I have completed the first term of the 12-months program (with 6 terms) on Animation Concept Arts offered by VFS. We’ve worked intense so I can barely find a time to write my experiences. In the meantime, I tried to share some photos on Instagram. I have received so many email about my Canada journey so I will consider all one by one. Let’s look at how I admitted and the first two months passed.
Choice, Acceptance, Money and Visa
I have described before that “Why I chose VFS?” (Vancouver Film School) in this article, about me or my adventure up to VFS in this article, long visa stages is in another article . The VFS Turkey contact was very helpful at the application time. The necessary information like IELTS scores or fees can be found on the school web page. The school is very expensive such that I sold my house. My program fee is 33500 CAD. Plus annual living cost is similar, so the total cost is 60000 CAD. There is a scholarship option, but 100% scholarship is very rare. In general, scholarships are usually given in scientific academic fields but in our area, they think we can earn enough money to regain the money spent on the school application. This is similar to the graduation in non-thesis programs in Turkey. Non-thesis programs provide work force to the industry.
First of all I would like to invite you to this article if you don’t have an idea about what is concept art.
Equivalency of VFS
VFS is a school named after its graduates in the animation industry. VFS is the post-training institution in Canada. Although it looks like a primary school or an animation university.There are also those who came here after high school or came after graduate school.
Class
Consisting of students from many countries of the world, as in the social sciences and art schools in Turkey, a class with a high proportion of women. Positive discrimination against women is so much, if you look at the ads, they can find cheaper houses in the city center. Class is 28 people. Luckily, there are two students from Turkey, one of me. Apart from 5 students from Canada, the others are from the continents of South America, Asia and Europe. For this reason I am not a perfect English speaking class, but a tolerant multicultural class full of different accents. This leads you to be more indulgent.
How much English you need?
In my opinion, anyone over B2, IELTS 5.5 can survive. In Turkey, we are very muscular ourselves in grammar and pronunciation as we have the courage also mocked each other’s issues and therefore I think we have a lot we broke the doors of the complex society. When you see people who have been living there for years with less English than you, you see better what you spend time with. (Try not to make fun of the talk of anyone’s English.)
How was the trip?
From Turkey, I can say it lasts about 22 hours. My journey took place in three parts: Ankara-Istanbul, Istanbul-Toronto, Toronto-Vancouver. There is a strenuous process “jet lag” danger; but since I am susceptible to my sleeping irregularity, I’ve watched movies throughout the trip and I have never slept and I have not been jet lagged. I used to be a zombie instead, then I slept for 12 hours and then I got better. Choice is yours.
How is City of Vancouver?
Canada’s third largest city, Vancouver, welcomed me with heavy rain. Anyway, it’s always a rainy city. Snow is very rare. Canada is known as a cold country, but it is the hottest city in Canada. The heat exchange is not much and it is hot alongside Ankara and Eskişehir. Let’s say the temperature fluctuates around 4 degrees. That’s why all of Canada’s homeless people are in Vancouver. A sad point is the multiplicity of drug addicts. We will not see on the streets in Turkey, strange way you can see people walking. But they are not aggressive. Nobody’s messing with anyone.
Public transport is highly developed. You can go everywhere with the monthly bus card (Compass Card). Since the VFS is located in the city center, the school conquered the city by recommending the use of cars in its initial publicity orientation. Hail to the private universities in Turkey.
Traffic is very interesting, if you do not have a light for the pedestrian crossing, the cars give you way. At such a moment you are looking at the driver to understand the event !? The private car has given way to you. You are confronted with embarrassment. Actually, it was normal.
The buses are more interesting. When you get on the bus, the driver welcomes you by saying “Hello / Hi / Welcome etc …” and the passengers go down saying “Thank you driver”. “Thank you!” A word that Canadians use a lot, you get used to it in time.
Below, I have a series of photographs in Vancouver telling about the neighborhood I lived in the first term.
As you can see, greenery is a neighborhood of two-story houses. Chinese signboards surprise you, I do not live in Chinatown, Chinese immigrants accounted for 35% of the urban population. Canada’s official language, although English and French in Vancouver can say that Chinese second official language. In other provinces, this rate is shifting towards the French.
Vancouver Downtown
VFS is in Vancouver city center. I can go to the bus in 30 min by bus. Although it seems to be short for Ankara and Istanbul, it is a long distance for the Vancouver residents. When you visit the city center, you understand well what multiculturalism means.
The Animation Campus of VFS
The school in the city center is really busy. Although I love romantic campuses at the mountain top, there are also some advantages of being in the city center. For example, there are hundreds of grocery stores and coffee shops around. If you have a bureaucratic job, you can easily handle it. Examine the local bank and local phone number transactions easily through the course.
“Serdar” certainly can not say that for sure, I decided to go out of the Wizard of Oz and use “Ozgur”. Ozgur in Canada, in Turkey, Serdar. I am a personality division. When I lived on the same level as the new division I learned, I took it further and started to scrape on the right. Almost five people in the first semester injured their wrists because of drawing for hours. You should pay attention to the health of a girl who has worn out from old times. Indeed, be prepared for a section where 10 hours of drawing is done per day.
Live modeling is 3 hours a week. The lesson starts with 30 second drawings. Then it progresses in 2 minutes, 5 minutes and 20 minutes. The rest is taking place at the beginning of the computer, as shown below Wacom Cintiq wants both enjoyable and serious performance.
How was the Lessons?
The vast majority of our courses are at the beginning of Cintiq. Software: We will use Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro, Google SketchUp, Toonboom, Zbrush. Although it is loaded with Maya, it is not taught that it belongs to 3D students. I think that’s the biggest drawback of the department. They think that ACA graduates will not be doing much with 3D because the industry specializes extensively.
The first period is already warming up in Photoshop, coloring is forbidden, everything is gray (grayscale), color is the future turn. The basic theme of the first period was vehicle design. Throughout the semester, we worked out how to design a vehicle step by step and at the end of the semester, we prepared a presentation that explained all the processes.
There have been other developments. For example, the drawing I made in “Digital Painting 1” was shared on the Instagram page.
I made a voiceover in an animation movie because the studio was in front of the class. Sharing on YouTube.
The first period was quite intense and efficient. When I entered the second semester, I was happy to see the car design on the wall. Below is the vehicle design phases and colored version of the end of the period.
Is everything really perfect?
No, it’s really hard for every single student from the Middle East to get a work permit. European citizens already have a chance to find jobs in the European region. There are not many visa problems in North or South America. Future is dark when you add to it that your age is also late. Because people who do not have a living or work permit do not prefer companies, they have to give extra money to the state for foreigners to work. It is not a simple fee. Instead, they give priority to their own citizens. So after the dream is over, everything is prepared for you to send back to your third world country, so you have to make a plan against it in this time. Let’s see what is going to happen. Kısmet.
You may watch one of the speech of our instructor Colin Giles.
Next Term
We will do environment design with the second term color theory. Take care of yourself.
Thank you.
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Me
Hello Ozgur Bay,
I really admire of some your works. I’m following you in every media. You are sooo smart and talented, I believe. Keep going!
Best Kisses from Madagaskar,
H.Kitty