NaiWei Liu is a Taiwanese-born artist and designer, who has been involved in the motion graphics and graphic design fields since 2006. Liu received his BFA in Communication Design from Shih Chien University in Taipei, Taiwan in 2009, and his MFA in Computer Art with a concentration in Motion Graphics from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2014. As a professional motion graphic designer and 3D animator, Liu has worked on numerous projects including, animations for musical presentations held at the Taiwan National Concert Hall, and motion videos for live worldwide concerts. Liu’s inventive commercial and fine art motion imagery engages music within a defined visual space to create a vivid and impressive visual language.

 

NaiWei Liu’s Something Important (2014) is a 2D animation, which presents the filmmaker's personal journey of self-discovery woven as a tapestry of his memories. Liu uses an abstract montage style that combines hand-drawn elements with composited photo realistic scenes in tandem with music, to express his life experiences filtered through time and remembrance.The resulting film conveys a positive perspective that transforms psychologically difficult occurrences into a field of creative insights.

 

Thirty years ago, Liu’s father came to study in NYC, so Liu heard many stories about the City during his childhood. After Liu’s father passed away, he decided to study in NYC. Something Important is a film about how Liu‘s memories of his late father continue to motivate him from depression. The visual style of abstract collage and self-narration, applied in 2D animation, illustrated Liu’s excerpts from his diaries written while studying in New York. In Liu’s diary, he continuously asked himself how he might forget unhappy memories. Through this process Liu realized he still held precious memories which kept him going. Liu wishes to encourage others whom may suffer from depression. He hopes for everyone to live with an active and positive attitude, able to find people and memories worth cherishing.

 

Steps were finished by Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign: 1. Style frames 2. Collages that use a lot of hand-drawn materials and composite scenarios of real photos to express the landscapes in memories. 3. Hand-drawn cel animation to express characters in Photoshop, then finished with After Effects: 1. Animatic video 2. Final animation production 3. Post-production and color correction 4. Video editing. Steps were done in Audition: 1. Sound Editing 2. Sound Effect.

 

After Effects® CC
Audition®
Creative Suite
Illustrator CC
InDesign® CC
Media Encoder CC
Photoshop CC