Sam Kwan

Originally, I was going to study a more ‘traditional’ subject like law, but then in college I decided I really wanted to go into the art industry. I've enjoyed playing video games for a while, so I decided why not study a subject that I actually like? My favourite games are Overwatch and Genshin Impact – games with mechs, first-person and third-person adventures and battles.

Life at USW

I chose to study at USW because it was the best university I could find locally. I didn’t want to be too far away from home and the student reviews here are really good. I had a portfolio review with the course leader Gina, who was amazing. She said my work was great - I was chuffed with that! I also did a taster session - a drawing session with Gina and the entire group which was interesting.
Attending that day made me feel more confident and the teachers were really nice - that was definitely a selling point.

Making friends and learning new skills

The environment at USW has been great. Honestly, I was quite nervous to meet new people and to be in a new environment, so I was quite glad to find people who I could speak to comfortably.

The library, the teachers and the support that I've been getting has been great too.

I’ve also worked with other students on the course which has been a really rewarding experience. Everyone in my group has been very nice and we help each other.

The 3D modelling has been my favourite part of the course so far. We're coming to the end of that unit now and I feel like the end result is probably going to be the best bit.

We've also had the chance to experience the city, walking to places like Cardiff Bay and doing perspective drawings of buildings.

Even though it’s my first year, I’m hoping to try and find some work experience or an apprenticeship between May and September, so I'm thinking of asking our tutors if there are any summer opportunities.

My advice for people thinking about studying this course is: if you like games, go for it! And if you don't end up liking it, you can always swap courses because there are similarities with other art subjects like Illustration and Animation.