Conversations with Zhuoying Chen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zhuoying Chen.

Hi Zhuoying, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
I was born and raised in a non-artistic family in China. My artistic journey began at five with drawing classes and continued as I painted the blackboard as the leader of an art group in primary school. During middle school, manga and anime captured my interest and sparked my passion. And by high school, I was immersed in a global art scene, exploring everything from fashion design to pure art. With a passion for animation, I chose to dive into animation in my final year of high school; I applied and got enrolled at Ringling College of Art and Design in the U.S., majoring in computer animation. There, I delved deep into 3D animation, crafting my own two-minute masterpiece for my senior project. After graduation in 2023, I’m now pursuing a graduate degree in Hench Animation at the University of Southern California, with an expected graduation date in 2026. However, that’s not the entirety of my journey. 

There are some personal experiences I would like to mention. Throughout my undergraduate years, I took a gap year to intern at two prominent game companies in Shanghai, China—Lilith Games and miHoYo—where I refined my skills as an animation and storyboard artist, accruing valuable professional experience and strengthening my teamwork abilities. Furthermore, on Bilibili, a Chinese video platform, I uploaded a video about my animation Missing Earring and have gained over a million viewers. Outside of my digital activities, my artwork paintings have been featured in numerous art exhibitions. One example is my marker pen art piece, Further Land, was showcased at the 3rd Chinese Marker Art Biennale in Hangzhou, China. Moreover, I’ve engaged in volunteer work. I gave painting classes to autistic children at the Renai Institute for the Disabled in Guangdong, China. In order to provide more assistance, my father and I have established a Foundation for Disabled Children. I have donated the reward I earned from the video with one million viewers. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were some challenges along the way. One of them was navigating the transition to online classes during my sophomore year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adapting to the time difference between China and the U.S. meant flipping my schedule, leading to disruptions in my sleep patterns and subsequent health issues. After a year of dealing with these challenges, I decided to take a gap year to focus on my well-being. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an animation student. 

I am specialized in 2D & 3D animation. More specifically, I have knowledge of the whole animation pipeline, from pre-production to post-production. For example, script writing, character designing, visual development, storyboarding, modeling, rigging, texturing, animating, lighting, rendering, editing, and collaborating with composers. Among these steps, I specialize the most in character designing, storyboarding, and animation. 

In 2021, I posted a video about my short film Missing Earing I made in my junior year on Bilibili video platform. I summarized my learning process and shared some thoughts and feelings in the video. Only in days, I gained over one million viewers, which is unexpected and surprising. Audiences commented that they resonated to my story, learned a lot from my video, and felt inspired to pursue animation for themselves. This video has made such an influence among the animation industry in China. Some schools have shown my video to their animation classes. Many of my animation classmates already knew me before I came to the University of Southern California to learn animation. 

I am most proud of my consistency in drawing a sketch every day and sharing it on Weibo, a social media platform. It has been two years since I started this practice. Through it, I have discovered many fascinating events happening worldwide, allowing me to capture my thoughts and ideas. When I look back on my past sketches, I am reminded of the emotions I felt and the events that occurred on the day I created each one. It’s quite fascinating and makes me feel like I’m preserving moments in time. 

Compared to other artists who create bold and grandiose images, I prefer to convey the tranquil moments of daily life, capturing various joyful and playful moments. Moreover, my personality often comes across as less mature, with others frequently describing me as childlike, innocent, and pure. Perhaps that’s what distinguishes me from others. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I guess I will be an animator working in an animation company during the day, and at night, I will be a content maker being active on social media, creating the contents that I am passionate about. I would like to produce content that resonates with others and has a positive impact on society, becoming a helpful and valuable person. I hope my work can evoke emotions such as warmth, happiness, and joy and provide comfort and healing to those who experience it. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zhuoyingchen.portfoliobox.net/zhuoyingchen
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.zhuoying/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drawing-chen/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zhuoyingchen1453/videos
• Other: https://space.bilibili.com/8377712?spm_id_from=333.337.0.0