Kingston College BTEC Digital Art, Animation & Games Design student, Dixie O’Malley, gained a fantastic Triple Distinction*, equivalent to 3 A* at A Level. She says: “I chose to study Digital Art, Animation and Games Design as I have always had a passion for animation in TV and film. I first started making animations when I was around 8 or 9 years old, and since then, I never wanted to do anything else! I chose Kingston College because I live in Kingston and I used to drive past it every day. As a kid, my parents would tell me “one day you’ll go there and make amazing art”, and they were right!!
“After I complete my course, I plan on either going to University for the Creative Arts in Farnham or working in industry. I am in the process of sending my portfolio off to different animation studios in the UK. In the long term, I want to start an animation studio with my twin sister since we are both animators!
“My favourite part of the course has to be the creative freedom we have had in all the projects. We are usually given a basic prompt and then we can come up with the rest. I find this really fun as it gives the students the ability to decide on the creative path they want to take. Most people in the course each specialise in different mediums, some students are 3D animators, digital artists, game designers, computer programmers or 2D animators! I love to see my classmates’ work and say “wow! Your work is amazing! It’s so different from mine!”
“I have really enjoyed college life. It’s so freeing compared to a sixth form or secondary school. You can dress how you want and no one judges you because they encourage people to be different! I love walking past the music studios and hearing the students scream their hearts out. I haven’t felt this accepted in a place of education ever before!
“My advice to anyone applying to my course would be to really know what you’re getting into before you apply. Digital Art, Animation and Games Design is a scary, yet very rewarding course. I suggest that you are passionate in at least one of the three subjects in this course, since you will find at least one of them confusing! For example, I was very experienced in digital art and animation before I took the course, but knew nothing about games design, so I did find one aspect of the course much more difficult (and rewarding) than the others, but that’s the joy of studying 3 subjects.”
