Originally from China, Ying Zeng’s introduction to animation, while studying at Jiangnan University in Jiangsu Province, wasn’t exactly what she’d expected when she embarked on a creative career. “I didn’t have the luxury of freedom to experiment with themes or techniques,” she tells CR.

“Students were told to follow instructions and do tedious daily practice on standard industry software, such as Adobe creative suite and 3D Maya. I didn’t like it; I felt like a factory product being shaped to fit into the human resource market.”

Zeng moved to London in 2019 to study Design for Art Direction at London College of Communication, before transferring to the Animation Arts course in her second year. Her experience couldn’t have been more different than first time around; although there were a few lectures on animation principles, the focus was giving students the time and space to experiment.

It was the combination of these two contrasting experiences that has got the animator to where she is today, she says. “When I think back, I learned most of my skills during my time in China, and that experience allowed me to feel more comfortable when working digitally compared to the majority of my coursemates in England. In a word, it is the strictly trained technical skills I gained in China and the relaxed creative environment that UAL has provided that got me to where I am now.”

Most of Zeng’s projects so far have been highly collaborative endeavours. Last year, she worked with director Jamie Chi on documentary film Safe Distance, which examines the increasing discrimination and hate crimes towards the Chinese queer community in the wake of the pandemic. Tasked with creating a short opening animation, she applied oil and wax to thermal paper and heated it at a high temperature to create a distinctive texture.

And earlier this year, she collaborated with director Holly Telfer and sound artist JinYing Li on their joint graduation project, Your Sanctuary for Regeneration. The striking film explores ideas of feminism by showing a journey through the birth and regeneration of a mother goddess.

Reflecting on how her work has evolved over the course of her studies, Zeng says she is increasingly drawn to projects that explore identity and the fluidity of social definitions. “Coming from a conservative culture, sex and gender is still a forbidden topic in many circumstances, and women are often suppressed and materialised. I am eager to make an impact on the real world through my creative practice,” she adds.

Thinking about the future, the animator believes her biggest challenge will be balancing the artistic and commercial sides of her practice. “Being an international graduate in the UK means that I have to find a job that can provide me with a working visa within two years. Ideally, I would also like to keep working on my own personal style as a freelancing artist,” she says.

@zing_yingzeng