Nom Nom Diaries

(2018) UiTM Art & Design Faculty Interview

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 ❖ 3:05 AM | 0 Comment [s]

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum and uhh... hi... i guess. Blog ni memang dah tak berfungsi, but I just had to get this off my chest. When I read previous entries about this interview from other bloggers, I'd prefer the input to be more specific. Excuse the grammar~

Recently on 28th April 2018, I went to UiTM for an interview. Diploma in art & design (seni lukis & seni reka) was my first choice for UPU. Quick fact: I have no background in art. I was a pure science student and didn't take art as an extra subject (memang tak ambik extra pun hahah).

Ok first thing's first, what to bring. Semua yang dia suruh bawak tu bawakla hahahah. So the documents needed to be verified by your school principal/penolong kanan whatever. Tapi jangan risau kalau dah hari interview and ada dokumen yang still belum disahkan, sebab diorang akan bukak kaunter untuk cop dokumen kat sana nanti. Don't worry too much sampai nak menangis takut tak diterima (like me) ok?

Ujian Melukis

I thought we would get an hour, but they only gave us 40 minutes since there were a bunch of other hopefuls waiting. I suggest to bring a drawing block instead of just one paper (like me 😂). I even rolled it so it could fit in my bag but I ended up using a piece from the person sitting beside me because it's not easy drawing on a not-very-flat paper. Now, pencil. Saya guna pensel mechanical je hahaha. Lect recommended using the wooden 2B pencils because of some kind of difference between carbon and lead idk. But tangan bergetar bila guna pensel kayu 😂 last2 guna pensel mechanical sebab lagi selesa. Gets the job done either way hahah

Time's up, I finished my drawing, liked how it looked BUT the size is way too small. Small enough to fit A4 paper. So masa menunggu turn untuk interview, I used the paper that I brought and redrew so it's bigger. First time using my own drawing as reference fuhh 😂 Sepatutnya objek yang dilukis mesti kat tengah2, and big enough to fill the paper la. But well, I'm not used to drawing on A3 paper. Big canvases intimidate me lmao

Here's a little tip (something I didn't do and only thought about it afterwards because experience). DON'T aim to finish it in the time frame given. Why? Because you can finish it in the 2-3 hours of waiting in line for the interview. (srsly lama gila weiii) What I'm suggesting is, use the limited time to determine the right size and position. Look at the bigger picture. Lukis simple2 je dulu, tanda je (dgn bulat ke apa ke) kat mana shadow yg gelap, mana shadow yang cair sikit, lipatan kain etc. Determine foreground, middle ground, background. Kalau boleh, guna teknik crosshatching untuk shading, sebab tak boleh shade guna jari or berus. Belajar dari youtube. Yang diorang nak tengok is your understanding of space and lighting (i think la hahahah). But yeah, shading dan segala detail tu boleh buat masa tunggu interview.

To recap, 40 minutes live reference, and at least 2 hrs to complete the drawing. Masa live drawing tu kalau siap 50% pun dah cukup bagus dah, asalkan dah tanda siap2 mana area yg gelap mana yang cerah, so mudah untuk shade. Ye la, not everyone is gifted with photographic memory.

Interview

If you've read other blog entries, you would know that there are 9 fields¿ to choose from. My first option was graphic art, followed by photography, fashion design, bla bla bla and finally industrial design¿

Things I Brought

Masa baru arrive tu memang rasa insecure gila. Ada yang bawak kamera, canvas besar-besar, baju siap jahit. The whole week sebelum hari interview tu dah terbayang-bayang nampak kertas yang bertulis 'self-esteem' dalam tong sampah 😂

Anyway, aside from the documents, I also brought a portfolio and a folder full of certificates to show that I was active in co-curricular activities (konon la). Sijil asal je, tak perlu photocopy. I actually wasn't really sure how to make a portfolio for graphic design. I only printed out my drawings on A4 paper and compiled them in a pretty folder along with my sketches. I added sticky notes at every page and wrote down things like inspiration behind the pieces, techniques, mediums used, title, purpose and whatever came to mind. I put in all the effort and slept for only two hours to show that I was really eager to continue my studies there.

Spot Questions

Introduce yourself
Why (first option)
Why (second option)
Why (3rd option)
What you know about (first 3 options)
Design elements and principles
Big names/companies in the industry
Books read + author

Having answers to the last four gives the impression that you did your research and are well-versed about what you're getting yourself into. Books read could be something like reference books or those how-to-draw books.

Things I was told

Ucap salam. Jangan duduk selagi tak dipelawa. Senyum. Do ask what to address the interviewer (e.g. sir, prof, encik, puan). Q&A would be in English. Basically, be respectful and show enthusiasm.

What Actually Happened

(lol expectation vs reality sangat)

So it was my turn. The one who interviewed me was a man. Alhamdulillah tak rasa nervous pun. Maybe sebab tengah kelam kabut nak keluarkan barang, then nama dipanggil tiba2 sampai tak sempat nak rasa nervous hahahah.

'Process' dia gini: bagi salam, duduk bila disuruh and then bagi drawing masa ujian melukis tadi. The thing is, I didn't get to finish my second drawing. Sebab? I didn't start immediately after the ujian melukis, and I was getting lazy and procrastinating and banyak termenung 😂. Ye la, siapa nak buat dua lukisan kan?? Anyway, ingatkan nak bagi my original je, but dia cakap bagi je dua2. A bit confused, I asked "oh boleh bagi lebih satu eh?". He said "boleh boleh, nak bagi 10 pun boleh". Bila dia dah melawak macam tu, saya pun rasa relax la hahaha...

Nasib baik ingat nak tulis nama kat kertas kedua tu. Masa tengah tulis nama, bermulalah sesi soal jawab. (Actually I feel like it's not a really good impression– baru nak tulis nama masa tu– sebab menunjukkan kita tak bersedia and sangat kelam kabut).

Questions asked:

Introduce yourself
Why is graphic your first choice

THE THING IS, dia cakap Melayu. And I've been practising in English. This is probably not a big problem to a lot of you, but it sort of is for me because you see, more often than not, I think in English (I blame social media). Plus, the introduction I had in mind wasn't easy to translate, at least at that time (because I was slightly panicking).

So I was like "nama saya bla bla bla, ..." and I had planned to continue with "I graduated from smk ... " but my brain wasn't fully functioning and I was freaking out because my language system must've be broken because I kept thinking 'saya... graduasi???...' (y'know, direct translation. #byelingual 😭). But I managed to say like "saya baru habis belajar di bla bla". IDK MAN tbh it was a mess. But that's not even the worst part. I thought of finishing it off with "(I am) a pure science student hoping to venture into the art realm" BUT HOW DO YOU EVEN TRANSLATE THAT ASDFGHSHSHJDKD. I forgot what I said but it wasn't good.

Then there was this awkward silence, me waiting for his next question. He looked at me with an expression implying ". . . . . aaand??". He had to repeat his second question and I was like "oh right haha *awkward laugh*". In my mind I was facepalming so hard. So this is where the tip comes in.

My answer(s):

something about art and love language lol it was so extra and didn't make sense oof
because graphic art was convenient due to all the editing tools and brushes lol (I also tried to back this up saying my small drawing could easily be enlarged if it was digital hahahah)

What I should've answered (a.k.a. what you could answer a.k.a THE TIPS):

because I wanna be a graphic designer (or whatever profession related to your first choice/your dream job)

Tu je. Straight to the point kan? Tapi explain sikit lah kenapa awak nak kerja tu, or ada story masa silam ke yang mendorong awak, atau ada inspirasi dari sesiapa ke. Berlaku jujurlah dalam menggoreng cerita hahahah

MAIN TIP

Actually, my mom said she bumped into a student in her idk semester of art & design, so she asked about the interview. The student said to give straight to the point answers and tok sah ayat berbelit-belit dan berbunga-bunga. Ye la, sebab diorang (interviewer) pun penat jugak, and banyak lagi calon yang menunggu. Use the time wisely, say what you need to convince them that you're qualified.

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After that I showed him my portfolio. While he flipped through the pages, I explained whichever drawing has a purpose/story/inspiration behind it as best as I could. Masa ni jugak aku mention apa2 jawatan or sumbangan kat sekolah yang berkaitan dengan graphic. I also mentioned that I used free mobile apps and not any software (sebab takde komputer kat rumah). Memang jawapan tu a bit kureng tapi masa inilah you can prove that an artist's skill is not dictated by the price of their art supply. Make sense tak? HAHAHAHA . Tbh I think being honest like that sounds better than answering with "I'm practising (using the software)" because that sounds a bit forced and fake???. IDK IN MY OPINION LA OK.

Setelah itu, ada ujian buta warna (dia angkat kertas and kita sebut je nombor yang kita nampak. literally took 5 seconds) dan dia tanda2 kotak kat borang seraya bertanya "ada cacat anggota?"Since it was obvious, I jokingly put up my hands and said "Alhamdulillah cukup anggota". He laughed and I felt good lol. (but srsly, #ableism ???). We said our goodbyes and I left feeling, surprisingly, really good.

All in all, I think it went pretty well Alhamdulillah. Of course, I'm lucky and extremely grateful that my interviewer was all smiles and quite friendly.

Things that didn't happen

all the sijil memberatkan beg je 😂
no questions were asked about my theoretical knowledge (which I studied just a few hours prior 😂)
no questions about my second of third choice (was actually waiting for it tho)

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EXTRA TIPS (in general)

Extra spot questions:

experience with any software?
ada camera?
nama2 jahitan
what do you know about your last option? (I heard someone asked this to a candidate. So I suggest that you at least know what every field is about. I'll just tell you the lesser known options. Industrial- automotif (car design, etc). Besi- jewelry. Seramik- pottery (mangkuk, pasu, etc).

Good questions to ask (because it shows that you're interested in the course):

tarikh intake
guna computer lab or laptop sendiri masa belajar/assignment? (grafik)
quota untuk intake berapa? (from n number of candidates)

Contoh jawatan/sumbangan/pengalaman (berserta bukti kalau ada):

Pengerusi kelab seni/fotografi
Ketua editor majalah
Unit grafik majalah
Photographer sekolah
Design wedding card mak cik
Design invitation cards/tickets
Design baju kelas/kelab/raya
Photographer bday anak sedara
Photographer event
Illustrate buku
Jual handmade beg untuk charity sale
Kerja part-time kat butik/kedai printing/kedai gambar

Things I suggest bringing:

Graphics- print drawings if possible, or just show on phone
Fotografi- camera or lebih baik album (tunjukkan skill touch-up/edit). I'd also recommend photobook, tapi kena buat awal2 la sebelum diorang notify tarikh interview, ideally right after closing UPU date (early April) or dlm bulan march. Pergi photobookmalaysia.com. kat situ memang nampak mahal, tapi kat lazada ada je voucher code RM1 40 page. or kalau nak murah & lagi senang, download app dia & buat simple book 20 pages. kadang2 boleh buat free je kalau hari tu special (hari ibu, cny, etc) sebab selalunya ada voucher, so cuma bayar postage dalam RM8. mesti inteviewer pun akan impressed.
Fashion/textile- design sketches, full baju siap jahit, or benda simple2 macam satu blaus or skirt or maybe you customise baju or kasut plain jadi vavavoom, bawak la.
Fine art- definitely all your drawings. watercolor, pencil, pastels, acrylics, etc. lagi banyak medium yg u guna shows u suka experiment & try different things.
Besi(jewelry)- your diy bracelets, necklace, ring, design sketches

yang seramik, perindustrian (automotif) bagai tu tak tahu la hahaha. kalau takde apa2 bawak lukisan je la nak menunjukkan hang ni orang berseni.

Bear in mind, it's not gonna be a smooth sail. Memang banyak ujiannya. Dokumen hilang, dakwat printer habis, kena berjaga malam, memang rasa tak nak pergi je, padahal it's only the beginning. uishh panjangnya entri ni... Akhir kata, rajinkan diri buat research (tahun ni kat youtube pun depa ada bagi tips), don't be afraid to go the extra mile dan confident dan kejujuran itu penting. (Ye la, kalau menipu tapi dapat masuk takut tak berkat pulak ilmu huhuhu) +Banyakkan berdoa.

Assalamualaikum & goodluck!

UPDATE: Alhamdulillah saya dapat tempat 😊 Tips yang saya bagi ni untuk increase your chances je, bukan guarantee masuk tau.