Finishing college marks an important step in any creative journey. We spoke to Reegan, a recent Games, Animation and Visual Effects graduate, who is now embarking on her university journey in Norwich. From exploring 3D modelling to meeting new people, Reegan has learned to embrace every opportunity that comes her way.

Read on to learn about her experience finding the right course, the support of helpful tutors through medical struggles and the importance of staying open to new connections.

Hi! What’s your name and what did you study at the College?

Hi! I’m Reegan and I studied a Level 3 in Games, Animation and Visual Effects.

What motivated you to choose this course? Do you feel that you made the right choice?

I’ve always had a passion for arts; I’ve been drawing since I was ten. I wanted to move my art towards a more digital format, and I had an interest in 3D modelling as well, so I decided to bring all that together by applying for the course. The course also gives you access to great resources that help you develop those skills.

Before this course, I was doing a Business and Administration apprenticeship for a few months before I decided that it wasn’t the right fit for me. I like art so much and I felt I wanted to do something creative. I was indecisive at first, but my mum and friends were very supportive of the change.

It’s definitely the best two years I’ve spent in education. I think it has been the right choice for me. It’s a great environment for learning, I’ve learned so much and it has helped me shape my career.

What were some of the highlights from your course?

Our lessons and group projects were fun; it was great to see what other people can make and celebrate it all together. It’s good to branch out and work with different people on different projects. The community aspect of the course was really good.

I really enjoyed the animation side of the course, we did 2D and 3D animation, which was new to me, and I hadn’t tried it before. It was good to watch films and finally understand how the animations are made. We also did web building, so we constructed our own websites or “portfolios,” where we uploaded all our work and wrote blog posts about our lessons.

What are some of the challenges you encountered in your studies and how did you overcome them?

I had a lot of medical issues the past few years. I’ve been in and out of hospital quite frequently and I’ve been speaking to my tutors to let them know about my appointments. They were so supportive and accommodating – I was able to take the day off when I needed to and sometimes work from home. If I wasn’t feeling good in class, they let me go home straightaway and wouldn’t question this, it was brilliant. They were also really caring and checked in with me during the week and kept me on their mind which was good.

The tutors were amazing, honestly the best teachers I’ve ever had. They treated everyone with respect and fairness. You could always message them to ask for help when you needed to.

What are your future career aspirations?

I’d like to be a games artist or a 3D modeller specifically, probably working for a company or creating my own games company. I’m now going to the Norwich University of the Arts so I’m going to focus on my degree first and gain more skills and experience.

I’m also currently doing a job for a games company called Team Crossroads Games – I’m their concept artist for now which involves 2D drawings, but I want to move into the 3D modelling. It’s a passion project for now but we’re also talking about a potential contract, which is exciting. It was actually the College that got me into that job, which was really cool!

What advice would you give to someone wanting to apply for your course today?

Jump in the deep end – you don’t really know what you’re getting yourself into until you’re there. I was nervous at first, but then I just thought: what is there to lose? It was definitely worth it.

I saw some of the previous work from students during the Open Days which was really helpful, and I had the opportunity to talk with them about the modules and the course. It helped give me that extra little push to apply.

Just walking around the College, you see so many people and friends, and you might feel a bit scared at first because you think everyone’s already got their friends. But if you just talk to people, it’s so easy to make friends and people are open to new connections.

Learn more about Games, Animation and Visual Effects at Milton Keynes College here.