We were lucky to catch up with Xindi Zhang recently and have shared our conversation below.
Xindi, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I was never confident about my work until my experience at summer school in my sophomore year. I was in a figure drawing class with talents from all over the world. There was a painter in the other section that caught my attention. His paintings were painstakingly polished, and his eyes were like cold steel. Throughout the curriculum, I admired his works yet was not brave enough to talk to him. Until our exhibition. He walked to my painting and stood there for a long time. Then he ran to me, with steel eyes melted into tears. “Thank you for doing the painting,” he said. By the time I realized my work could mean something to others. As long as my work can touch one person, it’s successful. Even though I changed my direction, this faith still encouraged me, especially when I hit rock bottom.
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?
Coming from a concept art background, Xindi Zhang is a visual developer and indie animation director currently enrolled at the University of Southern California. Xindi has a strong passion for cutting-edge technology and personal storytelling. She experiments with stylized rendering and storytelling through space. She focuses on family issues, mental issues, and the Asian community. Recently, Xindi has been working on a documentary animation about people drifting between different cultures, discussing loneliness and a sense of belonging through the space.
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 have always believed that self-learning, brilliant concepts, and stable emotions are the key to success. Since we work on creative content, we must continuously update our knowledge and skillset to cope with changes. Don’t be afraid of new things. The more you learn, the easier and faster to grasp new knowledge. Once you can build up this learning cycle, it’s easy to turn around when the project asks you to. Brilliant concepts provide a good starting point that gives you confidence despite obstacles. It’s worth spending more time on idea iterations than production since your efforts work best when you are on the right track. Lastly, be patient. No one could anticipate all the challenges, especially when doing creative work. A stable emotion would help you to cope with unexpected issues and finish your brilliant work.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
This is my first time working on documentary animation. Although confident in making animated sequences, I have no experience interviewing people and shooting real footage. My first recording with my participant was a disaster. I was interviewing her remotely. In order to get the best sound quality, I booked an ADR room for her session. However, this setup made her too nervous to speak comfortably. Then, I scheduled another time with her at her home. This time, she would speak freely, and the content was more interesting than the last time. However, we recorded the conversation on the wrong device, so the sound quality was not as good as we expected. Luckily, my sound designer saved my files. Finally, I can set up the right tools and environment for my next participant. There must be more challenges like this along the way. However, conquering the unknown excited me to experiment with new things more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.xindi-zhang-art.com/
- Instagram: @xindizhangart
Image Credits
All images credited to Xindi Zhang
