Conversations with Naicheng Liu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Naicheng Liu.

Hi Naicheng, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve loved drawing for as long as I can remember. Anything with pictures caught my attention, whether it was on TV, in newspapers, or in books. I was fascinated by all kinds of images.
I still remember my parents buying me a box of colorful chalk when I was little. I would copy characters and illustrations from picture books and draw them all over the concrete courtyard at home. I pretty much filled the entire yard with drawings!
My parents were always supportive of my interest in art. They believed that learning a skill was something I could carry with me throughout my life. So I started taking art lessons when I was in elementary school. My teacher was a well-known traditional Chinese painter, and his home was packed with bookshelves full of art books. Oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, watercolors, all kinds of styles. I loved looking through them. Back then, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just really liked drawing.
I continued studying art as I got older. When it came time to choose a career, I found myself more interested in animation than comics. I wanted to work with all kinds of talented artists, share ideas, and make something exciting together. The idea of a group of artists combining their creativity to bring characters and imaginary worlds to life was what really drew me to animation.
Over the years, I’ve worked as a character designer and visual development artist on many animated feature films and television productions. I love being able to contribute my own ideas and imagination to a story and help bring its characters to life. There is something incredibly satisfying about seeing the characters I’ve designed and the little storytelling moments I’ve drawn make their way onto the screen. That feeling of pride and happiness never really gets old. It’s what makes me want to keep doing this for the rest of my life. One of the most important moments in my career was working on my animated short film, Tricked, which I co-directed and helped develop from my original concept. The film was named a finalist at the 47th Student Academy Awards in 2020. Seeing the original characters I designed move, act, and come to life was such a wonderful feeling. That experience made me realize that character design was something I really wanted to pursue as a career.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s always been a smooth road, but I think one of the biggest challenges for me has been finding ways to become a better version of myself as an artist.
I strongly believe that a good character designer should always bring something to the table. For me, that means more than just making a character look appealing. It’s about communicating with directors, understanding the script, working with the materials and information available, and finding ways to serve the story while still bringing my own artistic voice into the designs. Finding the right balance between all of these things isn’t always easy, and it’s something I’ve been working on throughout my career.
Before I start drawing, I love doing research. It could be about a character’s cultural background, clothing, hairstyles, or even the tiniest props they might carry around. I enjoy digging into these details and figuring out how they can tell us something about the character. At the same time, I always try to bring my own shape language into the designs, finding ways to make it feel natural to the characters and the world they belong to.
Of course, all of this takes a lot of time and energy, and deadlines don’t always leave much room for exploration. I once worked on an animated feature film where I created 134 character design drawings in just a month and a half, including different characters, poses, and design explorations that covered almost the entire cast. It was an exciting but incredibly demanding experience. I had to keep coming up with fresh ideas while making sure the characters felt unique and still belonged in the same world.
Looking back, I think these challenges are also what make character design so enjoyable for me. There is always something new to learn, something I could do better, or a different way to approach a design. I guess the challenge never really ends, but that’s probably why I still enjoy drawing so much!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a character designer and visual development artist working on animated feature films and television productions. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to work with many talented artists and creative teams, including Illumination. I really enjoy being part of the process of bringing characters and their stories to life.
I’ve been fortunate to be a part of various successful projects throughout my career. In addition to being selected as a finalist for a Student Oscar, the film Tricked was also selected to the Los Angeles Film Awards where it was honored with an award, and the Atlanta Film festival, Dead Center Film Festival. I also served as a character designer for the film Bulbank, which went on to win Best Animation at the Borrego Springs Film Festival, Best Micro Animation at the Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Animation Short Film at the Liverpool Indie Awards. I further served as a character designer for the film Blooky: the Book Who Wanted to be Read. This film was honored with both a student BAFTA and a student Emmy Award. I am very proud to have been a part of these projects and all of the industry recognition they have received.
There are two skills that I have particularly honed over the years. The first is shape language. I’ve always loved drawing animals, and after spending so many years observing and drawing them, working with shapes has almost become muscle memory for me. I love playing around with different shapes and figuring out how they can tell us something about a character’s personality. To me, a good character design isn’t just about making something look appealing. The shapes should also help tell the story.
The second is drawing storytelling moments. I love putting characters into little situations where their personalities and relationships come through naturally. Sometimes it’s just a gesture, a funny expression, or the way two characters interact with each other. I think it’s wonderful when a single drawing can tell you so much about the characters without needing any dialogue.
One of the things I’m most proud of is having the opportunity to work with so many wonderful artists and creative teams, and seeing my designs become part of animated films and television shows. I love the feeling of everyone bringing their own ideas together to create something that none of us could have made alone.
At the same time, I’m really happy that I can continue making my own artwork outside of production. I’ve been working on a personal illustration series called Animals & Shapes, where I get to draw all kinds of animals and explore shapes and colors in my own way. I’ve also been making my own art books over the years, starting with Mantis in 2023, followed by Beetle, and now Scarab in 2026. Beetle was my first art book dedicated entirely to animal illustrations, and Scarab continues that idea. It’s something I really enjoy working on, and I hope to keep making more of them in the years to come.
I feel very lucky that I get to do both. I can work with amazing people to bring imaginary characters and worlds to life, and then come home and draw even more animals. I guess I just really like drawing animals!

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I really love fried chicken, especially chicken wings! Whenever I travel somewhere new, I always try to find a place that’s famous for its fried chicken and give it a try.
I’ve actually been thinking about making a spreadsheet someday to organize all the chicken wings I’ve tried and share my very serious opinions about them. Maybe I’ll even analyze them from a character designer’s perspective, looking at their shapes, proportions, colors, and overall appeal.
I haven’t found the time to do it yet, but I think it could be a very important research project. At least to me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.naichengliu.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naicheng_liu

Image Credits
Naicheng Liu
Cherry (Mengyuan) Guo