Stanley Lau (Artgerm)

Stanley Lau (Artgerm)

October 2, 2025

When I think of Artgerm, I think of someone who started this whole art journey for me.

I forgot when I first followed him, but I do remember the catalyst that made me decide to study in 3dsense Media School. In fact, I have the post saved and bookmarked here. It basically shows the 1-year transformation of his students who went through the Concept Art & Illustration program in 3dsense.

During that time, I literally remember thinking, “What the heck?? That’s possible??” I was in my 2nd year of college during this time, and I remember thinking it would be nice to also learn how to create digital art somewhere, but not take too long.

Artgerm’s post was the answer to that. There, I saw the rapid transformation of students, which was what I wanted. I didn’t wanna spend another 4 years studying. I wanted things fast.

And so, after graduating college and doing a job here and there, I decided to finally go through with it.

Lemme tell you, things were things fast. Not just fast. Intense. Very, very intense. You know the saying that diamonds are made under pressure? That was exactly what happened during the 1-year curriculum of Concept Art & Illustration. But boy was it fun.

During that time, Artgerm taught my classmates and I so much, as shown by the works and assignments below. I remember when we reached his face rendering class and learned his rendering method for the first time (which you can see down below with the blue-haired girl). At least for me, that literally blew my mind.

Perhaps it would’ve been less mindblowing for someone who’s been doing art already, but the first time I ever held a digital tablet was when I needed to provide a portfolio to apply to the school. This meant that I was basically an empty cup.

In any case, a lot of his exercises were really fun because they provided a lot of concepts when dealing with different situations, such as the relationship between subject and background, rendering metal, drawing a face, and a lot more.

If you’re currently Artgerm’s student, you get to receive lots of gifts from him here and there! If it’s your birthday (or birth month), you get a free drawing from him of any character of your choosing. Sometimes, when he has leftover prints and art books, he’d go into your classroom and ask if you wanted any for free, which he would then sign for you.

Grateful to receive a birthday sketch, artbooks, and prints from Artgerm for free :)

My favorite moments however, were the final two that I experienced towards the end of my journey as a student under him.

The first was his final class. His final class consisted of a 1-on-1 moment with each and every student in the classroom. When it was my turn, there were a lot of things I asked him especially as someone who wanted to also become an art teacher.

However, the one question I remember the most was when I asked him about impostor syndrome. It was along the lines of, “How do I teach if all of my learnings came from you and the other teachers? Shouldn’t I just recommend them to study in 3dsense then where they can learn from you?”

And I remember Artgerm saying something along the lines of how not everyone would have the opportunity to study in 3dsense anyway. Asides from that, it’s natural for a student to be influenced by their teachers and eventually have their own art style and teaching style. Even he was influenced by those he learned from.

For me, that moment where I was able to converse with him 1-on-1 ultimately gave a feeling of reassurance, which I greatly appreciated.

The second moment was when our class was able to visit his art studio. We got to see the behind-the-scenes of what his workplace looked like and were able to ask him some final questions.

Behind-the-scenes of Artgerm’s workdesk for traditional artworks back in March 2024 (Image shot by @lexiee.pixiee)

It was there when Artgerm answered a question in the thank-you letter I gave him during graduation. I asked: “What makes a good teacher?”

For Artgerm, a good artist doesn’t necessarily mean a good teacher. For him, a good teacher is someone who identifies the individual’s preference and way of learning. The teacher is then able to repackage what they’re teaching into different angles. Not just that, but a good teacher makes teaching fun. They let students draw what they find fun instead of what the teacher likes.

At the end of it all, I’m super happy that I got to learn under Artgerm. I really hope I get to have lunch with him again once I visit Singapore another time.

And if ever you’re reading this Artgerm, thank you so much :)

Some of my assignments and works under Artgerm