What’s the point in writing your whole life down when no body gives a shit.
Everyone’s too busy trying to be somebody else.
You know what, FUCK it!
Life’s a piece of shit anyway.

Every profession has its demands. Doctors are consulted for free medical advice, lawyers for legal information, and IT technicians are hassled to treat blue screens and troubleshoot problematic wireless networks.

Writers, being no different, are always asked where they get their ideas from.

At first I used to give flip answers to my friends who dared to ask. Sometimes I’d say, ‘From the Idea-of-the-Month Club,’ or ‘From a little idea shop in Marsiling,’ or ‘From a dusty old book full of ideas on my shelf.’

Then I grew tired of the not-very-funny answers, so these days I tell people the truth:

‘I make them up,’ I tell them. ‘Out of my head.’

People don’t like this answer. I don’t know why not. They look unhappy, as if I’m trying to slip a fast one past them. As if there’s a huge secret, and, for reasons of my own, I’m not telling them how it’s done.

But of course I’m not. Firstly, I don’t know where the ideas come from myself, what makes them come, or whether one day they’ll stop. Secondly, I doubt anyone who asks really wants a three hour lecture on the creative process. And thirdly, the ideas aren’t that important. Really they aren’t. Everyone’s got an idea for a book, a movie, a story or a TV series.

Everyone has it – the people who come up to you and tell you that they’ve “Got An Idea!”. The proposal is always the same - they’ll tell you the Idea (the hard bit), you write it down and transmute it into something people would like to consume and the two of you can split the money fifty-fifty.

The Ideas aren’t the hardest part. They’re a small component of the whole. Creating believable people who do more or less what you tell them to is much harder.

And much harder still is the process of simply sitting down and putting one word after another in skilful sequence to construct whatever it is you’re trying to build: making it interesting, fresh, groundbreaking, new.

In truth the hardest part is the translation of ideas. The metamorphous stage of turning an idea into something people can appreciate and admire is truly an art form.

The date 19th December 2001 holds one of those serendipitous moments where my life took a complete turn. Watching a certain movie with a certainly long title, I knew for certain what I was going to do with the rest of my life – I wanted to be a storyteller.

You might say that it was my ideas that fuelled my passion for media. Although I must admit I was for a long time harbouring hopes to become a film director to best translate my ideas, I soon found out the limitations of such a medium. One cannot create fantasy worlds or odd-looking characters without them ending up looking cheesy or tell stories centred on cups and saucers or rats and cheese on film.

I needed a medium that would never restrict me in telling tall tales with astounding details without breaking budgets or backs. Fortunately I stumbled upon one such medium while I was pursuing my diploma in Multimedia Technology from the then and always prestigious Singapore Polytechnic – 3D animation.

The truth is I never had an eye for drawing. The process seems so analogue and dated, often leaving me very frustrated. Although I have been for years slowly developing my drawing skills since I left the polytechnic, once I had grasped the fundamentals of 3D, I knew for certain this would be the medium that would allow me to tell tall tales for a more sophisticated audience who wouldn’t mind swimming in the pool of post-modernism and watching anthropomorphic characters living out their lives.

I love art with a passion and this was enough to inspire me to proceed with my masterworks. As I matured, I gradually improved my techniques and developed my own style. The subjects of my artworks have also evolved and matured through time. Where once I drew cartoon characters, superheroes, and school projects, I have begun to create entities that demanded attention. Moreover, I have also dabbled my hand in painting. I have sculpted landscapes with pencil and paper and have also begun painting gods and apes and lions and dogs.

I know I still have a long way to go to achieve artistic mastery. Yet I am thankful that I always feel inspired to go on because there are people who notice and appreciate my work. Although I create to satisfy my insatiable and ‘chocolate craving’ for art, I also share my talent with others. Sometimes I model 3D objects, design cards, paint for people and even extend my creations as personal gifts to those who are close to me.

There were also times when I joined web design competitions, won in some of them – no glittering prizes but motivations mostly. I am aware that I still have a lot to improve though. That is why I never cease honing my skills and perfecting my craft. Moreover, I know I need to be patient and firm because these are gifts and talents that only time and education can give me.

To me, works of art, especially 3D animations, possess a certain depth and meaning. The masterpieces which an artist creates is already a great reward for his toils and efforts. Yet more than that, his works are his life. Every sketch of a pencil or every stroke of a brush or a frame of an animation carries the passion and the inspiration of an artist like his breath and his heartbeat. His works are the reflection of his beliefs, ideas, and imagination which he masterfully fuses and transforms into an expressive creation. His masterpieces are the windows into the profundity of his mind and soul.

All I know for certain is I have tales to tell and I need to get really good at telling them.

Author’s Note.
The Author wish to thank his Polymath Friend (Latiff) for taking the time and bribe to edit this essay.

I know your face by heart. Your image is embedded in my mind. Where do I define where you begin and I end? You are in the inner most parts of my soul.

I didn’t think I was the type to fall in love. There has been no other to tug at my heart. I know now that I wouldn’t last a day without you. How could you touch me that way? How did you become my soul so quickly?

All that I need is you. You are my heart beat, the pulse that keeps me alive. You became my salvation before I knew I needed saving. You are so many things to me, too many to name in one letter. May this be the start of a lifetime of letters of love.

I hate to break it to Latiff, your prophet would probably be six feet under.

It’s just the way it is. I fear a Muslim prophet these days either don’t last very long or his enemies would have a much easier time in manipulating the people for their own agenda.

It’s really simple all you need to do is make your Prophet the target of hate and the rest of the sheep who don’t have a clue would follow the dogs.

After a while, people will get sick of this religious crap that has been going a hundred years too long, will either form new pagan religions or just accept the fact that world is indeed a fucked up place and all that matters is their own happiness which they can purchase off the shelves.

Anyway I believe that this world is kept in war.

Because war is profitable.

Because Bankers rule this world not Gods.

What have you done to me? I was sane and level headed. Never was I swayed by the scent of your perfume. Never did your ebony eyes tear my soul in two. I was too tough for the softness of love.

Then you entered my life and turned everything upside down. Being in your presence drives me crazy, and I never want to leave the radiance of your smile. Your love burns desire in my heart. I cannot live without your gentle touch. It is a breeze that refreshes and restores my being.

My day can be filled with one absurdity after another. This cannot be I think; then I fall in your arms, and you hold all the answers to an insane day. I want to be with you forever. I want and need you.

I love you more than the deepest fathoms of the sea. Your love washes over me. It renews my soul. All that I am is illuminated under your gaze. From here on you have my love each day, completely and forever more.