Yogyakarta, April 28, 2026 — The Animation Study Program, Faculty of Creative Media Arts, Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta, once again strengthens the relationship between academia and the creative industry through a practitioner lecture session with Polar Engine Studio Yogyakarta. This activity, held as part of the Digital Painting course, featured two industry practitioners: Stormy Elia Fanggidae, S.Sn., and Alifka Hammam Nugroho, S.Ds.
The presence of industry practitioners in the learning space is one of the strategies of the Animation Study Program at ISI Yogyakarta to bring students closer to the professional work ecosystem. Through this activity, students not only gain enhanced digital drawing skills but also understand work standards, communication patterns, production processes, and the real challenges faced by illustrators and visual creators in the creative industry.
In the first session, Stormy Elia Fanggidae, S.Sn., Senior Illustrator at Polar Engine and a 2009 alumnus of Visual Communication Design from ISI Yogyakarta, shared experiences about the realities of the illustrator profession. He explained that the creative job market demands more than just drawing skills. A professional illustrator needs to be able to read briefs, communicate effectively with clients or production teams, receive feedback, manage revisions, maintain visual quality, and complete work according to established workflows and targets.
Stormy's material also opened students' awareness regarding the difference between drawing as a hobby and drawing as a profession. In the creative industry, the process of creating visual works requires discipline, time management, readiness to receive evaluation, and the ability to maintain quality consistency. Students were also invited to understand the various challenges that often arise in creative work, from deadline pressure, burnout, overwork, imposter syndrome, issues with artwork pricing or salary, to the development of artificial intelligence technology.
In the next session, Alifka Hammam Nugroho, S.Ds. presented material on exploring visual composition in digital painting. He emphasized the importance of composition as a foundation for building communicative, directed images with a clear focal point. Students were introduced to the arrangement of visual elements such as big, medium, small, value, color, focal point, and lighting as an important foundation for creating spatial depth, atmosphere, and visual readability.
Through this explanation, students gain an understanding that professional visual work is born from a blend of artistic sensitivity, technical ability, and mature work processes. Digital drawing skills need to be built comprehensively, from mastering form and color, the ability to read production needs, portfolio compilation, to the sustainable management of the creative process.
This activity also affirms ISI Yogyakarta's position as an art institution that continues to respond to the developments in the creative industry. In the context of animation, illustration, games, concept art, and digital media, the connection between campus and industry becomes crucial so that learning does not stop at the academic aspect, but also touches professional needs and contemporary visual technology developments.
Polar Engine Studio Yogyakarta is known as a studio that specializes in 2D illustration and concept art for various visual asset needs, such as cover art, video games, card games, collectibles, and the visual entertainment industry. The studio's presence in the academic space gives students an overview of the visual standards and work processes relevant to the creative industry's needs, both nationally and globally.
Through this practitioner lecture, the Animation Study Program at ISI Yogyakarta continues to encourage open, collaborative learning oriented towards strengthening student competencies. Activities like this are part of ISI Yogyakarta's efforts to produce visual creators who not only possess artistic skills but are also ready to work professionally, adaptively, and competitively within today's creative industry ecosystem.
EN 
ID