Mindaugas Snarskis, BA (Hons) Digital Design
How combining creative practice and digital technology is creating a generation of digitally-savvy, commercially aware artistsMindaugas Snarskis had always been interested in art, and knew from an early age that he wanted to become an artist. When it came to finding the right degree, his research led him to LSBU's BA (Hons) Digital Design. "As soon as I found out about the course, it became my number one choice," says Mindaugas. "The syllabus was original and modern in a way that no other university was looking at art, and provided a perfect combination of arts and digital media."
Mindaugas' indent 'Melody Under The Water'
High expectations
Since starting the course, Mindaugas has found that it matches his high expectations and the skills he is developing are helping to push him further as a digital artist. "I was taught HTML programming, for example," he says. "This enabled me to build my own website so that I can show my art projects in a much more professional way."
Digital artist
Mindaugas believes that the combination of new technology and artistic practice is helping him to develop the skills he needs to succeed as a digital artist.
Our lectures are full of really useful, up-to-date information about new technology and software. But it is not the only focus – the part I enjoy the most is the creative practice sessions where we are given the time and freedom to bring our creative ideas to life.
Commercially aware
A key part of the creative practice education at LSBU is encouraging students to work on real briefs, enabling them to become commercially aware and giving them a greater understanding of what is needed to succeed in the arts world. One such example was a competition to create a short video to represent a Sky Arts channel – a competition which saw Mindaugas reach the final.
Creative approach
"We were given the task of creating a short video ident, or 'sting' for Sky Arts," Mindaugas explains. "The most important aspect was to be creative in our approach. I developed a surreal, underwater feel to my video, showing a pianist playing as the word 'Arts' slowly forms. I used the Sky colour palette for the work, but generated all the digital paintings used in the animation myself. To reach the final ten was a wonderful experience, and it was a great honour to represent LSBU at the award ceremony."
Latest software
Mindaugas' taste of success has only made him more determined to make the most of his studies at LSBU before starting his career as a digital artist.
The best thing about studying at LSBU is the quality of the lectures we have, which are incredibly illuminating and help us to increase our understanding of arts. The University also has brand new labs, so we can work using the latest software and computers, which makes a real difference to the quality of the work we are able to produce.
You can see Mindaugas' ident 'Melody Under The Water' here.