10 Questions with Jae Yun Kim

Jae Yun Kim is a New York-based motion designer and illustrator who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the School of Visual Arts in 2022. While she initially aimed to become a graphic designer, Jae Yun was introduced to motion graphics during her third year of college while taking a motion workshop class. As an active daydreamer who visualizes stories in her head, the idea of conveying a story through vivid movement and aesthetic visuals intrigued her, which shifted her career path toward motion design. Her work often features everyday scenarios transformed into surreal narratives, exploring the difference between the current reality and our inner daydream desires. 

Jae Yun currently works as a motion designer at Hello Monday where she has contributed to clients such as Google, Microsoft, and Sesame Workshop. She works with various animation skill sets ranging from rigging, UI animation, Lottie, visual effects, and 3D.

www.jaeyunkim.me | @j_yunkim

ARTIST STATEMENT

Having lived in 6 countries, Jae Yun is shaped by her multicultural background. She spent her early childhood in Poland, her elementary years in Germany and South Korea, her middle school years in Indonesia, and her high school years in Singapore before finally settling in the United States to pursue her career. Each of these places shares different beliefs and cultures, which made Jae Yun want to challenge herself to create work that can resonate globally, creating a global language through her animations. Her animation work features various illustrative styles and often delves into a surreal world that serves as a metaphor for our current reality and the inner desires we have as humans of what we wish the reality could be. To enhance the surreal mood of her animations, Jae Yun adds pastel colors to accentuate the dreamlike quality of her imaginative universes. With a tendency to think deeply and daydream extensively, she has found that motion design provides an effective portrayal for visually expressing her inner insights.

INTERVIEW

First of all, can you tell us a little about your background and how you became a motion designer?

Surprisingly, I never knew what motion design was until I became a junior year while majoring in design at the School of Visual Arts. Since childhood, I've always been a daydreamer, constantly imagining different scenarios of what-ifs. My favorite pastime was bringing those daydreams to life on my pink Nintendo DS Lite, using the Flipnote app to create storyboard sequences with my messy doodles. This playful exploration of storytelling introduced me to how much fun the process of storyboarding could be. Though drawing remained my favorite pastime, I didn't consider it as a career until I faced the dilemma of choosing a college major. Recognizing my enjoyment of art, my father encouraged me to explore graphic design as a potential field of study. While I found graphic design to be an enjoyable major at SVA, I soon realized that my passion for it wasn't as strong as I had anticipated. It wasn't until my third year, when I was introduced to motion graphics, that became my turning point. Ever since, I've been busy exploring different motion mediums, ranging from title sequences and music videos to UI animations and 3D animations.

Why did you choose motion design specifically over other mediums? And what does it represent for you?

Motion helps me express storytelling, design, and technology in one medium. As someone who is shy, motion is a great way for me to communicate with the audience visually instead of verbally. While I work with different illustration styles for motion, I seek a dreamlike, surreal atmosphere in my personal work that reflects my imaginative take on the real world. Through motion, I create visual narratives of alternative universes that serve as metaphors for real-world situations, reflecting my imaginative perspective on reality. Even within motion design, I have the opportunity to integrate it with diverse mediums, including graphic design, branding, UI/UX, 3D modeling, and illustration. By blending these various fields, I can explore new possibilities and deliver a more immersive motion experience.

Can you describe your typical process when starting a new design project?

Everything starts with an idea. To back up these ideas, I need to brainstorm, research, and find references related to the idea. Sometimes, a mind map works to help me connect and organize my thoughts to shape a more concrete idea. With the idea set, I create mood boards and rough storyboards to visualize different directions of how the motion can play out. This process is usually done on my iPad using the Procreate app to sketch out the storyboard sequence. With the storyboard in place, I move into creating an animatic, which brings the sketches to life by mapping out the timing and pacing of the motion. This is where I test how well the visuals sync with the music, allowing me to adjust the flow and ensure the rhythm feels right before diving into the final animation. Next, I dive into designing style frames based on the storyboard sketches. Depending on the style I'm aiming for, I use Procreate, Illustrator, or Photoshop to create detailed visuals that set the tone for the final animation. These style frames help me lock in the visual identity of the project, including colors, textures, and aesthetic direction. With the style frames finalized, I bring these to After Effects to start the animation phase. I explore different techniques to bring the style frames to life by adjusting timing, pacing, and movement to create a visual narrative. During this stage, I also experiment with effects and scripts to enhance the animation's mood and flow. It is important to receive feedback from collaborators, clients, or peers to ensure the animation feels cohesive and smooth. Once the feedback is integrated, I refine the animation and finalize the project by rendering.

What are your favorite tools and software to use in your motion design and illustration work?

After Effects is my go-to for animation work, it's a versatile tool that I use for everything from video editing and UI animation to 2D animations and VFX. Some of my favorite plugins include Duik Angela, RG Trapcode, and Boil It, which are incredibly helpful tools for creating detailed 2D animations. For illustration, I use a variety of tools to achieve the desired look. I use Procreate when I need to create hand-drawn digital artwork with a natural feel. Adobe Illustrator is my choice for crafting clean, vector-based illustrations. I opt for Adobe Photoshop when I need to create frame-by-frame animations. Often, I combine these tools by starting with shapes in Illustrator, adding textured details in Procreate, and finishing with frame-by-frame movements in Photoshop.

How does your multicultural background influence the themes and narratives in your work?

Having lived in six different countries, I grew up with a broad perspective on the way of life in diverse cultures. My third culture upbringing allowed me to see the beauty in everyday moments and appreciate the uniqueness of different cultures which usually prompts me to create work that can be universally relatable. As a third culture kid, I've always been navigating the complexities of identity, which has inspired me to create narratives that reflect cultural boundaries and a search for belonging. 

Can you give an example of how you transform an everyday scenario into a surreal narrative in your animations?

By blending the real world with a surreal touch, I elevate ordinary experiences into dreamlike journeys that can resonate with viewers by offering them a unique perspective to connect with familiar moments. Using the opener I worked on for the "SVA Motion Graphics Portfolio Screening" as an example; the animation reimagines the return of students back to the offline event into a surreal narrative. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the motion screening has been held remotely for the past 2 years. However, in 2022, it was finally announced that the screening would be held offline at the SVA theaters. To capture this significant moment, the opener begins with masked characters scattered across different locations of a surreal world. This symbolizes some of the international students having to attend classes remotely from their home countries. The masks they wear represent the real-world masks worn during the covid pandemic. As the announcement ofthe offline event is made, a dramatic beam of light emerges from the sky, guiding the characters to reunite after their prolonged separation. The light leads them to an island representing New York City, where the characters finally remove their masks. This moment reveals their true faces, contrasting their previous uniformity under the masks with their now distinct features, celebrating the uniqueness of different individuals.

How do you balance working on client projects with creating your personal art?

It's very challenging to balance working on client projects with personal projects. However, on days when my schedule is not as busy, I use the opportunity to dive into new personal projects. This time allows me to experiment with animation techniques that I haven't tried before, giving me the freedom to further hone my skills. I also enjoy exploring different illustration styles and discovering how animation can complement and enhance the different illustrations by applying the most fitting animation techniques. This helps me stay motivated, keep up to date with the latest motion trends, and bring a fresh new perspective to both personal and client work. 

What has been the most challenging project you've worked on so far, and why?

Each project I took became a challenge in its own way. As a growing motion designer, there's always something new to learn, so each and every project becomes an opportunity to explore and expand my skill sets. For example, in one of my projects, "Perspective", I challenged myself to work on frame-by-frame animations in Photoshop instead of relying on After Effects for the first time. It was a difficult project, having to rely more on my drawing skills, but ultimately, it was incredibly rewarding as it pushed me to have a better understanding of animation principles and bring a more organic feeling to my work. 

Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about?

Other than working on client projects from work, I've been working on a personal project with another fellow motion designer. After graduating and starting our careers, we found ourselves missing the creative freedom to pursue ideas we were passionate about. To bring back the spark, we initiated a mini project where we selected a theme together and set specific limitations to create a short motion piece every two weeks. This project is fascinating for us because our distinct styles offer a unique opportunity to see how our approaches can intersect and influence one another. 

And lastly, how do you envision your work evolving in the next few years, especially in the context of new animation technologies and trends?

In the next few years, I would love to explore augmented reality within my motion. I would love to blend both the virtual and physical worlds to enhance storytelling with immersive and interactive experiences. It would be fascinating to see how people's interactions can influence the motion based on their movements or choices. Participating in AR exhibitions, filters, and games would intrigue me the most as it will allow me to explore new dimensions of motion design and work with audience interactions.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.