Animation conference looks to the future

A major animation conference examined the future of the art form as it marked the beginning of a "new era".

Following last year's 100th anniversary of Chinese animation, this year's event, the China (Jilin) Animation Conference, took place from Friday to Monday in Changchun, Jilin province.

Themed "Inherit the Spirit of a Century, Embark on a New Era," the conference hosted a series of events, including seminars, artist campus events, and art exhibitions.

Seminars were held focusing on animation education and industry development; national AI art talent practitioner training; development of animation in China in 2023; interactive development of animation, science and technology; and animation and Sci-Fi. Animation art workers from China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States, South Africa, Denmark and Italy attended the seminars and exchanged their ideas on hot topics in the animation industry.

On Friday, the exhibition of classic animation and painting manuscripts was launched in Jilin International Animation Museum. With the theme of "honoring the classics", the exhibition displayed nearly 3,000 creative manuscripts of more than 50 animation masters, including Chang Guangxi, Feng Zikai, Hua Junwu, Dai Dunbang, Ding Cong, and Gu Yuan. On the same day, an AI art exhibition was carried out in the exhibition hall of Jilin Animation Institute Library. The art exhibition displays more than a hundred pieces of art works completed by AI technology, covering a variety of fields such as clothing, painting, and spatial design. The exhibition aims to explore a new form of art creation assisted by AI technology, inspire the public to think about the impact of scientific and technological development on human life, and explore and reconstruct the relationship between human beings, AI, and art. It is a large and informative AI art exhibition in northeast China.

On Saturday and Sunday, two themed artist campus events "Become a Great Creator, Shape Characters in 'Flesh and Blood' " and "Appreciate Animation Works, Exchange Creative Experiences" were held at Jilin Animation Institute. Performers, actors, animation art designer, director, and producer had face-to-face exchanges with teachers and students. They answered students' questions about the profession and encouraged them to be innovative and create better animation works.