After the audience had entered the auditorium, the head of the department, Joanne Chao, took the stage to open the session, starting the "Haha! I'm from the Animation Department" lecture of the day.

First, speaker Zhang Shikai introduced his entry into the animation industry and his transition to the game industry. He was deeply inspired by Professor Lin Dawei in university; through playing the various games that the professor lent him, he further confirmed his interest in the game industry, and even aspired to work at Blizzard Entertainment at the university. Although his first interview at Blizzard failed, he continued accumulating on ArtStation, and finally received an invitation from the Chinese company NetEase and gradually entered the workforce through outsource cases, becoming a character designer. His work experience at NetEase greatly honed his skills, not only trying to build more worldviews, but also exploring many details of game production.

After working at NetEase for a while, Zhang Shikai received an outsourced case from Blizzard Entertainment. After completing the case, he was successfully recruited by Blizzard Entertainment as an outstanding talent. Then, Zhang Shikai focused on sharing his experience during the adaptation period. In addition to applying for the Visa, he mentioned the adjustment of his mindset for working abroad, as well as the ups and downs of his work. For example, when designing a character's weapon, it is not enough to draw the gun’s appearance, but also to make the gun "functional": imagine different rotation angles, as well as the dynamics of changing guns, loading, or spraying. During the design process, all departments must continue to discuss the items to be modified, and after continuous polishing, the final appearance seen by players in the game is presented. In addition, he also mentioned that seeing many players choose the character models he drew, and even many game streamers are using them, the feeling of the characters "coming to life" is impressive.

As Zhang Shikai finished sharing his career journey along the way, as he was about to end his speech, he encouraged creators interested in game art design to try to build original worldviews in various ways. He hoped that his sharing would be helpful to the audience present.

Then, speaker Ahan also shared his personal creative experience.

Ahan has had a strong desire to perform since childhood, often playing the role of the people he sees in his life. After entering the animation department of Taipei National University of the Arts, he often shot short films with his classmates. As long as they were inspired, they would pick up their phones and start casual performances. At the same time, Ahan once worked hard to manage a fan page of painting. Although he cultivated a certain level of audience through serious updates, he still did not reach the preset goals in his heart. Ahan initially only regarded performance as a way for him to express his humor, never had he expected that it would become an important turning point in the future.

After graduating from university , Ahan joined the team of "On Happiness Road" as a background artist. While working in the studio, his colleagues were all working hard, and there was almost no chance for communication. After experiencing a high-pressure, repetitive working environment, he gradually developed the idea of resigning, and finally resigned after reaching an agreement with the director. Later, his college friend, Zhang Shikai, who is also a speaker today, suggested that he start a YouTube channel, and slowly began the current "Hanhan Po Video.”

Ahan shared his performance experience after starting to manage the channel with the audience. He prefers to use second-hand clothing and accessories to interpret characters, which can better reflect the authenticity of a character. Before collecting props, he will first come up with the color scheme for a character, so that the audience can have an impression of the character through clear colors. Someone once asked Ahan why he didn't change the clothes for the characters, he said that this can make everyone have a fixed and profound impression of the characters, just like many well-known cartoon characters, always maintain the same appearance.

Then, Ahan mentioned the aesthetic requirements embodied in the videos. Although he no longer continues to produce animation, he still draws a few strokes in the video, such as personally designing the standard characters for each video and insisting on handwriting. In addition, he shared the storyboard he drew before making the music video for "A Bee’s Love" this year, and was grateful that he is still using what he learned at the university. However, he also found that the public's sensitivity to aesthetics is not high, such as the images specially drawn for the channel characters, because the details and proportions are different from the shapes in the videos, making it difficult for the audience to immediately connect.

After discussing the art arrangements in the channel, Ahan demonstrated various character voices and analyzed the pronunciation characteristics of multiple accents. He believes everyone has a unique voice, which is produced through subtle differences in the control of the oral muscles and tongue. For example, Taiwanese dramas from the 1980s were often re-dubbed with accurate Mandarin pronunciation, and the tone of speech was not only full of ups and downs, but also had some tonal changes at the end. It is precisely because of the discovery of these details that he has mastered the essence of retro-style dramas.

In the end, Ahan encouraged many students in the audience: "Even if you don't do animation, there are still many fun things to do!" He told the students to focus on the present and cherish their lives now that they can be true to themselves. The audience applauded, bringing the lecture to a close in a touching and joyful atmosphere.

Ah Han

TSENG,WEN-HAN

Graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts Second Cohort, Department of Animation During his time in school, he was passionate about traditional 2D animation and character design. After graduation, he worked as a background artist on "On Happiness Road." After completing his military service in 2017, he gained popularity by creating humorous video imitations, officially entering the realm of YouTube. In his video content, he often incorporates drawing and design to enrich the videos. He also uses distinctive voices and character designs to portray different roles. Characters like Li Yue, Ruan Yue Jiao, Mr. Miyamori, and the Landlady...etc, have received a lot of attention in terms of artistic details and clothing. In 2022, he gained widespread attention in Taiwanese society by portraying a fortune-telling aunt from the Juitian Xuannu (九天玄女), with his video surpassing 12 million views. He won the Walk Bell John Awards for Best Annual Video and produced and performed in the opening video of the 57th Golden Bell Awards with host Bowie Tsang, receiving high praise. He was also selected this year as a representative of Taiwan to visit Pixar. He continues to create various video works and is looking forward to returning to Taipei National University of the Arts to share the challenges and joys he has encountered as a YouTuber.

Shih Kai Chang

After graduating from the Department of Animation at TNUA, I took a left turn and became a character designer. Currently, I work as a senior concept artist at Blizzard Entertainment (yes, the one with a lot of controversies), specifically for Overwatch 2 (also the controversial one). I still have a strong passion for visual art and animation. You have to believe in me.