We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fa Fa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with fa below.

Fa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve primarily been self taught, learning through online resources and engaging in conversations with others. I believe everyone has their own way of learning, and it’s important to find an approach that works best for you.

When I first started using Cavalry or any new software, really—I felt completely overwhelmed. The unfamiliar interface and UI made it hard to know where to begin, and for a while, I made very little progress. I struggled to create anything meaningful, and often found myself just staring at the tools without knowing how to use them. Looking back, I feel like I lost nearly a year just trying to find my footing. (I’ve been learning Cavalry for over two years now.)

Eventually, I found a more effective method. I began going through the official documentation in detail to understand what each feature does, then used that knowledge to recreate effects from scratch. I usually follow my curiosity first, learning what interests me most, before diving deeper into the fundamentals. Once I have a solid grasp of the basics, I like to explore how those can be expanded and expressed in different ways.

Thinking critically during both the learning and creative process is something I find really important. It’s easy to follow a tutorial and focus on adjusting values, but I always try to understand the logic behind the setup. Why do these parameters work together? Are there other ways I could approach the same problem?

I also enjoy experimenting—combining what I’ve learned from tutorials with techniques I already know to create something new and more personal. On top of that, I find a lot of value in browsing through community discussions and reading other users’ questions or feedback. Seeing how others tackle creative or technical challenges is inspiring, and sharing what I’ve learned helps reinforce my own understanding while contributing back to the community. I think that kind of knowledge exchange creates a really positive and healthy learning loop.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi everyone, I’m Fafa, a 2D motion designer from China.

Whenever my parents ask me what I do for work, I usually just tell them, “I make animated commercials.” Basically, clients come to us with their needs, and we help them come up with creative ideas and visual designs, then bring it all to life through animation. These animations are often used on social media, for example, when a new phone or operating system is released, or for opening titles in films and TV shows.

But personally, I like to think of my job as giving design a sense of movement that feels natural and intentional. One way I often describe it is: imagine a film set, where there’s someone in charge of choreographing the action scenes to make them look smooth and cool—that’s kind of what I do, but with design elements. I decide how things should move—faster or slower, bigger or smaller—based on the visual style of the project.

I got into motion design in a very simple way. I happened to see an animated promo for TEDx Ningbo, and I was immediately drawn to the clean graphics and the way the timing of the animation gave the visuals a kind of emotion. It felt so organic, like the shapes themselves had feelings. That really stuck with me. It was the thing that first pulled me into animation—and honestly, it’s still what I love most about it: using animation to express emotion.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Early in my career, I mainly focused on motion design work from within China. But as I started wanting to grow and push myself further, I realized that the kind of motion design I truly loved was happening all around the world. Different countries and cultural backgrounds bring out different kinds of creative collisions, and that’s incredibly inspiring.

There are always amazing motion designers out there, constantly pushing the craft with fresh techniques and unique styles. There will always be someone better than you, and someone who’s catching up. And to me, that’s what makes this field so exciting.

I’ve spoken with a lot of people who are just starting out or are curious about motion design, and many of them talk about feeling isolated—as if no one around them really understands what they’re passionate about. I totally get that feeling. But what I always tell them—and what I would tell my younger self is this: look outward, look at the world. There are so many people out there who love motion design just like we do.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One day, I was casually watching some videos online and came across a documentary about the kung fu culture of Wudang Mountain in China. There was a segment on Tai Chi that really caught my attention. Even though Tai Chi isn’t a particularly intense or aggressive form of kung fu, I was struck by the balance within the body—the interplay between movement and stillness. The way the body shifted from one state to another created completely different emotional impressions. And in that moment, I thought: this is the essence of animation.

Animation, too, is all about contrast—fast and slow, movement and stillness. That realization led me to develop a deep interest in Tai Chi and Daoist philosophy, which gradually became something of a guiding belief in my life.

That same year, I started creating animations inspired by Tai Chi. I wanted to express the emotions I felt through motion graphics to let others see what I saw and felt. Over time, I also became more interested in traditional Chinese culture in general. There’s such a long and beautiful history behind it, and I’m really drawn to the idea of using modern digital tools to give these traditions new life, especially through animation.

From that point on, it felt like my life had a new sense of direction. I started thinking more intentionally about what I wanted to express, not just making design move for movement’s sake. Motion design became my language. It’s how I speak to the world, and the world can hear me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fafa_motion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fafa-zhu-689035335?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: https://x.com/fafa818969
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fafamotion