Chapter 184: Fast Learner
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Why do you want to learn sand art?”
Wen Wan had already guessed this possibility before Meng Fan arrived. She knew it was the most likely, otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to her. She asked the question out of courtesy, but she was also genuinely curious.
Meng Fan was famous, and in addition to doing strange things, everyone was still willing to mention him because there was the premise that he was very good at his specialty. Otherwise, these strange things would just be out of professional merit instead of for entertainment. If that was the case, his cla.s.smates would still talk about him, but professors wouldn’t approve.
Many people had seen Meng Fan’s manga and his ill.u.s.trations, including Wen Wan, and they could all see that Meng Fan’s drawing skills were among the highest in the industry.
Because of this, Wen Wan was curious.
Most sand painters transferred from manga artists and not sketching or oil painting since sand painting was very similar to manga in terms of the creative techniques required.
Meng Fan’s response was more or less honest. “I think sand art is pretty cool, and I’m very interested.”
“Your answer is pretty cool too.”
Maybe it was already preconceived, or maybe his charm was working, regardless, Wen Wan had a very good impression of Meng Fan. She even accepted Meng Fan’s sloppy response as a gesture of his coolness and continued to ask him, “How would you like me to teach you? Do you want to go to cla.s.s or come to my studio?”
Meng Fan was overjoyed. “You agree to teach me?”
Wen Wan smiled. “There’s no reason to say no.”
Meng Fan thought for a while and said a little sheepishly, “I want your one on one teaching course. It’s like this, I think I have a good foundation for drawing, and I’m a fast learner as well… Uhm, most importantly, I have a lot of questions. If it was a regular cla.s.s, I’m afraid I’ll just waste the other students’ time with too many questions.”
Meng Fan wanted to find a teacher to get him started quickly, so he could have a sense of direction and became familiarized with the process. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to transition regardless of how great his drawing skills were. It was not like his drawing skills had its own “memory” that would allow him to know sand painting without even learning it.
“You mean you want to learn fast?”
Wen Wan didn’t doubt Meng Fan’s self-confidence since facts had proven that sand painting wasn’t a skill heavy form of art. Regardless of what category of art one chose to paint, sand art was easy to learn as long as one had the foundations set. And if one had their own drawing style, their sand painting style would be unique as well.
In addition, strong calligraphy skills would also greatly help with sand painting.
Even if one began from zero, one had to spend a lot of time on their foundations which required a lot of effort.
Of course, it didn’t mean that other skills were required to paint with sand which was the same as… if one learned oil painting, one might not be good at Chinese painting. After all, the tools and methods were different, and nothing was certain.
In retrospect, with Meng Fan’s current painting skills in sand painting, Wen Wan believed Meng Fan would have a great advantage.
“I want to see how fast you really are.”
Wen Wan smiled. “How about this. I was going to head to my studio today, so why don’t you come with me. I’ll ask a staff member to share some basic knowledge and props with you, and when I’m done with my work, I’ll give you a proper lesson. If you really are fast, then I’ll go one on one with you.”
Otherwise… Did she even have to continue?
Either she didn’t teach them, or she treated everyone equally.
Meng Fan nodded fervently. “Then thank you in advance.”
“My studio is right next to the school. Let’s go there.”
As they spoke, the two left the office and headed toward the school gates.
“Iron singer!”
“Bada.s.s!”
“h.e.l.lo, Meng Fatty!”
Along the way, they ran into a lot of people who greeted Meng Fan, and even those who didn’t say h.e.l.lo also looked at him a few times.
At Bai Zhi’s concert yesterday, the largest audience group by far was the student and faculty from the Academy. Most of them had watched it, and those who didn’t catch up with the videos, especially the two songs that Meng Fan sang.
In addition, the video of Meng Fan’s two songs on Weibo had received a high number of shares and retweets. It was even popular on some short video sharing platforms.
It was a pity that these clicks and retweets couldn’t be converted into viewers. Otherwise, Meng Fan didn’t even need to study sand painting for the double eleven gala since that would have completed the task already.
“Those who don’t know probably think you’re famous.”
As they left the school, she said with a smile and pointed toward a direction before walking there. Not long after, they reached a neighborhood near the school. Coincidentally, Wen Wan’s studio was in the same neighborhood as Meng Fan. Although they weren’t in the same building, they were only one unit apart. If he really looked, he could see the studio from his apartment.
Wen Wan’s sand painting studio was called Wen Wan Sand Art. It occupied the second and third floors with a relatively large surface area. The third floor was for meetings, guests, research, and some teaching. The second floor was mostly used for practice and other creative functions.
“Ding.”
Wen Wan took Meng Fan into the second-floor studio and spoke to a guy who had been tossing sand. “I don’t have to introduce him, do I? Can you take him around to familiarize with the tools, and teach him some basics for sand painting as well. I’ll be joining you two in a moment.”
She then turned to Meng Fan. “If you want to know anything just ask him.”
After this, she headed for the third floor.
“h.e.l.lo, iron hero!”
Ding was a student from the academy as well; of course, he knew Meng Fan.
More than half of Wen Wan’s students at this studio were from HuaXia academy. A quarter of them were graduates from the academy, and a handful of the rest was from the National Art Academy.
Wen Wan was just like Qin Jiao when it came to helping students.
Of course, the academy was still the best resource for studios like these. If one didn’t pounce when the treasure was right under their nose, where else would one go?
Ding asked him a few curious questions and then began to introduce the tools once he got a better understanding of Meng Fan. The most important tool out of these was the sand used for the art.
The sand came in several different types and colors to satisfy various requirements.
Ding had been learning sand painting since his first year at the university and entered Wen Wan’s studio in his second year. He was legitimately Wen Wan’s student and was already appearing solo at several performances at the beginning of this year. His foundations were solid, and he was a creative guy. And slowly but surely, he developed his own style.
Naturally, he was very professional.
After introducing Meng Fan to the tools, Ding began to teach him starting from the basics since he knew Meng Fan had zero foundations, to begin with.
He talked for a dozen or so minutes as he acted out the techniques.
“The basics for sand painting include spreading, like this…Then it’s spreading… dotting…”
Ten more minutes later, Ding let Meng Fan try it out himself.
After explaining the basics, one naturally had to try it out on their own. He grasped the sand and began to ‘paint’. This way, he would be able to better digest the knowledge; otherwise, the lesson would just go through one ear and out the other.
About two hours later, Wen Wan went down the stairs and entered the studio. “It took longer than I thought. Coincidentally it’s dinner time, you guys can pick it up after we eat. You understand the basics right?”
At this time, Ding’s expression was a bit strange. “Professor, uhm, he already completed an entire painting on his own…”