UiTM Puncak Perdana

I'm Firdaus, a local art enthusiast who goes by the alias keboyotan. I am also an animation student at UiTM Puncak Perdana, Malaysia. I began my creative journey when I was 8, often losing myself in my sketchbooks. With the intention of capturing emotion and precious moment, I'm eager to translate stories through my work while highlighting Malaysian's traditional portraiture. In this blog, I will be sharing my journey and the experiences i had throughout my uni life!

if you’re anything like the seventeen years old version of me, going to university is the fantasy into reality.

The college life, going out with your friends, actually studying something you like, and just everything.

Now that I am actually here, it feels surreal how fast the night changes - (Somehow it feels like it was yesterday when I was still working at McDonald's.)

I am from Kedah, so moving to the urban Selangor feels quite frightening. My first four weeks of college have been quite the learning experience. Filled with ups and downs, living 436.4 km away from home has definitely forced me to take charge of my life and get my priorities straight.

So here is my story:

The first class we had was the Figure Drawing (FFA 111) class with the amazing Sir Aidi Rahimi. He explained how our class will be a studio-based class, meaning that there will be no final exam.

However, the class is going to be fully marked based on our assignments given throughout the semester.

Week 2 Assignment: Skull Studies

We had to do skull studies for the second week of our lecture. The aim of this assignment is to learn how the skull affects the structural shape of a head.

Week 1 Assignment :

Front and Side Skeleton

For our first week, all of us were introduced to the anatomy of a skeleton. Sir Aidi taught us about the basics of skeleton proportions as well as explained how each part of the body works.

Week 4 Assignment: Emotions Studies

For the fourth week, we learned how to incorporate emotions into our portraits.

Week 3 Assignment :

Portrait Studies

After learning the basic theory of a skull, our class was assigned to draw a few simple portraits in multiple poses.

Things I have learned from FFA111 so far:

The Figure Drawing class has trained my eyes to replicate the drawing subject with the correct proportion and technique. Ultimately, the figure-drawing class has also improved my skills in drawing living things.

The next class we had was the Illustration for Animation (FFA112) class, which is taught by the legendary Sir Azhar Abdullah. He introduced the Animation Kingdom community to our class as well as shared some insights into how the animation industry works.

For our first assignment, we were assigned to do 30 character design which will be used as our main character throughout upcoming assignments

First Feedback Session

Second Feedback Session

The main feedback I received from the first session was that my previous non-human characters is lacking options and that they also look repetitive.

Hence, I decided to design a few more designs by experimenting with the idea of using multiple vegetables as my main source of inspiration.

Accepted Character

Things I have learned from FFA112 so far:

This class has taught me on how to listen and implement constructive criticism in my work. By having multiple feedback sessions with my lecturer, I managed to brainstorm multiple ideas for my design which helps me to create multiple prototypes.

Fundamental of Design aka my favourite class. Handled by the lovely Madam Nora Erdina, this class is mainly focus towards the basic elements on how to create an exceptional designs. For example, we learned the basics of color harmonies as well as how to create a balanced composition.

Week 2 Assignment: Poster Studies

For the second assignment, we were assigned to analyze any poster of our choice - We learned how to identify the elements and the principles used inside the poster.

Week 1 Assignment :

Simple Portrait of Yourself

The first assignment that was given to the class was to draw a self-portrait using simple lines. We were given 15 minutes to complete this task.

Week 4 Group Project: Collage Challenge

In a team of five, we have to do a collage from the images given by Ms. Nora. We went with the theme of combining the future and the past. Our artwork is titled "The Hand From The Past".

Week 3 Assignment: Colour Studies

Colour studies. We were required to create our own artwork according to colour harmonies as well as explaining the theory behind the colour chosen

Things I have learned from FFA113 so far:

By having group projects in week 4, this class has trained me to collaborate in a team which will be the nature of the animation industry.

Speaking of working in a team, I have been working on a project for the upcoming Animation Night together with ten other editors from our batch. Being the lead editor for this project has taught me on how to properly plan my time as well as incorporate every ideas into one. This project has also trained me on how to balance my academic and co-academic life.

After four weeks of being in UiTM Puncak Perdana, it has been an eye-opening opportunity. Having a supportive group of friends has truly helped me go through every obstacle that has come upon my path as well as making my campus life exciting and enjoyable.

Moving forward after graduating from UITM In two and a half years, my ultimate goal is to further my studies by studying abroad. It is also my goal to work across various industries, particularly in animation and web design.

But till then, I hope that my diploma life will be a fruitious one.