Meet Yazhi Zheng

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

Yazhi, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I have been painting since childhood. My grandfather is quite knowledgeable about calligraphy and Chinese painting. He believes that “seeing the handwriting is like seeing the person,” that is, a person’s handwriting represents the person’s face. So he asked me to practice calligraphy since I was a child, and of course, I often picked up a pen and started scribbling. Maybe because writing and painting are similar, I have the idea of ​​drawing more. My uncle and mother are very supportive of me. They both thought of ​​being artists or designers in the past, but they couldn’t continue due to various practical reasons. They built the best art atmosphere for me. After I won the children’s art competition many times, I embarked on the path of becoming an artist. These early doodles and some primitive feelings often make me reminisce, bringing me early creativity and inspiration.

When I came to art college to study, I also went through a lot of learning and exploration. From concept arts to children’s books, I finally went to the field of editorial illustration. I learned how to bring stories into the picture and let my works become a tool for communication and expressing emotions. As I became more and more concerned about the narrative, it aroused my interest in animation, especially motion design. Since my style tends to be lively graphics and vibrant colors, I became more and more fascinated by making these elements move. So I boldly stepped into the motion design industry and learned how to bring illustration and design into animation. In order to maintain my creativity, I always pay attention to some creative studios and discover new trends in the industry. I study new techniques and programs to keep my work fresh by combining the latest technology and multimedia. Until now, I still do this. Many people say that artists are a little crazy, but it is the opposite for me. I am committed to bringing the knowledge and principles I have learned into my work, whether it is from the rules or aesthetics of illustration, graphic design, or animation, to keep each frame of my work as a separate work of art.

The ocean and nature are also an incredible elixir that awakens my inspiration. As a person who was born and raised by the sea, feeling the ocean itself, the blowing sea breeze and the golden sand, the slow flow of time, and the painted marine life give me the feeling that it is like the artistic gene in my blood waiting for me to discover. I like flowing elements, a rich color palette, a gentle atmosphere, and mysterious exploration. Natural elements often appear in my works, and it is something I love and am happy to express.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am an illustrator and motion designer. As an illustrator, I focus on the editorial industry. I have drawn backgrounds and obstacles for an independent video game company, city promotion, and web design for a publication agency, and provided illustrations for the internal website of Paramount Streaming. As a motion designer, I recently wrapped up the summer with Nickelodeon, helping them produce some on-air packages for Dora and Paw Patrol and participating in editing their live-action show. In addition to the television industry, I am also very interested in the advertising industry and am looking for any related opportunities recently.

I am good at 2D and 3D motion graphics to create smooth animations, and often bring in illustration techniques to make the pictures more vivid. I hope to bring a rich and novel visual experience to the audience through my grasp and aesthetic of layout, design, composition, and color. Through the cute little elements and details, flowing lines, and natural style I create, people can feel a sense of breathing in their busy lives. I hope everyone can step into my colorful art world, feel my emotions, and explore their own heart.

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?

I think the three most important things are hard work, willingness to learn new things, and networking.

A teacher who has had a significant influence on me always told me that if you want to do better than others in your professional skills, the best way is to learn a little bit every day and keep working hard and making progress. After a week, a month, or even a year, you can see a big gap between you and your peers or yourself. I have always regarded this sentence as a life creed. When you are not confident in a certain aspect of yourself or your professional skills, you need to work hard and make a slight change every day, and these changes will bear fruit in the end.

With the current rapid technological progress, we can hear news about the emergence of new technologies, the progress of AI, and the birth of new equipment every day. These have caused the current downturn in the talent market and led to the fact that many jobs will be replaced step by step. We will never know where we will be in the future and how technology will progress. What we can do is to keep learning and avoid sticking to our own ways. Understanding and mastering new things may bring unexpected results in inadvertent places.

In addition, I think it is also very important to learn about social networking. We will be troubled by various things in our lives. Whether it is running a successful business or maintaining a happy family, it is not something that we can succeed by working hard on our own. We may need to learn from friends to improve ourselves, or we may need to communicate with leaders to promote ourselves. Only when we know more people, learn to communicate, and learn to network can we have the opportunity to meet people who can really help us. Seizing opportunities requires not only self-improvement but also the introduction and help of others.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always open to collaborating with anyone creative. It is always a novel experience, and I learn a lot to understand people’s art style, their perspective on art, and their respective artistic careers. As a newcomer in the motion design industry, I would love to get any suggestions and feedback on my work, as I am eager to keep improving and make more impressions on more people in the industry. Of course, illustration or painting itself is still something I enjoy and would like to do in my free time. I am still open to any illustration-related opportunities. In short, I shout out to any artist or creative talent in illustration and motion design, whether in advertising, TV, or entertainment. I am willing to collaborate with anyone or get any career advice for the future. If you find me on any platform and are eager to create magic with me, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yazhizheng.art/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yazhi_art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazhi-zheng-190419223/