As I begin to imagine my future career path, I feel increasingly drawn to working in Europe, particularly in creative environments where experimental animation, interdisciplinary practice, and artistic research are valued. Many European countries—such as the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and France—have strong support systems for independent animation and artist-led projects. Their cultural institutions often encourage unconventional visual languages, cross-media experimentation, and hybrid forms of storytelling. This aligns closely with my own artistic interests, which blend hand-drawn animation, mixed media, photography, ceramics, and character-driven concepts.

One goal I have is to participate in artist residency programmes, which I see as an ideal environment for developing personal projects. Residencies offer time, space, and mentorship for artists to explore ideas without commercial pressure. They also provide valuable opportunities to connect with curators, museums, and interdisciplinary communities. For an artist like me who works across mediums, residencies could become a crucial platform for expanding my personal IP, experimenting with installation-based animation, or developing work that combines physical textures with emotional narratives.

I am also interested in the possibility of applying for artist visas or cultural visas, which several European countries offer to support international creative practitioners. These pathways often prioritise applicants with strong portfolios, unique artistic voices, and a commitment to cultural contribution. Because my work already leans toward personal expression and cross-media research, I believe this direction fits my long-term goals. Being able to stay in Europe would give me the stability to build relationships with art institutions, participate in festivals, and collaborate with other independent animators or mixed-media artists.

Reflecting on these possibilities, I feel that working in Europe offers a balance between artistic independence and professional growth. The region’s support for experimental animation, gallery-based moving-image work, and interdisciplinary practice matches the kind of work I want to create. I hope to contribute to this ecosystem by developing emotionally resonant, visually experimental animation projects that can exist not only on screens but also in exhibitions, publications, and collaborative installations.

In the future, I envision myself as an artist-animator who moves fluidly between animation studios, art residencies, and cultural institutions. Europe provides the environment where this hybrid identity is not only possible but encouraged.

Recently I have become increasingly interested in the field of 2D character concept design, especially as I begin to understand more clearly what this role involves within the animation industry. A character designer is responsible for shaping the entire visual identity of a character before production begins—exploring silhouettes, proportions, emotional range, and overall style. These early explorations help define how the audience will understand the character’s personality, narrative purpose, and emotional weight. This role requires visual sensitivity, strong imagination, and the ability to translate abstract ideas into a readable design language.

What attracts me to this field is that I naturally gravitate toward creating characters, especially non-human or abstract forms. I enjoy experimenting with stylized shapes and pushing the boundaries of what a character can be. My work often leans toward surreal or symbolic imagery rather than realistic human figures. This gives me more freedom to use visual metaphor, exaggeration, and unconventional forms to express emotion. Because I am already building my own personal IP series, character design feels like a natural extension of my artistic direction.

I recently attended a Q&A session with the directors of Zootopia 2, which gave me a deeper understanding of how professional productions develop characters. Although their characters are more mainstream and narrative-driven, I felt a surprising sense of resonance with their approach to design. Hearing industry professionals talk about how a single design choice can influence storytelling reaffirmed for me that concept design is not just aesthetic work—it is narrative work. This perspective aligns strongly with how I approach my own characters.

The more I study the role of the character designer, the more I feel it suits my strengths. I enjoy the conceptual, imaginative stage of creation far more than the technical or production-heavy stages of animation. I am comfortable developing characters from abstract shapes or emotional cues, and I value the freedom to explore experimental styles. This career path also supports my long-term goal of building a personal artistic universe and developing characters that can extend into prints, merchandise, or animation projects.

Reflecting on my experiences, I believe 2D character concept design offers a balance of structure and creative freedom that fits my personality. It allows me to pursue experimental design while still contributing meaningfully to the storytelling process. This combination makes it a direction I genuinely want to explore further.

As I continue developing new characters and stories, I am increasingly drawn to the path of becoming an independent animation director and creator. I have noticed that my work carries a strong sense of subjective expression: I want to communicate deeply personal emotions, and I naturally gravitate towards a character design style that is highly individual, even if it is not mainstream. This desire to express an authentic personal voice makes the independent animation field particularly suitable for me.

Another factor shaping my interest in independent practice is my curiosity about multiple art forms. Beyond animation, I also engage with photography, printmaking, ceramics, illustration, and mixed-media art. These disciplines continuously influence and inspire each other in my creative process. The flexibility of independent filmmaking allows me to integrate these practices more freely, experimenting with cross-media storytelling and expanding the visual language of my work.

During a recent studio visit, I had the chance to speak with an animator working in a professional animation studio. I asked her whether independent creators—those who want to develop personal works and even turn them into exhibitions or installations—can find opportunities and support within the industry. She shared that some animators have collaborated with institutions like the Tate Modern to develop exhibition projects. Her advice was simple yet encouraging: if you keep creating the work you truly believe in, and consistently build your portfolio, opportunities will naturally emerge. This conversation reassured me that a personal artistic voice does have a space in the professional world.

I am also interested in building my own personal IP. Alongside my coursework, I am already creating small pieces of merchandise and visual materials that extend from my character designs. This process helps me think about how my animation concepts can develop into broader creative ecosystems—such as prints, small sculptures, or artist books. Independent animators often sustain their practice by constructing such multi-layered creative identities, which further motivates me to pursue this direction.

Reflecting on my research and experience, I believe the role of the independent animation director suits me well. It aligns with my desire for strong personal expression, my interest in cross-disciplinary artmaking, and my long-term goal of building my own artistic universe. While the independent path may be less predictable, it offers the creative freedom I value the most.

I was assigned to the stop-motion animation project team with Xiao Tang, Kemeng Zhang and Frances. This animation combines three different materials: clay, paper cutouts, and needle-felted wool. My role was character design and armature construction for the needle-felted section, as I had previous experience working on needle-felted animation projects and related collaborations.  

In this part of the animation, the protagonist enters a world of needle-felted monsters, creating a surreal and absurd atmosphere. It features five main monster characters. Based on my senior’s initial drafts, I designed their character illustrations and experimented with two different color schemes in distinct styles.  

The designs went through several iterations as I refined the details to better differentiate the monsters’ shapes and patterns. In the end, after another teammate conducted Blender lighting tests, we chose the final version (the last picture) that best suited the overall theme of the animation.  

Once the designs were finalized, we moved on to armature construction. Here, I applied the armature-making techniques I had learned in previous puppet-making classes. We used stone clay to reinforce key joints, preventing instability or displacement in later stages.  

Thanks to a well-prepared outline, our workflow was smooth. However, we encountered a significant challenge regarding the movement of the eyeballs. Since the monsters have large eyes to emphasize their ferocity, we needed to ensure that the eyeballs could rotate freely while remaining securely embedded in the armature. To solve this, we shaped all the supporting wires for the eyeballs into loops, attached sponge material, and then embedded the eyeballs, ensuring they had a stable foundation.  

This collaboration was an enriching experience! Through hands-on practice, I gained more in-depth knowledge of armature construction and developed a deeper understanding of stop-motion animation across different materials. My senior also shared many production insights and stories with me. I’m really happy to have been part of this project and can’t wait to see the final outcome!

In the stop-motion and mixed-media classes, I gained a lot of experience across multiple fields.

In the clay animation class, we created very simple geometric character designs. Since the three characters needed to interact with each other, time management was crucial. We carefully controlled the sequence of their movements to avoid visual clutter. In the end, I also experimented with adding music and sound effects to this short animation. Later, in my sand animation and other projects, I continued exploring sound design, which laid a preliminary foundation for my future ideas about creating my own music.  

In the puppet-making class, I systematically learned how to create the basic armature of a puppet. I discovered that corkwood is an excellent material—I had never used it before. It is easy to shape, resistant to deformation, lightweight, and more convenient to work with compared to the clay I previously used. In terms of costume-making, I am not skilled at hand sewing, so I was especially grateful to our teaching assistant for patiently demonstrating how to make a pleated skirt. In the end, I successfully crafted a well-fitted outfit for my puppet.  

During the animation stage, I found that achieving smooth movement was relatively easy, but capturing rhythm and expression was the real challenge. I reshot my class assignment multiple times. In my first attempt, the puppet’s antennae and limbs moved simultaneously, making the animation feel unfocused and rigid. Later, I deliberately controlled the sequence of movements, emphasizing the anticipation and follow-through of each action. This significantly improved the final result. Additionally, I experimented with scene effects that matched the thematic mood of my animation.  

In the sand animation class, I realized the importance of storyboarding. Due to the nature of sand animation, once a frame is shot, it cannot be revised, making the initial storyboard construction crucial. For my assignment on ocean pollution and marine life, I first sketched a series of storyboards to establish the sense of motion and spatial composition I wanted to convey. Then, during the actual animation process, I focused on exploring the texture of sand at different densities and experimented with the use of positive and negative space. I primarily used blank negative space to shape the main subjects, aiming to create a sense of fluidity and breathability within the composition.  

The final stage was paper-cut animation. The biggest difference from the previous techniques was that this class was much more freeform and unpredictable. Paper-cut animation embraces the uncertainty of shapes and patterns, breaking conventional creative boundaries. For instance, when designing our characters, we did not overly refine the details, yet they still appeared vivid and lifelike.

Additionally, I learned how to use multiple layers to synchronize animation production, and I even experimented with holding cut-out pieces by hand to create a blurred foreground effect that complemented the movement. While paper cutouts may seem flat, the clever use of space and layering resulted in a more dimensional artistic effect. We were quite satisfied with our final shoot. In the beginning, the characters entered the scene in sync with the music. Then, by moving the background instead of the characters, we created the illusion of forward motion, gradually revealing the blurred foreground elements. Within the limited time frame, we explored various techniques under our instructor’s guidance, striving to bring the visuals to life.  

Throughout each stage of the stop-motion and mixed-media classes, I gained valuable technical skills and a great deal of enjoyment. I loved experimenting with new materials and techniques and continuously exploring different artistic approaches. This experience made me feel like I was not just making animations but also playing with my materials and characters. I am also deeply grateful for my teachers’ patience and detailed guidance. I hope that in the next phase of my studies, I will be able to independently create more outstanding personal works.

Woodcut animation, with its unique handcrafted texture and visual tension, has pioneered a form of animation characterized by powerful artistic expression. This style not only preserves the charm of traditional woodcut art but also opens new creative avenues in experimental animation.

The origins of woodcut animation can be traced back to the early 20th century during the experimental animation era. German Expressionist art had a significant influence on its development. Animation created using woodcut prints emphasized lines, contrasts of light and shadow, and dramatic visual effects. At the time, it was often used to express social critique, satire, and intense inner emotions, showcasing strong theatricality and artistic depth.  

Lotte Reiniger’s “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926) features a striking visual style with bold black-and-white contrasts. It maintained the handcrafted quality of traditional art while transforming it into dynamic imagery, providing inspiration for the future of woodcut animation.

After the mid-20th century, woodcut animation began incorporating modern technology. The advent of digital tools further enhanced its expressiveness and efficiency. 

The Japanese artist Segawa37 uses Photoshop and After Effects to integrate traditional woodblock illustrations with modern cultural elements, creating a series of humorous and engaging GIF animations.

 “A Picture of Floating Worlds”, inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e, combined woodblock printing, manual techniques, and customized digital programming to explore the integration of traditional crafts and modern technology. Its visual style retained the bold black-and-white aesthetic and handcrafted textures while becoming more fluid and lightweight. Through processes like laser cutting, reassembly, frame scanning, and digital compilation, it created a more efficient workflow—a significant innovation in woodcut animation’s evolution.

Today, the woodcut animation style has gradually found applications in commercial fields such as advertising and music videos. For instance, the MV “Sun More Often” (2020) by Beabadoobee, while not directly using traditional woodcut techniques, presents a visual style with textures and carving-like qualities reminiscent of woodcut art. This approach enhances the song’s vintage and whimsical atmosphere.

Woodcut animation, with its unique artistic expression, embodies the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology. From the experiments of German Expressionism to the revival of modern digital animation, woodcut animation continues to evolve, expanding the boundaries of animated art and offering audiences a fresh visual experience. However, due to its high time and labour costs, its application in commercial fields remains relatively rare.

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