#ray lei

[design-china]

China Independent Animation Film Forum

Edition five, taking place at D-Park in Beijing from 13-16 October 2016.

www.ciaff.cn

[design-china]

More on Ray Lei

Illustrator Ray Lei opened a display of his works at the Fang Suo Commune in Guangzhou a couple of days ago on 6 March 2016. The exhibition, which Lei Lei can be seen preparing for, will be up until 30 April 2016.

To find out more about this event, visit the Douban page.

[design-china]

More on Ray Lei

Beijing-based illustrator Ray Lei has just sent us details of an upcoming exhibition he will be taking part in (alongside collaborators Thomas Sauvin and Zafka); from 18-27 May 2013, Today Art Museum will showcase their new “Recycled” animation (sneak peek above). Lei Lei tells us more.

The following images "come from negatives salvaged from a recycling plant on the edge of Beijing, where they had been sent to be filtered for their silver nitrate content. Over the years, French collector Thomas Sauvin built an archive of more than half a million 35mm negatives, depicting the capital and the life of her inhabitants over the last thirty years.

From 2011 to 2012, [I] selected over 3,000 photos to create this animation...an almost epic portrait of anonymous humanity". The animated film won an award at Holland International Animation Film Festival 2013, and has been officially selected by Annecy International Animation Festival 2013.

[itsasingalongsong]

"Lei Lei, a.k.a. Ray Lei, 27, is one of the best-known animators in China. Unlike many other smart kids of his generation who graduated from China’s top universities, he went off the beaten path early in his career and never turned back. In a country where many artists chase the latest trends in the international art market, Lei Lei sets trends of his own. His early animation—made from hand drawings on school notepads, is autobiographical and rooted in his upbringing. He wears chunky glasses and a pork pie hat, talks like a rapper with a high pitched voice, and looks like a character who walked out of one of his animated shorts. His drawings are playful and childlike—qualities that tend to fade the further one progresses through China’s rigid education system. That he has managed to make a name for himself both on the domestic and global stages is proof that his passion is infectious."

[ministryofplayers]

Big Hands by Ray Lei

[design-china]

Ray Lei

Ray Lei (Lei Lei) is a talented Beijing-based animation artist. Working across multimedia, graphic design, illustration, graffiti and even music, it's a wonder how this lone ranger gets it all done. Ray founded his own animation studio while still in school in 2005. Four years later in 2009, he obtained a Masters in Animation from Tsinghua University. In 2010, his short film “This Is Love” was screened at Ottawa International Animation Festival and awarded Best Narrative Short. Bing Jie Fu He interviewed the young designer for Design China.

Where are you originally from, and what brought you to Beijing? I was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. From a young age, I learned art from my father, who was a book designer for Jiangxi Publishing House. In 2003, under his guidance, I was accepted into the School of Art at Tsinghua University, and in 2007 I was accepted into their Masters program. After graduating in 2009, I decided to stay in Beijing. At the moment, I am living with my girlfriend in a one-bedroom apartment in northern Beijing, which is both our home and my studio.

How did you develop an interest in animation and design? I love music, skateboarding, drama, and comic strips. From my interests I discovered the beauty and expressiveness of animation as an artistic language. It’s like a bridge connecting various disciplines, enabling me to collaborate with other musicians, illustrators, artists, and architects. Some of the most interesting collaborations I have been involved with include working with architect Li Hu for the Red Line Park animation project, and with Ou Ning for the Border Planning art project.

What is the most interesting brief you've worked on so far? There was an interesting collaboration with the photographer Su Wen, who had been collecting used films from various recycling stations from around Beijing. Eventually, he ended up with 50,000 35mm coloured films documenting the life of average Beijingers for the past 30 years. We selected 3000 films and made a short animation. The process was really fun - different from how I usually work. Through this project, I discovered a whole new horizon for animation.

How does your environment shape your work? Beijing is a dynamic city with a deep cultural heritage - and I have lots of friends here. My buddies started a band called Hey!!! and we often exchange ideas through this platform. There is a place called China Youth Club in Andingmen, which I frequent too, and we often have shows and workshops there. Their magazine China Youthology (headed by Zafka) is interesting as well. All of these together provide an ideal environment for me to come up with new thoughts and ideas.

What is your best achievement to date? I won Best Narrative Short at Ottawa International Animation Festival in 2010, which is a huge encouragement, since this is the second time ever in history that a Chinese national has won such an award.

What are your plans for the future? I am going to make a short animation about my family's history, which has already been selected by a company in Canada to be one of their in-house projects. I will subsequently go to Quebec to work on this, this November.

Images courtesy of the artist.