pick.
ArtCenter in Pasadena was non an option financially or time-wise since I didn't take 4 years of tuition or fourth dimension for paid study. Other schools offered 2 year programs but faced the aforementioned problems.
And then FZD was not merely the sentimental selection, simply besides the logical choice from my bespeak of view.
It offered what I needed at a much cheaper price with only a one-yr curriculum.
I'chiliad certain FZD was the correct selection for me and may be the right choice for others in a like position. Only remember the school is only a starting point — the residuum is upwards to yous.
Special thanks to Darius for giving his time for this interview.
I really hope this info tin help younger artists decide if FZD is the right place to further their skills and progress towards an entertainment design career.
To acquire more about Darius you can visit his personal site. And to learn more about FZD School of Design you lot tin can visit their website. I also highly recommend skimming their YouTube channel for some neat promo videos.
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Source: https://conceptartempire.com/studying-at-fzd-dariusk/
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