Li Zhiyong (李智勇, aka: Vincent) is the 27 year-old Beijing-based self-taught animator who created the award-winning “Kung Fu Bunny” series. The third and latest episode in the series – titled “Counterattack” – was recently released and nearly immediately became an online viral success, receiving a tremendous response from both Chinese and international audiences.
A few weeks ago we caught up with Vincent to learn a little more about him and his animation works, and chat about the Chinese animation industry. Through our conversation, we got to know not only a talented, enthusiastic, and hard-working creative, but also a dedicated teacher who is very supportive of and invested in his students. On top of it all, he’s modest. We were duly impressed.
Together with the interview below, we’ve also shared a “making-of” video of part 3 of Vincent’s Kung Fu Bunny series – see the very bottom of the post.
To view parts 1 – 3 of Vincent’s “Kung Fu Bunny” series, link here.
For more from Vincent on NeochaEDGE, link here. /// Jellyfish
Who is Vincent Li? Tell us about yourself.
I’m a professor at the Communications University of China’s animation college. I teach animation majors, of course. I spend my spare time collaborating with my students on animation projects.
Have you receive any formal art training? Where did you study?
Ever since I was a little kid I’ve loved painting and drawing. However, because of my family’s financial situation growing up, I never received a proper art education. I did my undergrad at Qingdao Technological University, where I got a degree in transportation (logistics and shipping). I then went on to get a master’s degree in automobile / logistical engineering at Jilin University. I’ve been out of school for about two years now.
What attracted you to animation in the beginning?
Like I said, when I was a kid, I was crazy about painting and drawing. At a young age I knew I should pursue a career in the arts field, but at the same time I didn’t know what that kind of work would be. I couldn’t pin it down. Would it be literature? Or painting? Or some other creative field? I just wasn’t sure.
In 2005 I started to teach myself Flash, at about the same time I came to realize that animation was the best media for me to achieve what I wanted to express artistically. Since then, I’ve been studying and creating animations. To date, I have created about 20 original animation pieces of my own. It’s these pieces that have allowed me to slowly but surely get into the world animation. Now, here I am at the center of the animation industry in China.
Tell us more about the projects that you’ve been / are involved with?
To be honest, I don’t really have any substantial commercial projects to speak of. All of the stuff I’ve done has been very indie. I’m just creating what I like. Like I said, I’ve got about 20 original animation pieces that I’ve done. The only ones that have garnered any real notoriety are these three from the “Kung Fu Bunny” series. Part 3 of the series is the animation that I’m most proud of. It’s my best piece. But, with all of my pieces, I put in a ton of effort. I’m very diligent about what goes into them. They are my babies, I cherish them. For example “Hacker Starscream,” “My Name is Big Big Big Apple,” and other works, are, while short and casual, still very interesting.
I’m currently working on the next installment of “Kung Fu Bunny,” as well as a longer-term plan for the series.
Has your work been in any festivals or competitions?
My work has mostly been entered in domestic animation festivals and I’ve won quite a few awards, including:
- AniFest 2008 International Festival of Animated Films
- 5th & 7th Animation Academy Awards of Animation School of Beijing Film Academy
- 2nd & 3rd China International Original Animation and Cartoon Competition (CIACC)
- 3rd & 4th China International Animation and Digital Arts Festival
- 6th International Student Film & Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy
- 7th & 8th Student Short Film Competition
- 2nd & 3rd Golden Dragon Award Original Animation & Comic Competition
- 10th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival
- 1st China (Beijing) International Student Animation Festival
How long does it take you to make one animation?
It depends on the animation. On the quick side, I can finish some in 2 days, for example, “My Name is Big Big Big Apple” and “A Little Fantasia.” Generally, it never takes me more than 3 months as my passion and focus lose steam after that.
Part three of “Kung Fu Bunny” has taken the most time – about 6 months. Of course, while I do these pieces, I’m also teaching and involved in other projects, so I’m only been able to work on them in my spare time.
What’s your dream project?
In the future, I hope to develop “Kung Fu Bunny” more, you know, into something more well-known. I’d like the bunny to be a household name in China and abroad as a animation star. Of course, I also hope to work on different stories. My mind doesn’t just have a bunny hopping around inside, it also has a bear running, a chicken clucking, and a horse neighing, hahaha. Also, I’m really interested in abstract animation. If the right opportunity comes by, I’ll focus on one of those type of projects.
Do you have any favorite animators / artists / designers that you admire or who inspire you?
I like a lot of animators, for example Norman McLaren and a lot of animators from the National Film Board of Canada – I’ve studied them all.
Jan Svankmajer and Michaela Pavlátová from the Czech Republic are two artists I really enjoy.
No need to mention how much I admire the big studios like Disney and Pixar. That’s pretty obvious. Who doesn’t?
What techniques and software do you use for “Kung Fu Bunny?”
I use real-life stop-motion and digital animation together with Flash. For the stop-motion parts, I use a lot of props, the most of which are just daily life items.
In terms of software, I use: FLASH8, Aftereffect, Fusion, Vegas, Photoshop, etc.
How did you come up with the idea to do the series? What inspired you to mix real-life and animation in the series? Why a rabbit and a dog?
There were a lot of inspirations, all of which can be traced back to my childhood days.
In terms of creativity, my memories as a kid had a big influence on the work. From a young age, I had a strong relationship with nature and my father was a carpenter. I loved to play in his woodworking shop with all kinds of saws and tools. These are all sources of inspiration for me. Additionally, I studied engineering, so, that kind of very “logical thinking process” has been very helpful to me in terms of thinking through every detail in the story.
If we’re talking about ability, then I must credit my parents for passing me the right mix of genes – I think creating art requires some natural talent.
Real-life stop-motion combined with animation is certainly not a new format and animators have been using this effect for quite some time. For example, “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” and “Fantasia” (French version, 1908) both used real objects and people in them. If people think that my style is at all innovative, then I think there are two reasons: 1) regular animation viewers have been become “numb” from watching too many commercial animations that have lost the essence of animation’s artistry. So, when people see my style they are suprised; and 2) my stories are easy to related to for audiences – they can all imagine the story happening right in front of them on their desk. Also, using Chinese kung-fu (modern kung-fu like Jet Li) integrated into an animated animals works well.
When I started pencil sketching the roles of the story, I had the thought “why not use animals as the main character?” After that, I just drew a rabbit. I like to think of rabbits as very energetic, nimble, and quick, which is how I want to be. Also, the outline of a rabbit is very easily recognized. Once I decided on a rabbit as the main character, I had to think of a villain. Logically, I thought about rabbits natural enemy and if it’s not a wolf, then it’s got to be a dog. I love dogs, so I just went with a dog.
Who else was involved in the conception, creation and production of the “Kung Fu Bunny” series?
Parts 1 and 2 of “Kungfu Bunny” were created by me.
The third episode in the series was team project:
- Production Manager: Su Zhiwu
- Producer: Liao Xiangzhong
- Director: Li Zhiyong/ Vincent
- Animator: Li Zhiyong/Vincent
- Assistant Animators: Quan Zhou, Xu Siyuan, Xiao Ji, Zhu Yunyan, Zhang Yan
- Cameraman: Li Zhiyong/Vincent (assisted by Cui Yunpeng, Xiao Ji)
- Color: Zhang Xiaoming, Shi Fangzhou, Chen Feiyi, Zhu Yunyan
- Music: Gong Geer
- Effects: Li Jin, Chen Feiyi, Wang Yingying
What do you think about the Chinese animation industry? How can somebody prepare for a career in animation?
For a person who works in the arts, I think it’s very important to have a foundation and background rich with culture. And, I feel very indebted to the place in which I was born and raised. While it is not an ideal creative environment, this is how the world works: an ideal environment cannot determine the success of a person, rather an environment one works hard in becomes an ideal environment and the environment one doesn’t appreciate becomes the worst kind of environment.
Chinese art has an extremely long and deep history. Our current generation has lost too much of this, which is of course very unfortunate. For example, Chinese animation used to flourish at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio and included many great artistic traditions. However, our work today is very worrisome in terms of using these traditions.
For example, my animations either look Japanese or American, but don’t look Chinese. Traditional Chinese artistic influences were not passed down to me as there was a break in lineage, if you will.
If you look at China’s older animation works, you’ll see that they are just as good today as they were then, but now people think they are crude or uncool. The reason for that viewpoint is that they weren’t able to continue to develop, otherwise they would look very fashionable and cool today. The grandfathers and grandsons of Chinese animation are alive, but there is no father. [Editor's note: for those unfamiliar with modern Chinese history, link here for context.]
As long as Chinese people create real, original works express what is truly in their hearts, then those works will leave a distinctive Chinese mark that can never be erased. I firmly believe that we can rediscover our own artistic dignity.
As far as the animation industry goes, I think we lack both the eye for visual aesthetics and experienced producers. For example, if “Kung Fu Bunny” achieves commercial success, I will need a producer to help me. China is not short of investors and money is not a problem. However, the creative industry is not like the real estate industry, where you can just invest some money and create a big building. Culture takes hundreds of years to nourish and only with it can a new generation of educated people develop and grow.
There are only two important things for studying animation: appreciation and practice. Put another way, all you have to do is watch good animations and make good animations. Once you’ve made a good work, you have to shake off the temptation to be too satisfied and push on to make an even better piece. Don’t be me like me and indulge in illusions. This is the road to success, hahaha.
Animators must let their work do the talking!
a “making of” video for the 3rd episode of “Kung Fu Bunny” ///
I really enjoyed this interview!
We are glad you liked it! We are looking forward to the next Kung Fu Bunny episode :)
Does anybody know where Vincent is from?
He is originally from a small town in Yabuli (ski resort, Heilongjiang Province). He is now based in Beijing.