I decided to take up animation partly because I thought I should get some training and expand my skillset, but also because I read some graphic novels and instruction books that were done by animators. Their work had a totally different quality. There was a kind of life in the drawings that I believed came from the experience of animating moving characters with personality. Two of those books are Herobear by Mike Kunkel, and Creating Characters with Personality by Tom Bancroft.
When I decided to get animation training, a new school opened up where I live, which has its own animation studio. For some reason it was the only school I seriously considered applying for. It was partly due to the cost, and partly due to the duration of the whole course, but I felt very sure that that was the school I wanted to enter. So I applied and sat for the entrance test and got in.
Many things proved that the Lord had led me into this school, but one of the things I found most amazing is that some of the staff are Christians, and they want to serve the Lord through this medium. I dare say no other animation school in Singapore would have that and be a better fit for the work I believe the Lord has for me, which is to communicate Christ through comics and cartoons.
As I do have my own company which does illustration and design work, I haven't figured out how I'm going to get the industry experience after I graduate and run it at the same time. School can only teach so much, and in an area like animation, industry experience is very important.
But I guess I still have time to pray and think things through. I will graduate next year if all goes well, and I hope that by that time the next step will be clear as day.
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