We recently connected with Qingruo Zhao and have shared our conversation below.
Qingruo, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
My career path is pretty unique, so I hope my story can be inspiring for someone suffering from a career-shifting period.
Fun fact: my undergraduate major is Auditing, so when I realized that I wanted to ANIMATE three years after graduating, I barely knew where to start and here’s my path:
Study how to use Cinema 4D in 2017
Become a full-time producer for a year.
Apply to SVA Computer Arts in 2019 with a portfolio from that year.
Interning for a year after graduation in 2 different studios.
And now I officially AM a motion designer in New York. :P
It was easy to get lost when exploring animation without guidelines, especially with the overloaded resources nowadays. If I knew what I know now, I recommend finding out what you like and focusing on doing that sooner. There are so many styles in both 2D and 3D, and chasing the trends can be exhausting. Being good at just being you can make you stand out nicely.
And there’s another thing I should have done years ago: go through the best pieces frame by frame to see how other motion designers make similar things look much better, especially timing-wise. In the motion industry, the sense of timing is essential; sometimes, one frame can make a huge difference.
Qingruo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am Momo, a New York-based Motion Designer currently focusing on 2D/3D motion development and frame-by-frame animation. Here’s my website: www.momozqr.com
As a Motion Designer for three years, I collaborate with talented animators, directors, and producers to create stunning 2D and 3D motion graphics for various platforms and clients. I am passionate about moving elements around and bringing life into them, especially the cute ones!
I am still exploring the Art world with curiosity. You can also find my work in Riso-printing and hand-building clay form.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As I started my journey as a producer, I had a mindset of always sharing the “perfect” version with clients, which dragged me hard from being a good motion designer. Especially in the pitch phase, Designers will need to share WIPs and get feedback from several rounds to keep up with the director and the entire team.
Even if you feel unprepared, please share your WIP when unsure where to go next.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Knowing what the best Motion works look like is essential as a motion designer. Here are some resources I wish I had known years earlier:
https://goodmoves.tv/
https://vimeo.com/channels/wineaftercoffee
and the list Ben Marriott put together here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNGtnkLi5Js&list=PLT6TzADDEXvZvSd51XKON2Ucpr1e1VRcX
Contact Info:
- Website: www.momozqr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_momotion_/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qingruo-zhao/
Image Credits
all images are my personal work,