Meet Konja Liu

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Konja Liu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Konja, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

As a 3D animator, reflecting on my life journey from childhood to adulthood, I sense an inexplicable “force” guiding my growth—a force I believe to be my life’s purpose. Discovering and maintaining a sense of purpose can be seen as both a form of “luck” and a testament to one’s ability.
Some may define life’s purpose as achieving success, accumulating wealth, or building a perfect family. While these are valid perspectives, for me, the essence of purpose lies in the feeling that “life is meaningful, and I am truly alive.” Achieving this feeling requires relentless effort and dedication. I have spent 90% of my life striving toward this goal, with only fleeting moments of satisfaction that fuel my commitment to the next cycle of hard work.
During my undergraduate studies, I often felt lost because my major did not align with my true passions. To navigate this uncertainty, I created a bucket list of 60 items—a macro-level framework to evaluate my life’s direction. This list became a guiding force, accompanying me through my decision to study abroad and helping me identify key turning points that shaped my purpose. One such pivotal moment was my participation in SCAD Animation Studios’ large-scale animated film project, The Last Dungeon, from January to May 2023.
As an international student pursuing an MFA in Animation, I often found myself deeply moved while attending film festivals or watching animated films in theaters. These experiences sparked a recurring thought: “What if my name could appear in the credits of a film someday?” This aspiration, which also made it onto my bucket list, became the driving force behind my three-year journey as an animator.
A significant opportunity arose during the winter break of 2022 when I completed my personal portfolio website and stumbled upon SCAD Animation Studio’s call for animators. I submitted my resume, driven by a desire to push myself, embrace teamwork, and explore new challenges. To my surprise, I was selected—a milestone that brought me closer than ever to the animation industry’s pipeline and the collaborative dynamics between its departments.
As a 3D animator on the project, I was assigned three shots totaling 8 seconds, featuring eight characters animations. One particularly challenging 1-second shot took me six weeks to complete, requiring constant revisions to refine character movements and coordination. The process involved two weekly critique sessions for animators and one technical solution session to address departmental challenges.
Despite the frustrations and exhaustion, the team’s supportive and collaborative atmosphere fostered a profound sense of belonging and purpose. This experience clarified my life’s direction: I aspire not only to grow within a team but also to contribute to its collective progress.
On June 1, The Last Dungeon premiered to an awe-struck audience. Two moments brought me to tears and reaffirmed my sense of purpose. First, seeing my name in the film’s credits was a dream realized. Second, during the director’s speech, she thanked not only the leaders but every team member. When she invited us to stand for applause, I felt a shiver of pride and warmth—a tangible reminder that my work mattered.
Later in my career, these experience set the stage for my subsequent endeavors, including working on animated films like Tall Wall and collaborating with Epic Games on the UEFN Virtual Concert project. Through these projects, I continue to refine and pursue my life’s purpose, driven by the belief that meaningful work and collaboration are the essence of having a sense of being alive.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Konja Liu
🔸3D Animatior (Character / Game Animation)
🔸Motion Capture Cleaner
🔸Short Film Animation Director

At the forefront of merging art with technology, my journey as a 3D Animator has been about pushing the boundaries of storytelling in the Animation. Partnering with Epic Games and RedKulture, my team crafted a character-driven music concert experience, harnessing the power of Unreal Engine for immersive cinematics and character animation. The drive to enrich users’ experiences through innovative animation and motion capture is what propels my work. Guided by mentors at MAKE, I’ve honed my skills to captivate audiences on social media platforms, blending narrative with visual artistry. Working on large interdisciplinary animation studio projects like The Last Dungeon and Tall Wall, I combined my knowledge and skills with the demands of actual shots production and pipeline.

I’m proficient in software like Maya, Unreal Engine, and have solid skills in 3D animation, motion capture, storyboarding, and more. I have received industry certification from the 2024 Rookie Awards and won awards in several design competitions.

I look forward to continuing to explore the infinite possibilities of animation in my future career and bringing more immersive visual experiences and good animation to audiences.” Thank you all!

Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/konja-liu/
INS:
https://www.instagram.com/deiljla_konja/
Portfolio:
https://konjaliu.com/

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

🔸3D Animatior (Character / Game Animation)
🔸Motion Capture Cleaner
🔸Short Film Animation Director

Personality:
●Approach works with confidence and a positive attitude.
●Building strong, positive working relationships with leaders and coworkers.
●Act with ethics and integrity, ensuring that all aspects of work meet or exceed standards.

Advice:
Set small goals: Gradually build confidence and a sense of accomplishment by completing small tasks.
Positive thinking training: Record positive experiences at work every day to cultivate optimism.
Accept feedback: View criticism as an opportunity for improvement, not as a denial of your abilities.
Self-motivation: Stay motivated by reading motivational books, watching relevant talks, or interacting with positive people.

Active communication: Communicate regularly with colleagues and leaders to understand their needs and expectations.
Listening and empathy: Focus on listening in communication, showing understanding and respect for others.
Teamwork: Actively participate in team activities, share knowledge and experience, and help others solve problems.
Build trust: Earn the trust of others through reliable work performance and honesty.

Clear standards: familiar with industry norms and company requirements to ensure that the work meets the standards.
Self-supervision: After completing the task, proactively check the quality to ensure that there are no omissions.
Honesty and trustworthiness: Be transparent at work, communicate promptly when encountering problems, and do not hide or shirk responsibility.
Continuous learning: Improve professionalism by reading industry norms, attending training, or consulting senior colleagues.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

The biggest growth as a 3D animator in the last 12 months is expanding my skill knowledge from character animation to game animation and game engines. Mostly using is Unreal Engine.

①Learned and made game animation walking, running, sprinting, attack combo, first-person shooting, Emote animation, and made Demo Reel of game animation.

②Won the 2024 Rookie Awards
Rank B Industry certificate based on “Rookie of the Year – 3D Animation”

③ Participated in the Project: 【Epic Games X RedKulture Metaverse Phase 2】
🔸Learned how to use Axis Studio Mocap to record capture data effectively( the process of Mocap, and even a little bit of facial animation…
🔸Building a Mannequin Skeleton in unreal to attach the exported mocap data, and retargeting Mannequin Skeleton to the rig of project we used.
🔸Saving the animation as sequence and baking it to the rig, and recorrected the animation…
🔸Baking and exporting animation to UEFN…

④Get valuable feedback and insightful advice for my Portfolio during a one-on-one portfolio review with Hagen Deloss and Jordan Giboney from Autodesk, and listen to their career experiences on the theme ’When to Cut Corner’.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://konjaliu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deiljla_konja/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konja-liu/
• Twitter: https://x.com/KonjaLiu
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@konjaliu_1998
• Other: https://www.artstation.com/konja_liu

Image Credits

Konja Liu