Today we’d like to introduce you to Yibo Xu.
Hi Yibo, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am an Animation Artist based in LA with a primary focus on storyboarding. My work centers around animated films that reflect the subconscious realm in a visual way, featuring intriguing characters.
Born into an artistic family in Northern China, my parents exposed me to tons of animation and films during my childhood. But for a long time, I’ve been a bit too thoughtful to decide what I was supposed to do, and it wasn’t until one day after I watched How to Train Your Dragon in IMAX theater that I realized, “Yeah, animation is really, really cool!” Those imaginary characters, worlds, and those impossible fantasies can come to life probably only through this medium, which still acts as my true passion towards making animation nowadays. I am constantly pondering what mood and perspective are uniquely inherent in animation, what fictional characters can be developed, and what my taste is if I’m developing a visual storytelling piece thoroughly by myself. The thing is, I cannot just lead a life without thinking, and there is always that eager that I want to explore and produce work to reflect myself.
After several years of study and work in animation in China, I came to LA for further exploration at the School of Cinematic Arts, USC. I am fully enjoying the environment and the people in this city. I found the communities I absorb inspiration from, and I integrate every part of it into my personality and my own work. I am in a great place right now to keep exploring my own vision and art statement by embracing my life and pushing forward new projects.
On a professional level, my aspiration is to evolve into a skilled storyboard artist adept at commanding visual storytelling in an entertaining and empathetic manner. I gravitate toward crafting stories infused with my natural sense of humor, emotion, and bits & drops of enjoyable plots that only animation can do. Personally, I am on my journey to conduct a series of visual works that have a consistent message I want to share, a mood that identifies as myself. Typically, my work explores themes of uncertainty, the sensation of floating in an undefined space, and the ambiguity of our existence—a liminal phase where doubt and confusion prevail, which I believe resonates with individuals of our generation.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It certainly wasn’t a smooth path. The major obstacle for me was the long-term battle to seize and flourish my self-awareness as an individual. The feeling of starting life in a relatively isolated small place carries the risk of never discovering the value of being myself, becoming unrelated to what’s happening in the world. It took tons of breakthroughs, starting new lives, and experiencing big life changes to gather those pieces of clues about who I am. It’s like a miracle for me to be on my artistic journey, relishing every bit of this lush world nowadays. I never take what I have today for granted because I’ve witnessed too many different people living in various classes and places. I truly am a fortunate one.
A lot of struggles for me associated with those times when I avoided sensing myself; those times I tried to force myself to follow what is considered to be “correct”, but forget what I really care about. During those time period, my passion dim. I couldn’t sense beauty in things. But I have really started caring myself again and tried to nourish my own potential, like treating a kid. After all, life extends beyond mere study and exertion; it’s a journey of learning to love ourselves, with everything else naturally evolving from this core. Healing closed sensibilities takes time, and I’m genuinely pleased with the efforts I’ve invested in this process. Witnessing the gradual flourishing of these untapped potentials fills me with excitement, and I look forward to the day when they fully bloom.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a Story Artist, I specialize in feature film storyboarding, engaging audiences through visual storytelling with strong, characteristic characters. Personally, as an independent artist, I am known for highly emotional and moody visual pieces on social media. In my artworks, I develop characters with a sensitive inner space and place them in an uncanny environment to create a mood that strongly conveys a sense of uncertainty, sorrow, and the feeling of being lost in life.
I am undeniably a more thoughtful, philosophy-oriented creator. I tend to sense the concerns of my generation and strive to express those feelings in my work. Rather than providing a settled answer, I prefer to portray a status where we simply don’t have one—an existence floating in a liminal, transitional space. This topic has become more apparent in recent years, and the reason, as I mentioned, is my exposure to a diverse array of people in the past. Everything truly makes sense on a personal level. To me, the world is not defined by right or wrong; it’s more like an infinite universe of complicated things, and I am just a tiny observer, allowing and cherishing its complexity. This mindset helps me understand others but also gives me a more lonely and unsettled feeling as I expose myself to various thoughts without easily identifying myself as one of them.
The animated film I’m currently working on truly reflects this perspective. I depict anthropomorphic characters engaging in casual yet philosophical conversations while taking a walk at a lucid dream world filled with debris, uncanny corridors, and surreal objects. They are intricate and confused characters, much like many of us, surrounded by this world of uncertainty and stuck in a liminal status. Will they ever find the answers they seek? We never know!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
What helped me in my self-realization journey is to be curious, and open my eyes to see as many things as possible. As I grew up, I gradually had more chances to live and travel to different places, leading me to a more observational perspective. The more I saw, the more I understood different perspectives and the more I thought about what makes me special in this world as an individual instead of hiding beneath a group of people.
Another thing I attach importance to is being kind and genuine—not just to other people but also to myself. It’s about cultivating a nonjudgmental mindset to perceive things, which has truly helped me connect with a variety of friends here from different backgrounds. This approach has allowed me to get inspired by a wider range of people in a candid way. It is a key to unlocking possibilities and nurturing my inner self, enabling the discovery of my natural passion. I believe this authenticity brings depth to my work, allowing it to resonate with others on a deeper emotional level.
It isn’t easy to realize, acknowledge, and accept who I am, for it comes with anxiety and confusion quite often. However, I embrace the progress of becoming a more complicated person, someone who isn’t “perfect” but lives in their natural form. All these realizations and enlightenments are tightly associated with my art journey. Art, to me, is never really about techniques; it is a reflection of my inner world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yibozone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yiboeebow/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yibo-xu-208990264?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BJt7fSQCdSnOCClW5VO8xLw%3D%3D
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/YiBoZONE
