Shravani (IITR)

 Hello everyone! 

First of all, a big thanks to Prasanna Sir for constant guidance and support. Now coming to my experience, I appeared for CEED in 2020 and 2021.

PREPARATION

First step to begin the preparation is to go through previous year question paper(pyq) and try to solve it to understand where you stand in managing time. Even if you know how to solve all questions it is important to solve them in that given time (1 hour for Part A and 2 hours for Part B)

For part A study the previous year question paper and focus on the topics which are reoccurring and try to study accordingly. You do not need to know the history of everything (go for it only if you have time, as it helps in Part B story making and idea generation). Resources for part A are mainly YouTube videos (Kaphal Studio), Art and Culture from Manorama and Solving all pyq’s.

For part B focus on generating ideas and draw them, only visualization won’t help. As you have to present your idea in exam. So, try to generate questions according to what the question paper demands. As the pattern for part B has changed from 2020, practice according to that. If you have time then solve all previous year part B in time limits and get it reviewed from someone (You can join Telegram group for such discussions).

I had created my own set of questions for practicing Part B, few examples of that are—

Sketching – Draw from life, objects, humans, cartoons, vehicle. Anything that you can find around you. Focus on perspective and line quality of your sketches.

Q. On the Occasion of World Yoga Day, get attention of young kids by making illustration of Motu Patlu (add any character) doing Yoga (doing an activity).

Creativity –This is a more visualization question, this question will reflect on your thought process and what content you consume. Focus on the concept and not on rendering as it will be small space. Try to keep it simple yet impactful.

Q. Draw random lines and try to fill them (15 drawings each day), add themes to the drawings.

Form Sensitivity—Draw objects in different perspectives and focus on proportion, consistency, details, shading and line quality. All this will come with regular practice.

Q. Draw a Wireless Electric Iron.

Visual Sensitivity—Practice 2D forms and try to make it consistent (should belong to same family). Focus on Composition.

Q. Draw 5 Icons for Traditional Indian Games. (eg. Pachisi)

Problem Identification—Look around for any object or a scenario and find problems in it. Don’t stop there, try to solve those problems and draw everything.

Q. What are the problems faced while using a spider web duster. How can we improve it?

CEED 2020

In CEED 2020 I got score 44.1 and my Rank was 337 Open. I would say it was a very well calibrated question paper. The mistake that I made was that I focused more on Part A preparation and didn’t practice part B enough. I didn’t receive any call for Interview or test rounds.

CEED 2021

In CEED 2021 even though my part A was not how I expected it to be, I knew I have qualified for Part B evaluation and I gave my best in Part B (always remember this Part A is 25% of final score and Part B is 75%). So do not panic in the exam, be ready for surprises and try to gain some positive outcome from it. Practice Time management from the beginning of the preparation, it will help you a lot during examination. (Try to break the time per question beforehand).

I got 175 Open Rank and got call from IITB, IISC, IITH (Self Sponsored) and IITR.

Portfolio—Start preparing your portfolio as soon as you can, I would suggest after your exam. Include 3 or 4 good projects of the stream you want to pursue; you can include extra work.  

My Interview Experience

IISC—IISC takes admission through both CEED and GATE Scores so to come on a common ground it organises a Test which consists of both technical and creative questions. The questions are not to be disclosed according to there policy. But if you are from Engineering Background and are into creative field then you will be able to get through it. The Interview on the other hand will be very technical. My Interview was focused on my final year project. I was not able to make it to the final list.

IITB—I applied for Interaction and Product Design in which we had to complete tasks in given days and then submit them.  I got called for Product Design Interview. The Interview was focused on the task and portfolio. They asked me questions from manufacturing processes (How is a pencil made). The overall interview was good. I didn’t make it though (They consider 70% CEED score and 30% Interview, in 2021- it might vary)

IITH—After getting shortlisted for IITH in Self Sponsored Category the process was divided into 3 sections, Long DAT, Short DAT and Interview.


In Long DAT 5 questions were given out of which we had to choose any two and each question carried 50 marks (questions added below). 2 days were given to complete the task. After which on the day of Interview short DAT was conducted in which students were divided into batches and test was conducted online. 2 questions were given on spot out of which you can choose any. (Q. If you could create any festival, what would it be? Explain and Illustrate) Interview was based on Long DAT, Short DAT and portfolio. I got selected in the final list.




IITR—I got called for Interview and Portfolio round. We had to compress our work in 5 slides and submit it. On the day of Interview, we were given time to explain our portfolio and then questions were asked based on that. Questions will be derived from the portfolio and few view-based questions. Overall a nice Interview experience. I got selected in the final list.

I took admission in IITR.

A special thanks to Prasanna Sir for always responding to queries and helping students with this blog. I hope this helps you in your preparation. All the best!