Graduate Profile - Sun Si (Spring)
SUN SI (SPRING) 2D Animator on TV3 “bro’Town” Animation Series. Chinese born Sun Si (or Spring as she is known to her Kiwi friends) is a 2D Animator who came to New Zealand in 2002 to study English at a Auckland language school.
Looking around for a career that would complement the degree she already had in advertising, which had focused on art and drawing, Sun Si came across a practical two year Diploma in Animation production course at South Seas Animation School on Auckland’s North Shore and signed up. After starting the intensive South Seas industry related professional training course Sun Si quickly found out that there was a lot more to learn about animation and the industry then she had realized.
Luckily the industry experienced animation tutors on the course quickly recognized her talent and helped her a lot. As Sun Si puts it. “We had to do lots of hard work on the course but the good thing is that I enjoyed it and made many amazing friends. I even became good friends with the tutors who all did lots of good work in the industry and later helped me get my first job.” While studying, Sun Si (Spring) won a character design competition for creating "a little space girl" with yellow hair. As it turns out, it was fitting that as part of her prize she was presented with a DVD of the first series of “bro'Town” a colourful homegrown animated television series featuring predominantly Polynesian characters. Today, Spring is one of 30odd animators (including 5 other South Seas graduates) who work at Firehorse Films in central Auckland on animating series five of the “bro’Town” show.
Each 30minute TV episode takes about two months to create and animate. As a young girl in Wuhan, central China, Spring devoured Chinese and Japanese comic books and films; the work of Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki was a major influence.
Animation is now her passion. "I love it a lot. It's like magic," she says. "Use your pencil, just a blank piece of paper and you can make the character move and make their cute faces and funny actions and also you can make them talk."
The 28yearold herself becomes animated when asked to name her favourite “bro'Town” character it's Jeff, a barefoot 14yearold Maori boy who loves reggae music. "I like his look. He's silly and cute," she says. When asked if the character is easy to draw? Spring replies “actually Jeff is not that easy. He is carrying a guitar all the time, [he's] also got a
big hat and when he takes off the hat, the hair is quite complicated to animate."
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