I used to be an oil painter. Art majors are inseparable, but at that time (20 or 30 years ago), the pure art majors looked down on the design majors with commercial applications. The reason why I changed from oil painting to animation was very simple. It was just my interest. I suddenly began to like animation as a medium, including its thoughts on performances and temporal attributes, as well as its various possibilities as mass communication. Of course, it can also make money relatively fast, at least faster than oil painting. I remember that I made an advertisement for Motorola mobile phones (this thing may have disappeared like a cultural relic), and the money I earned was enough to keep me out of work for a year. But in fact, I was still too naive. We all know that it is difficult to make the same money in every design, especially nowadays.

Well, how should I put it, I hope for a life where stability and change are unified.

I prefer my daily life to be simpler. For instance, in terms of eating, drinking, socializing, and traveling, it’s better if it’s simpler and more consistent. This creates a foundational stability for the changes in my work. As for work itself, I hope for constant change and innovation, with breakthroughs and challenges.

So, after working in this industry for decades, I feel that materially, life has remained unchanged, simple to the point of being boring.

If translated, it would be: How do you define a "good animation"?

In my view, it depends on the creator's initial intentions. Do they intend for the work to appeal to a wide audience, or is it targeted at a smaller, more specialized circle (such as within a professional field or for personal satisfaction)? During the creative process, creators should strive to achieve their goals without inflating their ambitions when assessing the results. For example, if a work is inherently abstract and personal, expecting it to become wildly popular and profitable may not be realistic.

External evaluation systems should also consider this perspective. It's not fair to criticize a rapidly popular artwork using strict academic standards, and vice versa.

Therefore, I believe there isn't a universal definition of "good animation". Any animation driven by appropriate intentions can be considered good.

The first animated work I posted online was titled "D Version Naked". It included a song by Zheng, Jun as the background music, and because I didn't obtain the copyright, I jokingly named it the "D Version". The film lacked a coherent story and was set against the backdrop of Beijing's urban-rural fringe during that era, chaotic yet magical. The perspective followed one person and then, like dominoes, moved on to the next person, simply recording a state of being. The animation was very rudimentary, and now it's unbearable to watch.

However, it had a relatively unique temperament, and some segments from it were used in a film at that time.

I'm most afraid of questions like sharing advice and experiences. When it comes to my own work, I'm always a novice and not qualified to give pointers to others.

Or alternatively, my experience to share is: When facing creating, you're always a beginner.