Animation Student Spotlight - Shihong Zheng

Animation Student Spotlight: Discover how Shihong Zheng crafts dynamic, expressive animations through precision, planning, and creative storytelling.

“I learned how to push my animation beyond basic motion into expressive, character-driven performance.”

From Passion to Precision: Shihong Zheng’s Journey to Mastering Character Animation at iAnimate

Meet Shihong Zheng, a passionate 3D Animator with a Master’s degree and over two years of hands-on experience in character and gameplay animation. Skilled in Maya, Unreal Engine, and mocap refinement, Shihong blends strong technical skills with a deep understanding of animation principles and cinematic storytelling.

Her animation journey took a defining turn midway through her Master’s program, when she realized her true passion was character animation—the art of bringing digital characters to life with emotion and personality. That discovery led her to iAnimate, where she’s been learning from top industry professionals, receiving valuable feedback, and continuously pushing herself beyond her comfort zone.

Dedicated, fast-learning, and driven by a love for games, Shihong strives to create character performances that resonate with players. Through iAnimate, she’s turning her passion for storytelling and animation into a path of professional growth and creative excellence.

“l enrolled in iAnimate because l'm deeply committed to becoming the best animator l can be-and l knew that learning from industry professionals, receiving honest feedback, and being pushed beyond my comfort zone was exactly what l needed to grow.”

Student Animation Journey

Shihong Zheng took the Game Animation Workshop at iAnimate:

• Game Animation Workshop 1 - with Kyle Kenworthy

Crafting Motion with Intent: Shihong Zheng’s Thoughtful Approach to Animation Workflow

When it comes to her creative process, Shihong Zheng takes a highly adaptive and methodical approach. She tailors her workflow based on the animation type—working pose-to-pose while layering in overlap and refining motion for added realism. For idle or looped animations, Shihong follows a controller priority system, starting from the root and torso before moving outward, then offsets elements in the graph editor to achieve smooth, natural movement. When tackling cutscenes or performance-driven pieces, she begins by setting up the camera to ensure strong staging and silhouette clarity, checking from multiple perspectives to maintain visual readability. For action-heavy sequences, Shihong blocks out timing and spatial transitions using simple shapes like cubes or balls before diving into detailed posing—showcasing her balance of precision, planning, and creative intuition.

“At iAnimate, l learned how to push my animation beyond basic motion into expressive, character-driven performance. l developed a stronger understanding of body mechanics, timing, and appeal-but what truly helped me grow was learning how senior animators think. As a junior animator, gaining insight into how experienced artists approach acting choices, shot planning, and problem-solving was invaluable. l took in the strengths and unique approaches of different mentors and gradually refined them into my own workflow, Rather than spreading myself thin, l focus deeply on one area at a time-whether it's improving body mechanics or emotional clarity-so that each new skill becomes part of a solid, personal foundation, Their feedback helped me shift from just "making things move" to crafting intentional, meaningful animation.”

[Shihong current reel]

You can reach Animator Shihong Zheng via:

Student Spotlight Q&A with Animator Shihong Zheng

iAnimate: What do you think of your Online Animation Instructor(s), and how do they help you?

Shihong: They don't just teach how to animate; they teach how to think like a professional. Many of my instructors come from top studios like DreamWorks, Blizzard, and Sony, and every step of their teaching, from shot planning and clear posing to timing, spacing, and polish-is rooted in real-world industry workflows. Their mentorship helped me connect animation logic with game engines, such as building animation state machines and syncing actions in Unreal Blueprints. l also learned how to craft emotional, character-specific performances, block out cinematic shots with cameras, choreograph and sync multi-character scenes, and record/edit tailored acting references.

iAnimate: How did iAnimate help you to evolve your animation skills as a character animator?

Shihong: iAnimate helped me evolve from understanding movement to truly understanding performance. I refined my foundation in timing, spacing, and body mechanics—but more importantly, I learned how to bring thought, emotion, and intention into every pose. Through hands-on feedback from industry professionals, I was pushed to think beyond just making things move and instead focus on what the character is feeling and why.

iAnimate: What kind of animator do you consider after taking your student workshops?

Shihong: After completing my workshops at iAnimate, I consider myself a thoughtful, production-ready character animator. I don’t just focus on clean motion - I focus on performance, intention, and storytelling. I’ve learned how to plan, act, animate, and polish shots to meet real production standards, and how to work with feedback and deadlines in a professional way.

iAnimate: What kind of project do you want to work on?

Shihong: I’m passionate about bringing characters to life, no matter the style, platform, or pipeline. Whether it’s stylised indie games, cinematic AAA titles, or immersive VR experiences—as long as I’m animating characters, I’m fully engaged and ready to contribute. I thrive in studios working on narrative-focused or action-based games where animation plays a central role in player immersion. I enjoy adapting to different projects and learning from each new challenge, because what matters most to me is telling stories through movement and emotion.