*English version translated by Perplexity and curated by the author. The author is slacking off and refused to write directly in English.
***Author:** Zhenglin Pan*
Some day in May 2023, I was aimlessly floating in the air, staring blankly at the ceiling roof in a rented apartment somewhere in Shanghai, into the future where I found myself get lost. The initial enthusiasm for my internship had already dissipated, and I began to question my life that going to work during the day, lounging on my phone at night.
Would my life become a cycle of this monotony for the coming decades?
Until one evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, I found the answer to my existential quandary. It was in that golden hour that I embarked on a journey that would profoundly impact my life – exploring the possibilities of using AI to assist in traditional hand-drawn 2D animation production.
In the first month, the primary focus was on gaining a comprehensive understanding of the industry.
This exploration covered a wide range of topics. Firstly, I delved into the animation production process and systems, revisiting animation introductory books I had previously read. This served two purpose: satisfying my curiosity about animation while familiarizing myself with the demands and pain points of various stages in commercial animation production.
I further browsed blogs, twitters posted on social platforms where studios, VC share their insights to gauge the current state of applications and market demand, then scoured Google Scholar for relevant technical publications, seeking theoretical support. At this stage, I also read a few books about the history of animation, its intrinsic nature, and the prevailing market conditions.