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

Hank, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

The story I want to share is about the GMA 30 project in 2019, which I believe best describes how I assist my clients as a 3D artist and motion designer with my programming skills and math. The GMA 30 was the 30th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan and also the largest music awards ceremony in the Chinese-speaking world.
The design team responsible for the ceremony package, JL DESIGN in Taipei, decided to adopt the Lissajous Curves as the concept for GMA 30. They believed that Lissajous Curves could best represent the waves and the oscillation of Taiwanese pop music over the past 30 years.
However, the Lissajous Curves are impossible to animate without programming.
This is why JL Design commissioned me once more, to assist in developing a tool for generating Lissajous Curves. Additionally, I built two other tools to help the motion design team finish more than 20 nominee videos amidst the tight schedule, almost effortlessly and with better results.
Recently, more and more motion designers are tempted to incorporate light programming and math into their works.
I used Python and C4D to achieve the Lissajous curves in 2019. But after that, I jumped to Houdini, which I think is easier for more complex effects, and happier to use for developing.

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, I’m a 3D artist from Taiwan. People often see me as part artist and part developer for their animation projects.

I grew up in Hsinchu, the heart of Taiwan’s chip industry. Most people around me work in the science and technology field. Among them, I once believed I would become an engineer too.

However, my inner voice led me to pursue a career in the creative industry, and I became a 3D artist.
I believe I’m happier as an artist. I loved drawing when I was a child, even before I could write.

My background gives me a deeper understanding of math and science compared to other designers in my circle. This sets me apart in groups of motion designers or 3D artists.

My math and programming skills enable me to develop useful tools for various projects, especially when such tools are not available within the software.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As an artist, my goal is always to create works that both I and the audience love.

In commissioned works, satisfying my clients while maintaining self-development is always important. Seeing myself improve in each project drives me to move forward and avoid sinking into boring, redundant labor.

I often work on projects that require research and development, which means I usually have to learn new skills to meet different needs.

However, trying unfamiliar techniques is risky. It is also the most challenging part to take enough risks for the best result while persuading others to take the step and deliver the work safely before the deadline.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As an artist, I often need to dive deep inside each project to find the most unique perspectives. In this deep exploration, I learn new things about different fields, which can also be applied to my future projects.

With each iteration, I evolve and develop my own visual language and improve.

Art is not only my job but also my passion. While I may feel tired from commissioned work, I find solace on my side projects, even within the same software.

Lastly, I believe the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when billions of people see your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/hansworks
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hansworks.lab/

Image Credits
GMA 30, 2019, Hank Liu Side Project: Covid-19, 2021, Hank Liu