Art Portfolio Preparation – DSA (Kids)

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A Complete Guide to What is EAE (Polytechnic) and How To Prepare an Art Portfolio

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Navigating the EAE-Polytechnic, EAE-NAFA, EAE-Lasalle (Early Admission Exercise) admission process in Singapore can be complex, with each school setting its own expectations and standards. This complete guide breaks down the key visual art/design portfolio requirements for both EAE applications, giving you a clear understanding of what schools are really looking for, from artwork selection and structure to process work and interview readiness. Whether you are just starting or refining your visual arts/design portfolio, this guide will help you build a submission that stands out.

An Introduction: What is EAE?

EAE (Early Admission Exercise) is similar to DSA (Direct-School Admission). It is an exercise where students are admitted into a school based on their aptitude and attitude towards the relevant course and not on academic grades. EAE is great for students who want to secure a spot in their preferred choice of study and school without competing against JAE (Joint Admissions Exercise) students. The application period usually is early May to late May for Lasalle, mid to late June for NAFA and late June to early July for Polytechnic. For ITE students specifically, EAE for Polytechnic opens in mid to late June. Acceptance will usually be announced in late August to early September.

Popular Diploma Art Courses in Singapore:

Animation, Games & Visual Effects | Nanyang Polytechnic (C29)

Common Design Programme | Temasek Polytechnic (T71)

Fashion Management & Design | Temasek Polytechnic (T20)

Media, Arts & Design | Singapore Polytechnic (S29)

  • Animation & Games
  • Digital Media & Communications
  • Visual Communications & Motion Design

Architecture | Nanyang Polytechnic (C38)

Architecture | Singapore Polytechnic (S66)

Interior Architecture & Design | Temasek Poly (T22)

Fine Arts | Lasalle (TGS-2017504657)

Animation | Lasalle (TGS-2017504663)

Illustration Design with Animation | NAFA (C81)

Graphic Communication | NAFA (C79)

Fine Art | NAFA (C76)

Fashion Design | NAFA (C78)

What We Will Discuss in the Consultation?

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  • Career Prospects
  • Portfolio Requirements
  • EAE Process
  • What we suggest to learn or develop your artistic skills with

Core EAE Visual Art Portfolio Requirements

Students applying for EAE-Polytechnic, EAE-NAFA & EAE-Lasalle will be required to submit a Visual Arts Portfolio. Specifically for EAE-Polytechnic, students will submit their portfolio after passing Stage 1 when their write-up gets accepted by the school they are applying to or after passing the school’s Stage 2 aptitude test. Polytechnics will also typically do a Stage 3 which would be the final interview stage.

These portfolios will require the student to have relevant artworks or projects related to their choice of study. Generally most schools will require them to show their technical skill, creativity, originality, and ability to communicate ideas visually.

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Our Teen students doing Digital Drawing & Painting

A strong EAE-Poly,  EAE-NAFA & EAE-Lasalle Visual Arts Portfolio should show:

  • Works relevant to course of study (Eg; Animation for Animation Courses, Illustration for Illustration courses)
  • Strong drawing foundation
  • Creative thinking & originality
  • Variety of mediums
  • Clear personal style
  • Evidence of process & development
  • Orginal artworks/projects
  • Ability to explain your work

Stage 1: EAE-Poly Write Up

A good EAE-Poly write-up should include three key aspects.

  1. Proof of Interest
  2. Awards/Contribution/Training
  3. Career Goal

Write-ups also have a limit of 600 characters, inclusive of punctuation.

  1. Proof of Interest

A simple introduction of your interest, it can be your childhood story, why you discovered the interest, where you developed it from, etc

  • Since young, I have been a fan of animation…
  • When I was 13 I started drawing on my iPad…
  • In school I discovered my passion for…
  • I have been an avid story teller and have illustrated my own personal comic series since I was young…

2. Awards/Contribution/Training

What you have done related to the course of study or art that is notable

  • I was a part of the school magezine team…
  • I scored Top in Art in my school…
  • I studied at Visual Arts Centre to develop my skills in…
  • I have been posting art online regularly for XX years with a peak of XXX followers…
  • I won an art competition for…

3. Career Goal

  • If I get into <name of course/course code> I hope to become a character designer..
  • After studying in <name of course/course code> I hope to pursue a career in interior design…
  • I wish to become a Freelance Artist that does merchandising in the future…
  • I hope to become an Art Educator when I graduate…

Sample:

I was introduced to anime from a young age by my father. Ever since then, I grew a strong interest in drawing and started practising art. To develop my technical artistic skills, I have been studying Digital Drawing and Painting and Drawing and Sketching at Visual Arts Centre for 3 years. In school I take O-Level Art and contribute to my school as a senior artist in a student led magazine. I was also top in Cohort for art at Secondary 2. I have been posting my art online regularly since 2019 and reached a peak of 200 followers. I hope to become an animator and concept artist if I get into C29. (600 characters)

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General EAE-Poly, EAE-Lasalle & EAE-NAFA Portfolio Content Requirements

A well-prepared DSA-SOTA & DSA-MOE visual arts portfolio should include the following key components, aligned with both SOTA and MOE expectations.

1. Number of Artworks required in EAE-Poly, EAE-Lasalle & EAE-NAFA Visual Arts Portfolio

  • Usually a minimum of 10 artworks showing relevant self-projects and technical ability
  • Some schools may expect:
    1. Digital copy of portfolio – PDF, Website page, Artstation
    2. Sketches – observational studies, gesture drawing, figure drawings
    3. Finished works – Illustrations, Paintings, Traditional and Digital work
    4. Relevant works/projects – Concept Art, Sculptures, Building Mock-ups, 3D Models, Animations, Interior Designs, Original Pieces, Art Installations
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Portfolio Preparation – Our Visual Arts Centre EAE (Teens) Portfolio student working on their Oil Painting

2. Types of Artworks

  • Observational Drawings

Observational drawings, such as Still Life Drawings, Landscape Drawings, Gesture Drawings and Figure Drawings, are essential in visual art portfolios, as they showcase the student’s understanding of proportion, perspective, light and shadow, and accurate observation.

Schools also expect to see a mix of sketches and finished work. For quick sketches, we would recommend gesture drawings.

  • Original Artworks/Designs

Original artworks or designs that relate to the course of study you are applying to. For example, if you are applying to Animation, you will need: Storyboards, Concept Art, Animation Cycles, Animation studies, Character Designs. A mix of original traditional work and digital work would be good, but you will need to consider the course of study. If it is a Fine Art Course, a mix focusing more on Traditional would be more appropriate. If it is Graphic Design, Animation, Games, Visual Communication Design or courses of study that are usually done digitally, a mix with more Digital Pieces is better.

  •  Variety of Mediums

A good portfolio should show a range and versatility in the mediums they use, such as Pencil Drawing, Acrylic Painting, Watercolour Painting, Digital Art, Mixed Media, etc. However, it is okay if the portfolio is geared towards a medium of specific specialisation. For example, if you are applying to Interior Design, a portfolio with only Linework, Pencils, and Digital Linework is appropriate.

Most courses do prefer having some variety. Key mediums we recommend are Drawing & Sketching pieces and mediums relevant to the course of study.

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3. Process Work

Many schools value the sketches, drafts, development process, and idea exploration of your artworks. These processes showcase your thinking ability, your artistic growth over time, and your problem-solving skills.

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Portfolio Preparation –  Our Visual Arts Centre EAE (Teens) doing a digital painting of still-life

4. Thematic / Cohesive Direction

A student’s visual art portfolio should not be a random mix of scattered works. Instead, their visual arts portfolio should be cohesive and show a theme, artistic direction and be relavant to course of study.

Portfolio Preparation – Our Visual Arts Centre EAE (Teens) Portfolio student working on her acrylic landscape painting

EAE-POLY, EAE-Lasalle, EAE-NAFA Visual Arts Portfolio Presentation Requirements

Your visual arts portfolio should be clearly organized and professionally presented to ensure your work is easy to understand and assess.

1. Artwork Labelling

Each of the students’ artwork in their visual arts portfolio should include the title, size and date of their art piece, the medium that they used, and a short description of what they created.

2. Visual Arts Portfolio Format

Depending on the school they want to apply to, students are usually asked for a digital PDF Portfolio; some schools may also request a website or video introduction + best work highlights through email or form submissions.

3. Quality & Organisation

The student’s visual arts portfolio must show a clear layout, clean presentation, logical sequencing of their artworks, and display a strong first impression to the schools of their choice.

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Portfolio Preparation – Our Teen student with her finished Drawing & Sketching Portrait

Additional Supporting Documents for DSA-SOTA & DSA-MOE Visual Arts Application

In addition to the student’s visual arts portfolio, many schools require additional materials such as the student’s art achievements, certificates, school testimonial or referral letter, or records of participation in art activities.

Key Skills Schools Are Assessing

Technical Skills

  • Drawing accuracy
  • Composition
  • Colour understanding
  • Medium control

Creativity

  • Original ideas
  • Imagination
  • Concept development

Artistic Growth

  • Progress over time
  • Experimentation

Thinking Ability

  • Ability to explain work
  • Process & reflection

Interview & Selection Requirements for EAE-Poly Visual Arts/Design Applications

During the EAE-Poly, EAE-NAFA & EAE-Lasalle Visual Arts Application, most students will go through

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Portfolio Preparation – Our student completing her still-life acrylic painting

1. Visual Arts Portfolio Interview

Students may be asked the following:

  • Knowledge of the course of study
  • Reason for picking the school or course
  • Explanation of artwork, projects or pieces
  • Purpose of joining the art course
  • Proof of interest – “What is your favourite game and why”
  • Technical skill, experience, or training

2. Art Test / Audition

Possible tasks:

  • Live drawing (still life/theme-based/motif)

  • Creative task within time limit

  • Problem-solving artwork

  • Relevant tests – Problem solving, Logical thinking, Creative thinking

What Art Courses Do We Recommend to be Ready for EAE?

Animation, Games, Illustration, Visual Storytelling and Graphic Design

Interior Design or Architecture Courses

Fine Art, Common Design

Fashion, Product Design

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Our Teen student doing Drawing & Sketching in her One-to-One Private Art Class

Need a portfolio urgently or need more specialised coaching?

Visual Arts Centre provides a free consultation on EAE Visual Arts & Design (EAE-Poly, EAE-NAFA & EAE-Lasalle) Art Portfolio Preparation for parents/students who want to understand how to prepare an EAE portfolio for their choice of school enrolment. We provide a service where we can help you to understand what is required of a portfolio preparation – from artworks to submission dates, as well as interview practices.

Do schedule a consultation on DSA Visual Arts (EAE-Poly, EAE-NAFA & EAE-Lasalle) Art Portfolio Preparation with us asap as it takes time to create an art portfolio.

 For more information, feel free to contact us at 6255 0711 / 6733 2155, or email us at [email protected].

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Success stories from our students enrolled in our Art Courses

Portfolio success story in Visual Arts Centre
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Take a left turn upon exiting the Chinatown MRT Station Exit A (Pagoda Street). Turn right to go to Mosque Street. Finally, walk towards 20B, we’re on the 3rd floor of the shophouse.

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