The One Academy of Malaysia.

[MuizChulan]

I study here,at THE ONE ACADEMY,Malaysia.

ever heard of it?

I`m still in the foundation year.I`m gonna be mojoring in ILLUSTRATION AND COMICS.

thank you.

[Goober101]

Nice story.

[darth massacre]

Dude...take the effort to learn properly.

I've got 2 colleagues from One Academy (they're both Malaysians) and both of them are brilliant artists. They are part of our very small team of concept artists who are capable in all aspects of production. :D

[Eilrach]

Alo im also a student in the One Academy now majoring in illustration. Quite a good college i might say , trains my painting skills but have to learn concept art myself.

[yuki85]

hi,i major in illustration too in the one academy. Is a good college. I been graduating soon. Nice to meet you guy.

[amer-nazri]

What is the one academy like? I've also heard of Malaysian Institute of Art or something like that, cant remember exactly. Some of the student work at their website are very good, better than the ones i saw back in some art colleges in London. Anyway, how many well known art colleges exist in malaysia? I might just continue take a course somewhere closer to home.

[shincoda]

The one sux, they darken ur future
the academy no own cafeteria also

[nollin]

Well the one academy is kinda crappy. Good lecturers are leaving, and yeah theres no cafeteria in there. Oh and the principal is a f@#ktard. yes.

[Yousef]

shincoda, why does it suck? Because I was thinking of studying there.

Would any one know of art courses in Malaysia?

[yuki85]

hi,the one academy is really good,its train your fountation and good atitude.
While Malaysian Institute of Art is a good college too. there got other art college in malaysia,like dasein academy is open by the one academy senior,the student result is not bad. This is two website about the college,your guy can look at it.
http://www.toa.edu.my, http://www.dasein.edu.my
i think it also answer yousef question.

[Orc Kid]

i wish i can be concept artist too..=) wish to be in the study tracks

[Physiokinetic]

Hello. This thread caught my eye and I was hoping to get some more information. I am in my final year of enrollment at the Evergreen State College in WA, and I am strongly considering attendance at The One Academy after I graduate from my current school.

I am a white westerner. I am wondering if there are any other white international students attending who could tell me what it is like to be of that demographic at a digital arts school in Malaysia, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim. We obviously live in a wartorn modern world and I want to know what issues I can expect to deal with that the information on the site won't tell me. Just to make sure we're on the same page, I'm a liberal progressive and not a racist. I've learned quite a bit about global human rights issues including the West's deceptive media spin on the muslim world, so I want to hear a straight account of life at the One from another western student.

If anyone, not just the white guys, has any feedback on the subject, I'd love to hear it.

Also, finances: On ‘The One Academy’s’ FAQ site, they say that that the average living expenses for a student are 13,000 RM to 18,000 RM. The RM is 3.8 to the US dollar, so that’s $4736 US. The first year of tuition for an international student is $3,305. All together that’s $8,041 for the first year in Malaysia. Am I doing the math right, or have I forgotten something?

Thanks very much for your time.
-Physio

[reksgwee]

TOA was actually one of my option when i wanted to study for a diploma.. but too bad, they pulled out of singapore... do they offer degree courses? my seniors in my ex work place are both from there too...

[machzero]

hey Physiokinetic,

don't think i fit your criteria of white art student... but have been living around the capital city of malaysia for about 2-3 years after spending the previous ten in s.california.

it's quite a moderate muslim country... 50-60% are muslims, but you'll often see a church (catholic, seventh day adventists, various protestent groups, you name it) next to a hindu temple with a mosque down the street... and no one's firebombing the heck outta the other. Christmas is an official holiday, so are various buddist/hindu holidays... plus the typical muslim holidays.


alcohol is legal and is served in most places... but being smart, the government heavily taxes it. However, most non-chinese restaurants use beef as pork substitutes to keep it "kosher". Beef pepperoni at the local pizza hut is just NOT the same..



there's also a sizable amount of foreign expatriates living/working around the capital city. And thanks to globalisation, you'll be running into starbucks and macdonald's left and right. Plus UK and australian retail/fastfood/clothe chains too. To quote some buddies from the UK, "WTF is Debenhams here!!! And why is it in a posh place!@!@".


oh yeah, US$4800 a year is living like a king, which sounds like healthy drinking and partying every other night. If you pump up on the peptobismol and can take the local cuisine, you'll be saving tons of cash. "Higher end" places like Chili's is slightly cheaper than US prices with slightly smaller portions.



just don't get crushed by a lady driver in a SUV who's talking on her cell while drinking starbucks on her way to work.

[herher]

hi im herher im 18 n im from TOA too...nice meeting u guys! now its my 1st yr 2nd term, nxt term will b my major...AD.. well TOA is tough! REALLY tough but its a international standard ART & DESIGN clg...

n our principal is so great than we he start TOA he is only 27 (if im not wrong than 29), and making n motto of getting us stoping working at the age of 38! hes the man! TOA rock! nv regert to enroll here...

its my stepping stone to my future n dream! its the best ART & DESIGN clg in ASIA i can say!...

look at our seniors post folios! n they are all over the world...taking over the art n design market! :)

[Physiokinetic]

Hmm, thanks Machzero, I appreciate your feedback.

[GweeMingKun]

Hi all, This is StaNz from TOA who working in koei now in singapore also...o yeah majoring Digital animation also. Im sure every1 know TOA teaching good stupid with good lecturer but sad to say...all the best 1 I knew left TOA already...although my friend still teaching there khai koon if u know him...

btw...no own cafeteria ...about this question...hahaha
I can only laugh...
guess wat although every1 complaining TOA stupid all drawing same 1
but most of TOA fellow have their piece of cake in the market.
TOA fellow all draw the same but people still keep hiring TOA student
that the truth!! But still no 1 will promise TOA graduated fellow sure get hired...becoz I saw many people doing bad in TOA also.

[darkn2ght]

I study here,at THE ONE ACADEMY,Malaysia.

ever heard of it?

I`m still in the foundation year.I`m gonna be mojoring in ILLUSTRATION AND COMICS.

thank you.

enquiry: please tell me more about your major. thanx! i'm really interested in taking it--i especially like drawing comics but have some trouble convincing parents. how do you like your course by the way? my email add: darkn2ght@hotmail.com

[Hanuka]

this might be a stupid question and i'll seem all uneducated and whatnot - but... what is the teaching language in Malaysia and especially that academy? Malay? Still English?
[...]
okay, checked some more, yup, english. thanks.

[Rezeroth]

I'm a graduate from The One Academy and this is my two cents worth. Regardless how bad or crappy that place is, i would dare say that it's probably the BEST art school here in M'sia especially if you're interested in Illustration or digital animation. Many good lecturers had left but that does not mean that the teaching structure will suck. I would just say that it takes lots and lots of your own effort to be the best. If anyone who plans to enroll in this college and expects the lecturers to feed you all the knowledge, then it does not matter what school you go to. What i'm saying is that your attitude and personality is key to survive in THE One Academy and come out of the other end as 1 of the top and not just 'anoter' diploma grad.

Oh and uh.. Orc kid! if you're still reading this thread, I understand your situtation and i don't mind helping you out. I'm working as a concept artist myself right now so if you need anything feel free to contact me.

Cheers! to all my fellow TOA comrades!

[Rezeroth]

oh yea and to those who gives a shit so much about having a "cafeteria" in the college, i'm so sorry for you guys coz if you're going to judge the quality a college by having a cafeteria or not then better go look for a school that has a big cafeteria in it and forget about what you're going to study..

[Suryl]

The One Academy is by far one of the top Art schools in Malaysia, alright. For Animation, there is also Go Academy and Daisen trying to compete in the market.

And yes it is true that many of the good lecturers left The One Academy already. As well as keeping the facilities up to date. I graduated in the year 2005 and at those times we struggle to share the facilities, the computers are slower than the one I have at home, which is only 1GB RAM big with 80 Gig hard disk Pentium 4.

The life sketching session is very limited, due to the over conservative culture, nude life sketches are not available at all, and the college struggles to invite woman models even to pose in swimsuits. :) Animal life sketches are not available so you are pretty much going to be on your own to do your own additional studies there.

They have a really nice 2D Animation lab and a Guest lecturer teaching there. But again the facilities are never enough for the students to use, they only had 2 shooting cameras working back at my time so it's really frustrating when everyone is rushing to meet the deadline. You are probably better off, again, using your own scanner and computer at home to do the work.

Based on my experience the most you get out of the school is when your classmates are very motivated as well, and that your lecturers don't suck. If they do, it's seriously going to affect you somehow or another with everyone slacking and being lazy. Unless you are very very self motivated that you can be the one driving the class! The connection you can get from your classmates and lecturer upon graduation can play quite a role in helping you land on a job locally as well.

If you have any questions about any specific animation classes, feel free to ask away. :) I will see what I can do to answer as long as I think it's fine to tell.

[Zakh]

The One Academy rocks. It teaches you like everything! Not just to craft and design but how to handle people and clients. Sure the lecturers sometimes come and go, but those who said the good ones left, there are good ones now. Almost every lecturer is good and sensible as far as I can see. They aren't like normal lecturers, most are all very casual and friendly and call them by first name basis. They all seem pretty young too haha. Communications class is my favourite =p The work is incredible! As in a lot! But I find even though it's so so much and you have a lot of stress, I wouldn't pass this up for the world. It has improved me in every way! I used to game all day and slack and stuff, but now I actually enjoy working on my projects and trying to perfect them. A nice thing is, no text books! It's all practical work! So it's not like studying at all.

The thing is, if you really love what you're doing, and know what you really want to do, you'll do great in The One! I don't know who has a problem with the principle, he seems like a great guy. Very energetic and happy haha. Always giving thumbs up, saying hi and trying to encourage students. The One has confirmed my feelings in what I want to do for a living and I can't wait to go through my next 2 years.

No cafeteria? Hahaha! Right next to The One is Ming Tien, a chinese restaurant that sells a lot! And then there are about 5 mamaks, a vegetarian restaurant, a vegetarian bakery, a normal bakery, an indian restaurant, KFC, and after all that, the college is like literally a 2 minutes walk to SUNWAY PYRAMID!! It has 800 stores! For food you have McD, Fridays, Delifrance, Pizza Hut, Carls Jr, Fig & Olive, Subway, lots of local cuisine, and much much more! Then of course for entertainment there is Red Box, a cinema, indoor archery range, arcade, ice skating, lagoon. So what the hell do you need a cafeteria for?? Haha!

And as a student of The One you get free entrance to Sunway Lagoon! Just show your student ID and they let you in for free! Roller coasters and artificial beaches and rides, wet and dry!

The One is also equipped with a library so you can easily read up on anything you're studying.

Also as for foreign students, we're all very accepting so don't have to worry =D Most people regarless of race or religion get along. Not everyone of course haha but that's normal. But everyone I get to know =p

Any other questions feel free to ask =)

[saimen]

hye all.....i wana knw bout the cost of material if v take illustration....izit vry expensive?cozi heard some of ppl said that the cost almost same with the fees of course v chosen...ths 4 any1 who reply

[KeithChee]

hi~
i am goin to TOA thios may~

what do i nid??

do i need to buy a mac??

and also cameras.....

i am studying the 3+0 graphic+illustration course~

[meduza]

Hello I'm planning on studying there as well. But the part that got me was

Benjamin Zhang Bin
Kin Sun LOh
kidchan

Did they all leave?

I read that Kinsun is the art director? Does he teach in the first year?


And none of you students have sketchbooks, It'd be cool to see some outputs:)

Thanks! Would love to be there late this year, hopefully:)

[aaluaine]

Hi there, I'm planning on applying to TOA aswell

I've decided on BFA (Hons) Graphic Design + Illustration ...

can anyone tell me about the TOA experience? and can I major in Illustration + Comics under this degree course?

[Ics]

Hey Aaluiane,

I'm a second year illustration major. No i don't think you can do the illustration comics bit under the degree as from my viewpoint the degree and diploma courses are slightly different.

Be prepared to work your ass off during foundation and even harder in the following semesters. But if you have the money, I do suggest you going to an overseas university as I do think sometimes that the teaching quality varies from lecturer to lecturer and the illustration program covers a very wide range of areas: graphic design, advertising etc. It can be a good thing if you dont have a general idea of what to do, but it is hard for students who are clear of their future pathways ie, concept art to focus on their chosen field.

Many assignments will involve doing photo montages geared towards poster designs. I am taking perspective with TAD now and it is soo much better than what I experiences studying perspective at TOA.

So if you're looking to study in Malaysia its a good idea to attend. But if you have the money to go overseas you should go. Either way you'd have to work very hard no matter where you go. Good luck!