Meet Li-Yu Chen | Lee the Deer – Motion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Li-Yu Chen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Li-Yu, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’m a motion designer from Taiwan, primarily focusing on design while also doing animation. Since childhood, I’ve had a passion for drawing, knowing that someday I would pursue a career in art, even though I was unsure of the specific field.

Even though I knew I liked art, I studied business in college because I was still uncertain if I could succeed in an artistic career. However, towards the end of my college years, I made the decision to pursue an artistic path, eventually choosing motion design. I came to the US to pursue a master’s degree in motion design. The journey hasn’t been easy, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve gained.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work focuses on creating frames with a cinematic look, utilizing textures, graphics, and footage to add details, meaning, and depth to my work. I enjoy blending elements of 2D and 3D, often infusing a dark vibe into my work. For example, in one of my works, “Epiphany,”(http://leethedeer.com/DS_Epiphany.html) I used strong black and white contrast and surrealistic scenes to convey my worldview.

Additionally, I’m drawn to dark and horror themes, as seen in “Cutting Grass,” (http://leethedeer.com/DS_Cutting-Grass.html) a title sequence for a short horror animation. I used strong red to imbue the iconic vibe into the design. This work has been recognized by various awards, including the Red Dot Award, Applied Arts, and The International Design Awards, among others.

Overall, I specialize in designing title sequence frames but remain open to exploring various techniques and styles to create compelling work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
While I’m mostly a homebody, I do enjoy occasional outings. If my friends were visiting, I’d love to explore local coffee shops, restaurants, or take a stroll in the park with them. That would be interesting enough for me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s hard to pinpoint a specific book or influence. Since childhood, I’ve enjoyed watching cartoons, especially American ones. I think that is one of the reasons I came here. As I grew older, I began exposing myself to various films and shows that shaped my aesthetics.

Website: http://leethedeer.com/index.html

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leethedeer/