Conversations with Si Yi Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Si Yi Lee

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my animation career very unexpectedly, at least not according to my original plans. During my college application, I want to apply for economics and finance. But there is this urge to pursue animation as my childhood dream is becoming an artist. In my senior year, I decided to go for animation. Luckily, I met a very good animation tecaher graduated from Sheridan, and she introduced me to a lot of different opportunities in animation field. Thus, I started my journey drawing animation for films.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road could be said as difficult and also could be said as easy. My first year of college was taken in Ringling College of Art and Design. The school has fascinating classes designed to teach students the professional world of CG animation. The students learned every details of the whole pipeline of CG. But I personally struggle in CG because I love traditional drawing. I have the urge to handdrawn every frame of animation as my preferred style of art form. Therefore, I applied for CalArts, the famous animation school especially specialized in traditional anination, and luckily I got in. Thus I would say my main struggles along the way was finding what type of medium I want to devote in.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a storyboard artist and animator. I have this passion of creating short animated films, doing the whole process by myself. I think my most known short film (currently) is “The Bowl” made in April 2023. My most recent film is “Chasing Time”, created by me and my friend Ayla Kasimova. There are also several other films I made with a group of artists, including “Grandpa Fu and Grandma Liang”, “What the Heck?!”. and “Operation Package”, and partcipated in the animation process of some other short films.

I believe what sets my films apart from other people are two things. First, the story. My film emphasizes on the depiction on emotional change that people face. I love to pull out something small in life and bring it to the attention. Second, my art style. My animation is very detailed and clean, but also with the athestics of traditional texture feeling. My film, The Bowl, consists mostly of water color textures and ink line. My coming film, “I Don’t Want to Become Insects”, will be in color pencil texture.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Two of my favorite websites are Character Design References (https://characterdesignreferences.com/) (a great place to explore character design and artists’ works) and this blog post (https://homeiswheretheinternetis.blogspot.com/2017/09/animation.html) where they teach about storyboarding.

But I will just say that the best way to learn is WATCH FILMS!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://siyi-lee.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarai_lee235/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYW7exDw0Q6vgMoS98CvjdQ

Image Credits
All created by me or snapshots from my films.