I went to Singapore for 5 days to attend the FZD workshop “concept art for next-gen videogames”. I went with a colleague and we really had a wonderful time, learned a crazy lot and  even had some time to do some sightseeing in this amazing city.

 

During the day, we were attending a concept art workshop, lead by Feng Zhu, with talks and demos performed by the amazing artists James Paick and Kekai Kotaki. I really admire the work of the three of them, so meeting them and seeing them in action was a fantastic experience.

We couldn’t take pictures during the seminar, however one of the artists posted the work he did during the workshop online, so here’s an impression of what we learned about! Kekai Kotaki drew this amazing piece in about 6 hours while chatting and talking about concept art with Feng Zhu:

During the evenings and night however, we had free time to stroll around Singapore and do some sightseeing. One thing that really made a an impression on me: the buildings are craaaazy in Singapore!! I love the Marina Bay Sands building, the three skyscrapers with this boat shape on top. The top is actually a huge swimming pool and club.

The design is so cool! I guess if you don’t have the threat of earthquakes, you can go more way out there with your architecture. I was really amazed walking around Singapore how every building had these unique shapes and materials, to stand out from the buildings next to it.

Also the mix of old European style houses, Chinese temples and huge golden shiny skyscrapers is jaw dropping. Everywhere you look there is something interesting to see.

 

This was the concert hall, covered in spikes, like a big pineapple!

Singapore is a shopping heaven with huge modern malls. we went inside the Marina Bay Sands, where there were shops as far as the eye could see! And also ofcourse, lots of cool architectural design elements. This was a huge rain oculus, and since it was raining heavily that day, you can see the enormous amount of rainwater dropping in the bassin below (where you could actually hire a boat).

 

Yes it was raining pretty intensely that day..

We also went to the casino, which of course was also crazy in design. We couldn’t take pictures there, so I’ll post an image I found on the internet to show you the elaborate golden design of this gamble palace! As for gambling, we lost 10 dollars in a game of roulette :p.

During a less rainy day, we visited Singapore’s symbol statue, the Merlion (a mermaid lion, very cute). The merlion symbolizes Singapore’s roots as a fishing village and the original name “Singapura”, which means “lion city”.

 

There are a total of five merlion statues in Singapore, but apparently the original one is this tiny version you see in front. That weird flower shaped building is the science museum.

When the evening fell, we noticed there was a huge festival going on. To celebrate the Chinese new year, there were parties and activities all around town. Lots of people, music, dancers and beautiful lights!

 

The view at Marina Bay is amazing during the evening, with the city skyscrapers lighting up the sky.

this bridge is called the Helix Bridge, connecting the Marina Bay Sands building with the mainland. Again, the design is supercool!

But even more amazing: Every night, three times, this:

…turns in to this:

A 15 minute lasershow with music and lights!! Really cool :)

Every night I’d return to my beautiful hotelroom that was bigger than my own house, and being on the 23d floor had a view over the harbor:

The last morning of our visit there was a beautiful sun coming up, creating this orange glow:

 

I would love to go back sometime to Singapore and see more of the city, it was a wonderful experience!!