Xin Li’s love of art and his painstakingly detailed work drew him to a career in animation.
Xin runs his own animation studio from his home in Hainan, China, and is commissioned to create videos for various projects, including title sequences for TV series, music videos and short form and feature films.
Xin specialises in a traditional method of stop-motion animation called paint-on-glass animation. He hand-paints each frame on to a piece of glass or transparent film – a technique he can adjust with each frame.
“Thanks to the liquid and slow-drying quality of oil paints, I can manipulate or change the painting with fingers, cotton sticks or tissue paper frame-by-frame,” he said.
“I continue to use this technique in my current work on a TV title sequence and in my daily explorations, always searching for new possibilities in materials, technique, and storytelling.”
In the 15 years he has been honing his craft, Xin took the time between 2019 and 2021 to complete the Master of Animation, Games and Interactivity at RMIT. He looks back on that period with gratitude for the support and encouragement he received from teachers and classmates.
“I deeply appreciate the warm, encouraging studio atmosphere and sincere, constructive feedback from the teachers and students,” he said.
“Their support and encouragement helped me to make a few very important projects during the study which have been screened in numerous international film festivals around the world and received multiple awards.”
