Digital Arts

Incorporating both 2D and 3D techniques, theories, and production processes, courses in the Department of Digital Arts gives students the skills they’ll need in the rapidly evolving fields of games, animation, and other visual media. Department faculty have extensive backgrounds in traditional art, graphic design, and animation in games and film for companies like Koei Tecmo and LucasArts.

Department Faculty

Marc Tan Chin Chuan

Department Chair
Senior Lecturer

Marc Tan’s career started with a bang in 1995 when he won Best Packaging from Singapore Packaging Council soon after graduating from LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts.

After three years working as a graphic designer, Marc began to branch out into nascent web and multimedia industry design, which sparked his lifelong interest in computer graphics and animation. In 1999, he created his first independent computer animated short, which was screened at the Singapore Film Festival and won an award at the first ComGraph Singapore.

In 2000, Marc enrolled in the computer animation program offered by Sheridan College. After graduating, he returned to Singapore to work in the post-production industry on high-end commercials and documentaries.

In 2005, Marc joined Southern Star Singapore as Lead Technical Director to work on the award-winning children’s animated television programs Bottle Top Bill and Raggs. He also started lecturing part time at 3dsense and Singapore Polytechnic.

In 2007, Marc transitioned into the games industry by joining RealU as Lead Character Modeller working on an MMO based on Tad Williams’ classic sci-fi tetralogy, Otherland. Shortly before closed beta testing on the game, he joined DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore as a full-time lecturer in the art faculty.

In 2016, Marc received his master’s degree in Digital Media Management from Teesside University.

Marc Tan Chin Chuan teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.

Fin Teo Song Tiang

Associate Professor

Fin Teo graduated summa cum laude from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2001 with a master’s degree in fine arts (Computer Art) and a 4.0 GPA. His training has included MEL script and character animation (Alias Wavefront Certified).

Fin has more than 20 years of management and production experience in the U.S. art, game, and movie industries as Head of Shading and Look Development at Blizzard Entertainment. While there, he supervised and led teams to set the highest visual cinematic standard for projects such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

Fin also played an integral part in high-profile film productions at Digital Domain, such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Winner for Best Visual Effects at the 81st Academy Awards), Pirates of the Caribbean, and more.

Besides bringing his vast industry experiences to the school, Fin is also passionate about teaching. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore), he served at Nanyang Polytechnic School of Interactive & Digital Media (Singapore) as a Specialist in Computer Graphics, E-learning, and Senior Lecturer in 3D Animation.

Fin Teo Song Tiang teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.

Sandara Tang Sin Yun

Principal Lecturer

Sandara Tang earned a BA in Multimedia Arts from LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts.

Following her graduation, she became an art director at Southern Star Singapore. In 2005, she worked as a CG artist at KOEI, and joined Softworld/Zealot Digital the next year as an art director. She has also worked on illustrations for many card games such as Warhammer Invasion, Lord of the Rings, Descent, Game of Thrones, Android Infiltration, Legend of the Crytids, Reign of Dragons, and many others.

Sandara joined DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore in 2011 and currently teaches digital painting.

Sandara Tang Sin Yun teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Arts in User Experience and Game Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.

Noraset Rerkkachornkiat

Senior Lecturer

Noraset graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand. He specializes in character animation and character setup for animation production. He began his career as a 3D artist with the Bangkok-based studio Imagimax, focusing on local film, animation projects, and commercials.

In 2004, Noraset pursued dual diplomas in the fields of 2D and 3D animation at the Vancouver Film School. In 2007, he worked briefly at Redeye Studio in Singapore as a CG supervisor. In 2008 he joined Lucasfilm Singapore as a character animator and worked on the studio’s TV series for four years.

Apart from being a professional animator, he is also deeply passionate about teaching and served at 3dsense Media School as an animation lecturer and animation supervisor. He joined DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore in 2011 and continues to serve in his full capacity as an animation senior lecturer and animation project supervisor.

Noraset Rerkkachornkiat teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.

Lawrence Pak Zhi Heng

Senior Lecturer

Lawrence Pak graduated with a Diploma in Interactive and Digital Media from Nanyang Polytechnic and a master’s degree in Digital Management (Distinction) from Teesside University.

Lawrence began his career in 2003 as a 3D artist creating assets and floor plan layouts for Dynaforce International, a firm specializing in gym setups. Within two years, he attained the position of Operations Executive. In this role, he was responsible for ensuring that clients’ expectations were met, and that the Singapore and Malaysia teams adhered to the standards of artistic production.

In 2005, Lawrence joined Koei Tecmo Singapore, attaining his dream career in the game industry when the Japanese company first opened its Singapore office. As one of the pioneers entering the local games industry in its infancy, he helped to grow and develop the community. During this time, he participated in the production of Singapore’s first MMORPG, Romance of the Three Kingdoms Online.

In 2008, Lawrence was among the selected few to be offered an internship attachment at Koei Tecmo Japan in Yokohama, where he trained for a year. Upon returning to Koei Tecmo Singapore, he assumed the role of Environment Lead Artist.

In the years since, he has led his team in the production of numerous exciting Koei Tecmo titles such as Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and the Nobunaga’s Ambition series. Other notable titles that he has worked on include Winning Post and the Uncharted Water series.

Having spent more than a decade in the games industry, Lawrence now brings a wealth of knowledge and international experiences to his teaching position at DigiPen (Singapore).

Lawrence Pak Zhi Heng teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Arts in Game Design, Bachelor of Arts in User Experience and Game Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.