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*The English version is translated by GPT-4o and curated by the author. The author is slacking off and refused to write directly in English.

***Author:** Zhenglin Pan*

In my second year of diving into AI animation research, I became an animator, a scholar with research experience in Japan, and a co-founder with equity in a startup.

I stepped onto the frontlines of animation production, joined the ranks of working animators, contributed to projects, and saw my name in the credits. I was also fortunate to take part in a Japan-led academic project, backed by both government and industry, where I conducted half a year of animation research and met a group of people eager to transform the industry.

Back in China, I followed a seed-stage startup as we explored the market, developed animation AI algorithms, and witnessed the company land its first business deal. Yet, even with all this momentum, the speed of AI development and the flood of capital into the space shattered many of our plans and fantasies for the future.

This blog entry—long overdue after more than a month’s delay—is my way of pausing to reflect on all the changes and growth I’ve experienced over the past year.

Chapter 1: Becoming an Animator

The desire to join an animation production team had been simmering inside me for years. After graduating from my master’s program, I finally acted on that impulse and began applying for animation internships.

In July 2024, I received an offer from an animation studio in Beijing. That’s when I officially walked into the industry. Small but excellent, the studio was with a strong technical reputation and ambitions to expand internationally. Thanks to my familiarity with the production process and my English skills, I joined as a production coordinator, reporting directly to the director and assisting with pre-production work.

My daily tasks included joining management meetings and being involved with concept art, storyboarding, script reviews, and asset management. A big part of the job was simply observing and learning the internal workflows—how departments handled their loads, how they interacted, how processes were structured. These are the kinds of things you can never learn from books.

During that time, I also focused on two things:

• Deepening my knowledge of both 2D and 3D animation. Beyond the Japanese-style production pipeline I was already familiar with, I started exploring visual details—how to draw smash frames, manpu, and techniques used in photography and compositing. I also spent time on Anitama’s online lectures, studying legendary sakuga animators like Yutaka Nakamura, Hiroyuki Okiura, Keisuke Kobayashi, and Keiichiro Watanabe from the perspective of a devoted animation fan.
• Developing my own animation project—specifically, a script. Starting from a solo concept, I used my evenings and pre-bedtime hours to outline the story, refine the plot, and collaborate with friends from animation programs. This process helped me test ideas and revisit production workflows.