Reflective Report

My two semester internship program at Ana Muslim Sdn Bhd in Desa Melawati has come to an end on the 12th July 2024. Ana Muslim Sdn Bhd was founded in 1989 and the company focuses on a variety of goods, including publications (novel, comic and activity workbook), apparel, including Muslim clothing, and consumer goods like stationery and gifts.

Based on my experience, Ana Muslim Sdn Bhd was nice towards their interns and staff but in other terms such as management, in my opinion, they need to change for some circumstances. The company always gives random unpredicted tasks towards their interns, such as, 3D interns do AI images generating while game interns do novel editing. Besides, I am grateful enough to be able to work in an environment that I could adapt easily and adapt myself to random predicted last minute tasks.

This semester, I was determined to complete my internship to enhance my social skills in order to keep growing as a good artist and person. 

Initially, we were briefed with an introductory which helped us adjust with the new environment of the publication house. The tasks given to us include comic motion, illustration and generating AI images. However, The company structured our work days with fixed hours from 8:45 am to 6:00 pm. This consistent routine created a productive and comfortable working environment by giving our learning and teamwork in leading some of the events, projects and meetings.

The hardships that I had to go through during our training period, was the lack of arts industry seniors and the lack of knowledge in animation and illustration from our superiors. My colleague and I had no one to refer to and no guidance on each representative's tasks that were given to each one of us. I solely depend on my curiosity on the inspiration and tutorial I found on the internet.

To overcome this matter, I took the initiative to ask the editor graphic seniors in the other team for feedback in order to gather perspective and opinion from others. As I generated AI images and arranged the composition, I often looked at the previous Ana Muslim published products as references. It helped me a lot to find the perfect idea for my tasks.

Throughout my internship, I mainly was in charge of the pre-production stages involved in generating AI images for novel illustrations.

Prompter: In almost all projects, I handle the prompter responsibility in generating AI images for specific characters that were using character sheets that were provided. Besides generating AI images for characters, I also generate background and specific objects that will be used in the illustration. I also worked hard to catch up the dateline of each day since I need to generate at least six to seven images each day. I made a gantt chart for myself in order to keep on the right track day by day.

Compositor: Besides generating AI images, I also was responsible for composition of characters and background in the illustration. I arrange the characters and do a minimal edit on the characters because later on, the images that I have arranged will pass to another colleague to finalize the illustration.

During my internship, I learned how to prepare for big events such as Book International Fest. Besides, I also learned how to attract customers, promote books during the event and I also managed to learn how to understand characters composition in comics. These experiences significantly assisted in my personal development and gave me the opportunity to gain useful knowledge in marketing, creative design, and event planning. 

In conclusion, my internship at Ana Muslim Sdn Bhd was a valuable experience that significantly contributed to my professional growth. I learned to adapt to the fast-paced atmosphere and took the initiative to seek out criticism and pursue independent study despite certain management issues and a lack of guidance in the creative company. Besides, I acquired valuable skills in managing big events, drawing crowds, advertising books, and understanding comic book character composition. Finally, all of these help my growth as a capable artist with a lot of skills such as marketing, creative design and planning. This also helps me to become a better person for the future.