Life in Motion
Yaqi Cui
STUDENT ARTWORK
Category
Animation
Artwork medium
Blender, Maya, MotionBuilder
ARTIST STATEMENT
We established [themes of] Morning, Afternoon and Night as the creative core and divided these into corresponding mood boards. Morning's materials are light and transparent, like plastic candy wrappers, gradually brightening from darkness under the morning light, creating a soft and dreamlike beginning. This light texture was partly inspired by the delicate lustre and translucent surface treatment in the works of Hajime Sorayama. Afternoon centres on intense metallic reflections, showcasing a vibrant state, with an additional layer of reflective effects, as if viewing a gracefully dancing figure through glass from a third-person perspective. This cold, precise, reflective style also draws inspiration from Hajime Sorayama's signature metallic texture. Night employs a glass-like texture, reflecting neon lights to depict a relaxed entertainment scene immersed in a surreal urban atmosphere. The inspiration for its light and colour palette draws from the bold use of neon and lighting in cyberpunk stage performances.
COLLABORATORS
Directors – Yaqi Cui, Qinglin Lai
Technical Advisors – Tom Zhou, Xiaoqian Zheng
Producers – Xixun Zheng, Yuxi Guo
Supervising Professor – Karen Kriss
ARTIST INTRODUCTION
I joined UNSW in term 2 of 2025. Previously, I worked as an art director and 3D artist.
CONTACT
Email: cuichloe37@gmail.com
Acknowledgement of Country
UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
