Student Spotlight - Changjun Yu

"I wanted to learn from the best, had so many questions about animation but couldn't find the answers until I found iAnimate."

Student Spotlight features Changjun Yu, an animator from Australia. CJ loves Blizzard animation shots! He joined iAnimate in 2014 and came back last 2021 to further enhance his skills in Feature Animation.

Changjun Yu wanted to learn animation, and he found his way through iAnimate. At first, he was hesitant and shy. Still, because of the instructor's approach, Changjun Yu became open and expressive with his thoughts. He began asking questions, collecting feedback, and asking for assistance with things he needed to know for his animation training.

Student Animation Journey

Changjun took the following Feature Student Workshop here at iAnimate:

• Feature Workshop 3 with Mike Walling (Bungie)
• Feature Workshop 4 with Tal Shwarzman (Pixar Animation)
• Feature Workshop 5 with Brad Faucheux (Blizzard)

Animation planning is one of the essential processes in doing successful animations. iAnimate assignments enable students to do animations professionally by working on their workflows and creative thinking. Here are Changjun Yu’s processes made in doing his assignments:

One of the things he learned in iAnimate was to understand what is important. The performance is about telling a story, and you don't want to distract the viewer with unnecessary actions and focus more on what they are thinking and feeling.

1. I use premiere pro first with my reference. I try to find the right timing by editing the reference first.
2. Sometimes I use clip studio to add some 2d animation in my reference to make my 3d animation process easier.

In iAnimate, Changjun Yu learned more about the thought process. He believes that performing thought process in character was the hardest thing to know in animation. But with the help of professional instructors, he mastered it, which helped him stand out as an animator.

Changjun's Student Reel

You can reach Changjun via:

Student Spotlight Q&A with Animator Changjun Yu

iAnimate: What do you think of your Instructor(s), and how did they help you?

Changjun:They really know why I struggled and how to improve my animations.

iAnimate: How did iAnimate help you to evolve as a character animator?

Changjun:

“Not just being an instructor, they really come towards you as a friend. this helped me to push myself by asking lots of questions because I felt comfortable asking.”

iAnimate: What kind of animator do you consider yourself after taking your workshop?

Changjun: More on planning animator.

iAnimate: What kind of animation project do you want to work on?

Changjun: I would love to work on projects for Feature and Games animation