Tiffani “Oling” Lim was 22 when she decided to turn away from the careers her studies prepared her for, risk suffering her parents’ wrath and move to a training house in Malaysia to pursue a career in esports. We asked her how she did it and how that fateful decision has since paid off.

“It doesn’t even feel like work, most of the time. It’s like something we may even be willing to do for free, so getting paid on top of that is a bonus.”

Q: Hi Tiffani, welcome to LUCK-IT! Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you are involved in the esports industry? 

A: Hello! I’m Tiffani, also known as Oling or Babyoling to my friends in the industry. I’ve been in the esports industry for 7 years now, for the past 3 years I’ve been with Battle Arena Malaysia, a high-end esports hub, as their Head of Marketing & PR. I’m also the chairperson of the International Esports Federation’s (IESF) Athletes’ Commission. 

For those who don’t fully understand what esports is about, can you explain what it is? What are the roles available in the industry and how big is it?

Esports is a niche industry that was built around gaming tournaments that can fill stadiums and attract large crowds of gamer fans. 

Many people confuse “esports” with “gaming”. While there are some casual games that we play to relax, esports usually revolve around the most competitive and high-pressure game titles like Dota 2 or Fortnite, where strategies, communication, reflexes and skills at the topmost level are required in order to win. So gaming is to esports as casual street basketball with friends is to competing in the NBA – the former is a hobby, while the latter is a professional career; a livelihood that requires utmost dedication. 

And just like in sports, esports feature regular, seasonal tournaments of all sizes which culminate in grand finals that are usually held offline. And the whole ecosystem is built around these events – you have the offline events crew, technicians, planners and marketers to put the event itself together, your online broadcasting crew who work behind-the-scenes to produce the live feed, then there are talents such as hosts, commentators, panelists, and of course you have the stars of the show – the esports players themselves who train full-time and compete for tens of thousands of prize money. There are also team owners, managers, coaches, even psychologists and nutritionists as part of the teams’ support crew. 

As for how big the industry is, a simple search would tell us the estimated valuation. I don’t believe in these statistics, but esports’ exponential growth has been evident in the fact that there are many celebrities and traditional sports club owners who’ve started investing in esports brands; esports has also been recognized as a medal event, at the 2019 SEA Games as well as the upcoming 2022 Asian Games. Right now the IOC is also considering including esports in the future Olympics, but truth be told, the esports industry is already flourishing without its inclusion in mainstream sporting events, and it will only continue to grow as our habits in entertainment consumption shift over time. 

Why did you want to join the esports industry and how did you get your first job in it? Did you have to move to another country to get involved in it or were you able to start where you were? 

My initial venture into esports was more of a spur of the moment decision – I started shoutcasting (commentating) DOTA 2 during my university days in Singapore, and formed an all-female DOTA 2 team to compete in tournaments. An opportunity then came by where I was offered to manage a top-tier Malaysian DOTA 2 team (Team Titan), that’s when I took the leap of faith and moved back to Malaysia. And that was my first contract in esports. 

To further my esports career I had to move to and stay in Malaysia – the scene in Singapore was comparatively smaller, and even when there were many passionate and capable people running the scene esports could never really gain traction or governmental support openly due to the societal culture that values academic excellence over all else. Gaming, and by extension esports, has thus always been seen as a bane and it’s going to take much more to convince parents or even athletes themselves that esports is a path worth exploring. 

What are the challenges of working professionally in the esports industry and what are the benefits? Also, is it really possible to make a living from specialising in esports? 

The main challenges would be things like not having a stable salary – the inherent nature of the industry is that it’s events-based, so paying jobs are mostly on a contract/adhoc basis. For talents, players, production & events crew alike, that’s the norm everywhere. Things have definitely improved over the years but there are still many newcomers in the industry living paycheck to paycheck. Players too if they’re past their peak, or struggling to reach the level of competitiveness where they can be picked up by pro teams. 

That said, the excitement in knowing that every project would be different and has to be tackled differently is the main benefit I can see; coupled with the fact that many of us stepped into the industry in the first place because we are deeply passionate about esports, so it’s never boring to us. It doesn’t even feel like work, most of the time. It’s like something we may even be willing to do for free, so getting paid on top of that is a bonus. 

Yes it is entirely possible. Either by becoming an esports player, an on-screen talent, or by working in production, events or team management. As long as you have the passion or skill and are willing to learn, you can make a living in esports. 

What is it like being female in the male-dominated esports industry? 

Essentially you have to prove and keep proving your “geek cred” to everyone, including those you intend to work with. I imagine it’s probably the same or similar in engineering, politics, IT or any other male-dominated industries; people will assume that you don’t know your stuff, so you just have to keep proving them wrong. And the community would usually be skeptical or patronizing when they look at a female in esports, and it would take years of consistent hard work and an almost impeccable record for females to really gain any sort of recognition, validation or respect in the industry. 

I don’t think there are females holding top leadership positions in the industry for our region, and the only few female leaders I know who own some of the top esports organizations in China and the US, all of them have been under attack by really nasty and vicious comments by netizens, suggesting that they relied on their sexuality to get to where they are today, despite their obvious success in running their companies that can only be credited to talent and grit. Females in esports generally have to endure much more “nonsense” compared to their male counterparts, and it’s always “guilty until proven innocent”. 

Worst part is when you’re a public figure while the hurtful comments or accusations come from netizens shrouded behind the anonymity of their screen names. It’s really unfair that way, but it does train you up and strengthen your resolve. 

Which 3 objects or people are most useful for you as an esports professional?  

I rather not touch on people because there are simply too many of them to name who’ve inspired or guided me on my path in esports. 

Objects-wise, 1. Laptop (MSI GE73), 2. Phone (Razer Phone 2), 3. Mouse (Razer Deathadder autographed by Min-Liang Tan!)

Which place is most useful? 

I would say Battle Arena since it’s a place filled with fond memories for me; it’s held many past events which I’ve been involved in, including the very first female tournament I’ve organized, the “Flight of the Valkyries”.

What did you learn from being an esports professional that you didn’t know before? How did it change you as a person? 

I never thought that I could derive such a great deal of joy and contentment from giving and aiding others. I’ve had many mentors in my journey who would give me valuable advice unconditionally, so I’ve taken it upon myself to pass the favor on to others who’ve come to me for advice. Helping others understand esports better, or even grow and flourish in the industry, just gave me so much pride and happiness that I have been doing it more over the years. This is the prevailing culture and the beauty of esports, and it happens when everyone’s united by the same passion and only want the best for the industry. 

So changes-wise I guess I’ve since become more altruistic, in that sometimes even if the goal is far away and there’s no end in sight, as long as it’s for a good cause and that it can help people out, I would trudge on. 

If you could go back and replay your entire career, what would you do differently? 

I probably would’ve taken up a particular job offer in China, just to learn more about how they do things over there, since their esports production is on an entirely different level. Back then I didn’t take it up since I was just in my early 20s and having to move there alone was a daunting prospect. And as a result I feel that my view of the industry today is lacking and myopic at best. 

What advice do you have for those who are presently thinking of becoming professionals in the esports industry too? 

If you know what you want to do in esports, that’s great, just don’t get in over your head since it’s a highly-competitive environment, so please always be mindful of the realities of the industry. If you don’t know what you want to do, you can just get started somewhere first and figure it out along the way. Passion will bring you to great lengths in this industry, and that’s what’s amazing about esports. 

Stay humble and willing to learn; the industry is small and word spreads so don’t think you can get away with bad behavior. Always do the right thing even when nobody’s watching. 

How has and how will COVID-19 impact the future of esports? 

The pandemic had greatly limited the types of entertainment that we have access to, and esports viewership likely benefited from this change in lifestyle. People have more time and reasons to watch gaming streams, so the demand for online esports content/events has gone up. On the other hand, at the heart of esports is the unique charm of offline events, where like-minded fans can gather in the same stadium to cheer for their teams, you get to see your favourite casters and players up close… it’s a wholly different kind of experience and atmosphere that online events aren’t able to replicate. 

Esports is already largely online-based with no need for contact or for participants to be physically in the same space, so it’ll be easier to organize compared to other sport titles, perhaps getting a head start during the first phase of recovery. There have been two international esports events held in Singapore already (Mobile Legends M2 World Championship, Dota 2 Singapore Major) when most countries haven’t even begun vaccination for their people. 

As the global community adapts to this new lifestyle, and the generation of gamers start to age, esports may eventually grow to edge out some traditional spectator sports that may be more difficult to produce in the “new normal” that we’ll have to start embracing in the near future. 

Lastly, anything else you would like to say?

Yeah I do have a rant about content creating… 

The reason why I rarely stream nowadays is because I prefer to play games that I like, instead of adjusting the types of games I play according to the community’s tastes and likings. For example, mobile gaming is really huge nowadays and garners huge viewerships, so almost all the existing streamers switched from PC to mobile games. But this is something I don’t really agree with, because I feel it can be a slippery slope. Once you start to change your content’s direction for the sole purpose of garnering views and attention, it’ll get harder and harder to notice when you’ve gone too far, or realize where you should eventually draw the line. 

If for example you realize your viewers love to watch you swear, the positive reinforcement will influence you to start swearing non-stop on stream. If one day you realize that your viewers love to leave racist or sexist comments, you may find yourself purposely changing your tone to match theirs in order to please your audience; it’s just like how you switched from PC to mobile, but the difference is that your speech can potentially become a huge social issue since streamers usually have large followings, and people who watch gaming streams, many of them are children or underaged. What sort of messages would you be sending to them? 

The sad thing nowadays is also that Facebook and other social media platform’s algorithms favor drama and sensationalism. So as you compete for views and try to earn from your streaming career, you have to make these decisions very often. I’ve personally made it a point to turn down all endorsements of shady or grey area businesses, in order to keep my social media presence clean and not to impart any questionable values. But at the same time I’ve also seen many public figures in esports who don’t share the same principles, so that’s quite worrying. 

I feel that many content creators need to realize that they have a social responsibility to play, and actively avoid the “easy way outs”, such as endorsing or condoning – betting, misogyny, sexual harassment, toxic behaviour, online gambling, matchfixing, or things like encouraging viewers to blow their entire rent or hard-earned salary on stream donations, or in-game items that are based on luck. Once you justify or naturalize these actions, it may have adverse effects on people, it might even ruin families. Every single word of streamers with huge followings, especially an adolescent following, can have unintended and far-reaching consequences, and this is something that most people don’t realize. 

Because when the competition for viewership is fierce, content creators can resort to all sorts of lowly tactics to incite drama or hate, just so they can beat the algorithms and come out on top, and unfortunately people ARE drawn to these things, there’s nothing much we can do about it. So at the end of the day, the onus is on the streamers themselves to practise their social responsibility, and also for viewers to be cautious of who they regard as their role model.

Oling is presently working to develop better protection for player rights, and looking for partners to work together on female empowerment in esports. You can follow her journey on Instagram, Facebook and www.babyoling.com or ask her questions about anything using the comment box below.

Other interviews with Oling:
Q: What Do You Plan To Do In 2021?

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Photograph copyright of Tiffani Lim. Interviewer: Sy
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At the age of 12, Jason Koh’s cousin introduced him to Dungeons and Dragons and he was immediately hooked. By age 15, he was running games after class for friends and soon after, he was playing Dungeons and Dragons with people all around the world through chat rooms and message boards. We asked the now 38-year-old why he’s still playing the game 2 decades on. 

“Players love it especially when you remember the little things they do, and then use it to make the story more engaging for them later.”

Q: Hi Jason, welcome to LUCK-IT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? Who are you and how do you tick? 

A: I’m the overlord (well, director) of a pop-culture marketing and events agency, the convention producer for one of Singapore’s largest comic art and illustration festivals, a game writer, and game master-for-hire. Basically, I do many things and wear many hats, but they’re all things I do out of love for all things pop-culture related. Lots of people think it’s challenging to make a career out of your hobbies, but here I am. I’m living it. 

You are also known as a dungeon master? What’s that and how did you get started doing it? 

A dungeon master (DM), or more commonly, a game master (GM) serves as the referee or storyteller for games, but you are an entertainer first and foremost. By telling an engaging story or creating clever scenarios, you can transport players from the familiar and ordinary into a fantastic world where they can slay imaginary dragons, become heroes, and take respite from the mundane, at least for several hours. 

I began playing Dungeons & Dragons over two decades ago, and have been a game master for private games and games with friends for almost three quarters of that, but organising and running public games at conventions and hiring out my services as a game master is a fairly recent endeavour. It was a suggestion from a client who enjoyed the spectacle of one of the massive, multi-table adventures we ran at a convention, and since I have the game materials, resources and the know-how, it seemed like a natural next step. 

For those who might not know, can you explain what Dungeons & Dragons is and how it works? How do people play it and where do they go to play it? 

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game where players take on the role of heroes (and sometimes villains), and partake in adventures. It’s a very vast, open and collaborative experience where the game master and players work together to tell a story. The game master is like the director, and the players are the stars of the show. 

All you need to play D&D are some polyhedral dice, a pen and paper, and your imagination. In the past, hobbyists would play at local game stores and conventions, or meet up at cafes or in someone’s home for a game. Now, many groups have gone digital, and you can play through platforms like Zoom or Discord, or even highly specialised sites designed to facilitate such play like Roll20.net.

As a dungeon master, how do you create the games? Do you have a source of reference or is it all created by you from scratch? 

In convention games and community play, we use D&D Adventurers League organised play rules. This system uses worlds and stories produced or endorsed by the publisher of D&D, and it allows players around the world to create persistent characters, record their achievements, and play with whomever they wish. The materials are available online, through the publisher’s website, and through a portal for community-created, crowdsourced content called the DMsGuild. 

But it’s not too tough to create your own world or tell your own story if you’re familiar with the tropes of the genre and are willing to do a bit of research. I personally enjoy telling stories that draw on Eastern influences and themes, and crafting elaborate and suspenseful mysteries for my players. In fact, working with your players to develop the story, letting their actions impact the world, and having the world evolve with them is great too.

What’s the D&D game you’ve created that you’re proudest of and what is it about? Where can people go to play it? 

I’ve published several adventures on DMsGuild for D&D Adventurers League, and one of the titles, “Ooze There?”, was nominated for an ENnie Award in 2019. The ENnies are like the Oscars of the RPG world, and it was a first time an RPG writer in Singapore was nominated, so that was quite the achievement. I have several other projects in the pipeline that will be published on the platform soon, and they will all be available for purchase as a digital download. I’m also currently working on some RPG Kickstarters, including an insect-themed one with a popular digital artist, and a Wuxia-themed project slated for release next year. 

As for those who want to dip their feet into D&D, the D&D Adventurers League Singapore Community runs monthly games online, and new players are always welcome to participate. Just check out their Discord at www.bit.ly/discalsg for more details. 

What is your monthly routine like as a dungeon master and… do you get paid for being one?

Being a game master is just a small part of what I do in the agency. If it’s a corporate engagement, we might have to devote time to research so we can craft a storyline and scenarios tailored to the client’s team-building needs. If it’s for community building or outreach, we might have to pick suitable adventures following the theme for that month or event. With games taking place remotely right now, it’s inevitable that I have to devote some time to creating visual aids and inputting data into the platforms we use for online play. 

We typically charge clients for any corporate team-building projects we run. We also charge a fee for private bookings that take place in our studio. 

With the current global health crisis however, games take place strictly online, and are typically run on Discord. We don’t charge players to participate in such online games, but they’re encouraged to tip us on Ko-fi if they had a good time. The tip goes towards keeping the Discord servers we run games on boosted, and the costs of any materials we purchase to facilitate online games. 

Which 3 people or things are most useful to your dungeon mastering work? 

I’ve found it incredibly helpful to have the rulebooks on hand, not as a reference for myself, but for players who might be newer to the game. They’re a great reference, and it’s even better now that they’ve been fully digitised and are available online. Other than that, I’d say lots of post-its and writing material. You never know when an idea might suddenly strike you, or if you might need to jot down something in a hurry. Players love it especially when you remember the little things they do, and then use it to make the story more engaging for them later.

Which place is most important?

Any place with a large enough table to fit your playgroup, really, or a place with good connectivity if you’re playing games online. That’s the beauty of the game. It takes hardly anything at all to get started.

Can you list 3 things you realised only after becoming a dungeon master?

1) Managing player expectations is easy. It’s managing player egos that is hard. 

2) Players who join the game without any preconceived notions of what D&D is can be some of the most fun to play with. 

3) Time management, and making sure your games don’t take more than four hours though, can be incredibly tough. Sometimes, you just get so caught up in the story and the roleplaying you simply lose track of the time. 

For players, what do they get out of playing Dungeons & Dragons games? How different is Dungeons & Dragons from say video/computer RPGs or life simulators like Second Life?

Playing D&D fosters cohesion, and promotes bonding through shared experience. We’ve also discovered that it’s a great tool for helping people develop communication, problem solving and social skills, heightening concentration, and in some cases, improving confidence. 

Unlike a video game, where dialogue and interactions are pre-scripted, and scenarios have predetermined endings, D&D is incredibly open-ended. If you are immersed in the game, you’ll soon realise that the story is shaped not just by the game master, but by the decisions of you and your fellow players. You’re capable of actually making a mark on the world. You’re the hero. You’re the star of the show.

Can you recommend some good places people can go to play D&D games in Singapore and around the world? 

I’d definitely say check out the D&D Adventurers League Singapore Community Discord (http://www.bit.ly/discalsg). You can also download the basic rules for D&D from the official Dungeons & Dragons website to play with friends and family. 

Some game stores may run physical games on-site, but we all know how that may not be the best right now with Covid-19, so definitely check for communities that play online near you instead. 

Lastly, what advice do you have for those hoping to become dungeon masters too? 

Lots of people don’t dare to make the jump to becoming a game master because they think they’re not good enough, or that they don’t know the game rules enough. The truth is, it’s a learning process. If you like writing stories and telling stories, it might not be a bad idea to just give it a try. Take that first step, play with friends you feel comfortable with. Practice, and you’ll definitely be able to make it. 

Jason is presently pivoting towards producing more content for DMsGuild and through Kickstarter, while also organising monthly games for the community through Discord. He is also planning to launch a D&D stream on Twitch. You can find out more about his updates through his Facebook page  (“check out the #dailylivesofntp hashtag”) or ask him anything you need to know using the comment box below. 

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Photographs courtesy and copyright of Jason Koh. Interviewer: Sy
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From 30 Oct – 10 Nov 2020, LUCK-IT will be hosting an interactive play-by-email game titled Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows where readers can go into the horror world of speculative fiction author, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo and interact with his fictional environment using nothing but the magic of words. Before that game starts, let’s find out why and how Victor wrote The Book of Red Shadows.  

“Always remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Q: Hi Victor! To start, could you introduce yourself to those who don’t yet know of you? What do you write and why do you write?

A: Hello! My name is Victor Fernando R. Ocampo and I am a Singapore-based Filipino writer of speculative and experimental fiction. 

Why do I write? I write because I have stories that need to be told. I write to understand myself and the world. As Flannery O’Conner once said: “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

Tell us a little about the other books you have published right now. What are they about and which types of readers are they for? 

I’ve written two books, the International Rubery Book Award shortlisted The Infinite Library and Other Stories (Math Paper Press, 2017) and Here be Dragons (Canvas Press, 2015), which won the Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Award in 2012. 

However, I primarily write short fiction and my work has appeared in many publications including Apex Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Likhaan Journal, Strange Horizons, Philippines Graphic, Science Fiction World and The Quarterly Literature Review of Singapore, as well as anthologies like The Best New Singapore Short Stories, Fish Eats Lion: New Singaporean Speculative Fiction, LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, Maximum Volume: Best New Philippine Fiction, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction series.

Most of my work is for general audiences, except for my experimental fiction which I usually write for myself to explore the limits of language and narrative structure. An example of the later is “1 M D 1 in 10” (BNSSS V.2 and online here) which was entirely written in SMS and L33t speak. 

What about The Book of Red Shadows that you wrote for LUCK-IT’s Play This Story series? What is that about and what can readers and players expect when going into that world of yours?

The Book of Red Shadows is my first Play-by-Email Interactive text narrative. It is part near-future Science Fiction and part mystery tale. Expect to be immersed in a future world that is almost familiar yet actually very alien.

What do you hope readers and players will get out of playing Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows?

I want to challenge readers to test the limits of how much they are willing to sacrifice their morality for “the greater good.” With each chapter, the morally ambiguous choices escalate. I want everyone who goes through the narrative to question exactly how much they are willing to accept the old adage that “the end justifies the means.” 

How did you write “The Book of Red Shadows”? How long did it take you and what were your inspirations and thoughts going through your mind as you wrote it?

I was watching old episodes of Black Mirror when the germ of the story first came to me. Despite the pleas and threats from my partners, I took longer than the agreed-upon time to write it as my stories tend to evolve as I write them. If I had a choice, I would have loved to have six months to flesh out something that would be at least a novella in length.   

Is “The Book of Red Shadows” your first interactive piece of work? How much more difficult or easy is it for you to write interactive fiction in comparison with regular fiction? 

It is the first one to be published. It’s actually easier to write than a novel because there is a structure that you have to follow. 

Which 3 people or things in your life were most important for you while you were writing The Book of Red Shadows?

My phone—for editing while on public transportation. Google—for research. A white board for mind-mapping and threading your plot 

Which place was most important?

In the story there is a chapter that is set in Tiong Bahru. This references one of my favourite places in Singapore, which used to be located at 9 Yong Siak Street.  

Can you list 3 things you realised only after writing “The Book of Red Shadows”?

White boards are great for writing complex plots. There are places that can deliver pau and siu mai after midnight. You really need a lot of time to develop and let your plot breathe in an interactive narrative. 

What advice do you have for creatives who hope to write their own interactive fiction pieces similar to The Book of Red Shadows?

Make sure you have read a few Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. Plots branch very quickly. Be careful not to do too many threads or it will become a nightmare to keep track of.  

Lastly, what advice do you have for players hoping to survive till the end of Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows?

The obvious choice isn’t always the best and always remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

Victor is presently planning to finish his novel, his second short story collection, his second children’s book and a screen play that he’s been working on. You can find out more about him at vrocampo.com and Twitter @VictorOcampo or ask him anything using the comment box below. 

To register to Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows for FREE, go here .

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Photographs courtesy and copyright of Victor Fernando R. Ocampo. Interviewer: Sy
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Yip Yew Chong painted his first mural at age 16, painted his 10th at age 47, and by age 50 had covered many streets, shopping malls, markets, libraries and private properties with his paintings. We had a chat with the now 51-year-old to find out how he did it.  

“I am not trained and actually lack practice, but my strength is the content/story manifesting in the artworks.”

Q: Hi YC! Thanks so much for being here. We’re very excited to have you. To start, can you tell us how you ended up as a muralist? Was it a life-long dream or pure chance?

A: I am actually a general artist rather than a muralist. I was an accountant by profession for 25 years while dabbling in art since school days. It was never a dream. I won’t say it is by chance either as I knew I wanted to do art when I retired from Finance.

How did you even learn how to draw and use colours this well? Is it innate or the result of decades of practice?

The trained and sharp-eyed would see that my works are not polished because I am not trained and actually lack practice (just the last few years of dabbling in public art), but my strength is the content/story manifesting in the artworks. 

How did you end up painting your first mural? Who was brave enough to let you do that to their wall and how did that turn out? 

I spotted many murals popping all over Singapore and the region from 2012 onwards. In late 2015, while taking a break from work, I gave it a try by cold-calling on doors. For the first mural, the house owner asked me for a portfolio which I had none, but somehow I convinced him with my sketch, story and assurance to whitewash it in the original colour if he was not satisfied with the outcome.

Can you give us a peek into how you work? What steps do you take and what is your work routine like for most pieces? 

Discuss objectives and other factors with the potential commissioner. Site visit, conceptualise and submit to stakeholders/authorities for approval. Then paint.

Do you paint by memory or use actual pictures for reference? 

Broad childhood memory for what the overall scene composition and ambience should be like, then research the details to form the composition e.g. how an old thermoflask should look like.

Which 3 objects/people are most useful for you when you are creating a mural? 

Paints and brushes. References like archived stories or photos. Encouraging words from passersby/social media.

Which place is most useful?

Any place, every place is unique.

You were a part-time muralist for a long time before finally going full-time. What made you decide to do that? And is it really possible to make a good living as an artist in a place like Singapore? 

I was dabbling in paper and canvas sketching/painting all along, since school days/army/work, but rather irregularly. When I retired from Finance in mid-2018, I thus spent more time to develop my art. Actually, not a “long time”, only 2.5 years (2016-2018) juggling mural painting on weekends and a full-time job on weekdays.

Your murals are now all over in Singapore, on streets, in shopping malls, markets, libraries, even on private properties. How did you get all those commissions? Was it through an agent, sheer genius of marketing or…?

People usually contact me via social media (IG, FB) or my website. Social media helps publicise my artworks when people pose fun photos at the murals. Other media like TV, radio, magazines and online blogs/magazines/videos all helped to publicise the works as I did more and more. I actually don’t have a marketing strategy. 🙂

Now that you’re a key figure in the mural scene in Singapore, what advice do you have for those thinking of becoming full-time muralists too?

Haha, I am actually not a full-time muralist. In fact, I have curtailed murals and moved on to canvas paintings and digital art since late 2019. I will still do murals, but much more selectively. My advice to anyone wishing to do this full-time is to first try a few, perhaps by joining one of the many mural or street art groups or commercial companies in Singapore, get a taste. If you like it enough to venture out on your own, develop your unique style, publicise it and be bold enough to cold-call. The market is small in Singapore but it is currently quite popular. 🙂

What’s the worst advice you’ve been given, or have heard people giving, with regards to being an artist, and what’s the best?

I don’t remember getting any bad advice. I usually listen to people’s experiences and opinions, and also read books on how to behave as an artist, but I ultimately decide what I want to do for my own circumstance. If the decision was bad, it’s not because of the advice but due to many other factors. Same for ‘best advice’, some advices are common knowledge but very good reminders. For example, how to protect your artworks, what’s the common law, whether to use galleries to exhibit your artworks. 

Who are your role models?

My role models change as I explore and see more things. My first was Ernest Zach’s artworks, then Chua Mia Tee’s oil paintings, and several Western artists overseas I spotted on the internet.  

Lastly, you were also an accountant by profession for many years. Why? And how did that feel?  

25 years. I enjoyed my work thoroughly. It allowed me to learn how to interact with and lead people from all over the world, especially my stint in Amsterdam leading a European finance team. 

Yew Chong hopes to spend the next year traveling around the world, exploring and developing his art, practicing and making new friends. You can see him in action here or follow his work on Instagram @yipyewchong. 

More interviews with various professionals here.

Photographs courtesy and copyright of Yip Yew Chong. Interviewer: Sy
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