Profile

Vararit Srisermwongse, who goes by Gong, is originally from Bangkok, Thailand. He currently attends Kyoto Seika University, where he is a junior studying in the Faculty of Design, Department of Illustration, Illustration Course, Art & Design Class.

Q: Why did you choose to study in Kyoto?

A: When I was little, my mom used to read me picture books, like Guri and Gora (a series of children’s books about a pair of field mice). That was my first contact with a creative work from Japan, I think.

As a child, I loved Japanese anime and manga. Detective Conan and Pokemon were just as popular with kids in Thailand as they were in Japan.

I was about ten years old when I took my first trip to Japan, and I started to feel more of an affinity for Japan from that point on. Japanese art and design is top-class worldwide, as well, and that’s what really made me decide to study art in Japan.

One of Gong’s pieces

Q: When did your interest in design and illustration begin?

A: It’s difficult for me to pinpoint when I first became interested in art; I think it happened slowly, over time.

I do remember really liking the picture books my mom would read me, and I loved Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli movies, of course. Some of my favorite Ghibli movies are some of the lesser known ones, but I’m a big fan. When I went to Tokyo, I visited the Studio Ghibli Museum three times. Most of the other visitors are little kids, though.

As I grew up, I was became more interested in doing film and design myself.

Because I was so inspired by other people’s works, I hope someday my work can be an inspiration to someone else.

Gong’s artwork

Q: What led you to Kyoto Seika University in particular?

A: I came to Japan after I graduated from high school, and at first I studied Japanese at a language school.

I’d already had an interest in art, and I knew that I wanted to study it—illustration in particular. I researched Japanese universities with illustration departments, and there were very few arts schools in Tokyo with the kind of program I was looking for.

When I searched for illustration in particular, Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto University of Art and Design came up in my results, so I looked up their curriculum online, and went to their open campus events in the summer. Kyoto Seika’s open campus sealed the deal for me—it was really fun, and I decided I wanted to go to school here. I felt like the kind of class I sat in on really fit me.

To be honest, I’d also spent my whole life living in giant cities—both Bangkok and Tokyo are huge. I was starting to feel like I wanted to live somewhere with a little more nature around. It’s a plus that Kyoto city maps are really easy to understand, too—everything’s a grid! (laughs)

When I applied to universities, I ended up only submitting applications to Kyoto schools. I’d already decided that it was the only place I wanted to go.

Q: When you were living in Tokyo, did you study sketching to prepare for your university applications?

A: Classes at my language school were only held in the morning, and in the afternoon there were regular college prep classes: test prep for math and Japanese, for example. I wasn’t taking the afternoon classes, so I was free to spend the time how I wanted. Still, I wasn’t able to afford art school classes, so once my morning Japanese classes ended, I would spend each day practicing my artwork by myself.

There’s a sketching test to enter arts universities, and that was the hardest part for me. Universities outside of Japan don’t usually have sketching tests: you have an interview, and they’ll review the portfolio of your work, and you learn to sketch quickly once you’ve gotten into the school. In Japan, though, they require a certain level of artistic ability before you even start. I think there are a lot of schools that will reject students who aren’t already pretty accomplished at drawing.

A lot of students may not know about this system, so I would suggest preparing for the sketching test.

Besides sketching, there’s a review of your artwork, and an interview in Japanese. I think most schools will want your Japanese to be higher than N2 of the JLPT.