Today we’d like to introduce you to Yinjie Liu.
Hi Yinjie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi, I’m Yinjie Liu. I’m a 3D Generalist and an illustrator with a sculpture background. Currently, I ‘m studying in an MFA program at School of Visual Arts and on the way to realize my initial dream: to be a character animator.
Will you feel it’s a little complicated? This is because I have taken a lot of detours so far. But I think every detour has its value. Painting and sculpture provided me with a solid foundation to learn new art skills, and it also gave me a chance to pick up my animator dream. Art for me is not only skills but also a language and a friend, it accompanies me and helps me express my feelings.
The first time I pick up the pencil, I’m not taller than a table. When I tried to draw down the cartoon Monkey King which is playing on the television, I was vaguely aware that painting and animation will be the important parts of my life.
I’m always attracted by fun characters, fantasy worlds and the dynamic and actions on the screen. Those animations make me smile and move me. It infuses me with strength and bravery. Gradually, joining this fantastic industry one day will become my dream. However, where I grew up, people here know a little about how to learn animation. But I didn’t give up studying art; practice day and night gave me an opportunity to study in a good art university. Although I’m not in animation major at that time, it gave me a platform to meet more friends, touch more resources, and I could start to learn more about animation.
After I graduate, I work as a freelance illustrator while working on my personal animation shorts. Finally, two years ago, I got an opportunity to study animation at my current school and formally start my long-awaited animation journey.
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?
Yes. Everybody’s life is not always Bon voyage. Sometimes, just a momentary thought will change one person’s life a lot. And sometimes, even if you struggle for a long time, the things you could change are very limited. The obstacles are from everywhere, not only from reality but also from my internal world.
Animation was a constant companion during my childhood. Every day when I come back home from school, the first thing I do is turn on the television and watch animation programs. Gradually, joining this fantastic industry one day became my dream. However, in my surroundings, people here know a little about how to learn animation, and the Internet was not very developed when I was a child. The only way I could imagine at that time was painting well in the entrance exam and going to a good arts university to learn animation.
However, fate sometimes plays tricks on people. The lucky thing is that I passed almost all the exams I attended, but unfortunately, except for the animation major.
I could choose to gap one year and try again, but I have to confess, I’m not a brave person. I always prefer to choose a safer way. So, at that time, I comforted myself that “Every art is art, at least, I still learn art.” and considered giving up my animation dream.
But as time went by, I realized, Although I enjoy painting, and could draw people very realistic, or I could sculpt, take the imaging to reality, they seem not what I want, which makes me struggle. One day I went back to my grandmother’s house, sitting in front of the computer I used as a child, opened the Ice Age, saw the squirrel chasing the acorn. I recalled that the thing fascinating me was the acting, the performance, the movement of the characters. I want to do animation because I want to record those touched and exciting, dynamic moments in the life and imagination of the timeline.
By this point, I could no longer ignore my real wishes. Fortunately, these years of painting practice have given me a strong artistic foundation, and I also finally understood that if you do not treat your heart honestly, you will suffer even if you choose the safe path. While I’m still a long way from my artistic goals, I gradually understand that any obstacles and challenges can only be overcome if we face them.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a 3D animator and a freelance illustrator. Now my friends and I are working on a 3D stylized animation short, and the story is about finding back the lost dream. This short film will be finished this year, and I hope it will be done smoothly!
We have four main members, and I am responsible for the character animation in our team. I work with our director to design the reasonable action to convey the right emotion. Then, I will animate the characters to bring our ideas to reality. Because I have many years’ experience painting and sculpting, I also did the character design, one of our main character models and some side character models.
Although I am a new animator and took some detours before learning animation, I believe everything that happens has its meaning. Those art skills I have learned for many years, which can help my teammates and make our film better, give me a sense of accomplishment.
Before I start work on this animated short, I usually work as a freelance illustrator, designing characters and creating custom illustrations for commercial and private clients, and I enjoy this work that helps others to bring their ideas from their imagination to the real world.
That is a very interesting experience for me, because I could meet different people and hear their various thoughts during the process. I saw every project as an opportunity to try new things and have fresh experiences. All these experiences will be valuable and helpful to use in my subsequent personal creations.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
When I was working on my personal project, the most important thing was keeping sensitive in life and expressing my feelings and thoughts sincerely.
My inspiration always comes from life, the people I have met, things I have experienced and the events I have watched. Only when I seriously feel and experience a variety of emotions, I can understand them well. Then when I write the stories and design the illustrations, there is a possibility that I could describe the emotion accurately and convey them to the audience efficiently. When I animate a character, it gives me the possibility to make it more reasonable and appealing.
At the same time, I think the subjective expression also cannot be ignored. There was a time, I always followed others’ thoughts. I could copy reality well and imitate various styles, but it makes me feel pain because I cannot find myself in my painting. I even doubt whether I really like art.
So, I start to pay more attention to my own feelings, creating works based on what I personally want to express. And I gradually became aware of that although people have many similar feelings. They will cry when they feel upset, they will smile when they are satisfied, there are still many differences here, big or small. Those different things give people personality and make each person special. If I want my artworks to be stronger, I should use my own voice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catslug20.wixsite.com/yinjie-web
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catslug_nia/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinjie-liu-2a0661236/
