Today we’d like to introduce you to Yi Gao.
Yi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I believe my artistic journey started with my teacher. When I was a child, my parents noticed my sensitivity to colors. So, when I was five, I soon joined an amateur painting class. I spent a long time there and developed a deep bond with my teacher.
My teacher graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts. He would clearly explain the key points of painting to help me understand the structure and techniques. For me, without his help, it would have been hard to find such great joy in painting and stick to it until now.
I’m currently a sophomore majoring in Animation at SUST, and my bond with animation runs deep—rooted in a lifelong passion that has always guided me.
Since childhood, animation has been a constant joy. I grew up immersed in Hayao Miyazaki’s films and Disney classics, their stories and artistry sparking something in me. Back in school, the margins of my textbooks were always covered with doodles of animated characters, as if my hands couldn’t help but bring those worlds to life on paper.
Funny enough, I didn’t initially apply for Film and Animation; Fine Arts was my first choice. So when I saw my admission result that summer after high school—Animation,I was taken aback, but the surprise quickly gave way to acceptance. To this day, I truly believe it was animation that chose me, not the other way around.
In my free time, I usually enjoy visiting art exhibitions, mostly those featuring oil paintings. Appreciating excellent works has given me a profound understanding of beauty and helped me find my own style in my creations. At the same time, I also love reading. I have read many books both on art and non-art subjects, which has given me numerous perspectives on the world. And I hope I can express my own views through my works.
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?
Of course, the journey hasn’t been all smooth sailing. There were many times when I felt lost and anxious. In the beginning, my skills were quite poor, so I had to practice sketching every day. Even then, I still couldn’t feel any progress in myself.
But the biggest problem was that I couldn’t draw a vivid animated character. Because before that, I had always been practicing drawing real people in the form of sketches. So the generalization of geometric shapes was somewhat difficult for me, and it even made me feel confused.
Besides that, I also encountered quite a few problems in storyboarding. Usually, the scenes I designed were too monotonous and lacked tension. This issue has always troubled me, and it still exists even now.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Over the past two years, I have worked as a student animator and have participated in the production of six animated short films. I really enjoy making animations, just like how I used to enjoy watching them. I am passionate about expressing what I want to convey and turning it into a work. Of course, working side by side with my collaborators during the production process made me very happy, and I also made many friends.
I’m still exploring different styles to better present animation. Most of my works address social issues and personal perspectives. In my animated short On the Road, I depict a common social phenomenon: how young people, confused by the difficulty of finding jobs in today’s society, regain courage and confidence in life. I experimented with a relatively stylized approach, which was a challenge for me.
This past June, I participated in First Shot(s) X-Change, an international interdisciplinary online program. Along with my teammates, we told a story about AI personas eroding real personas to express social reflections on our reliance on AI. I also got to try collage experimental animation, something I’d long wanted to attempt.
What I’m most proud of is my passion for animation—and my willingness to craft styles that fit the themes of my diverse works. This, I believe, makes my pieces more touching and resonant.
Right now, I’m gearing up for a new animation project, and and I am also looking forward to its final presentation.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Usually, being able to fully express my ideas and receive recognition from the audience is enough to make me happy. Because that’s the very purpose of my animation creation.
Beyond that, meeting like-minded people also brings me great joy. I love the atmosphere of team collaboration. We usually have weekly meetings to share our work progress, offer each other advice and help. This feeling of fighting side by side is incredibly warm. Moreover, the films we complete together are like a child we’ve nurtured collectively—we take pride in it, and the bond between us shines as brightly as stars.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/likewise_0509/
- Other: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/5c7fb64800000000160196b2
