Today we’d like to introduce you to Santio Chen.
Hi Santio, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Like most people who work in animation, I have loved drawing since I was a child. If my story with animation has a specific beginning, it would be the afternoon of July 9, 2008. That day, at my best friend’s birthday party, I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time. I was immediately captivated by its strange and enchanting imagery. I remember thinking: So a world can look like this. From that moment on, a seed of hope for animation was planted in my heart.
For many years afterward, that seed never truly fell dormant. I kept drawing, and it surfaced again and again as I grew up. When choosing a high school, I considered attending an art school. Later, when it was time to choose an academic track, I thought about joining the art program. But under the influence of family expectations and society’s attitudes toward different careers, I ultimately followed a very different path: I chose the science track in high school, studied physics and biology, and later enrolled in architecture at a university in China.
At the time, my parents, my teachers, and even the broader social environment around me were all telling me, “Art is for students who do not get good grades. Smart, successful people study science and engineering. If you insist on studying art, you can choose architecture. Once you get to college, you will be able to draw whatever you want.”
Unfortunately, I was very good at mathematics and physics, which made it even more difficult for my parents and teachers to understand why I would “choose art voluntarily.” Even more unfortunately, my father happened to be an architect. For a child, entering a profession in which the family can offer guidance and support is clearly the easier and safer path. At that age, before I had formed a complete worldview or developed a firm vision for my own life, their reasoning sounded both convincing and tempting.
During the idle summer after I finished the National College Entrance Examination, I enrolled in a recreational drawing class. Because I attended more eagerly than anyone else and improved very quickly, my drawing teacher asked me, “Do you really like drawing?”
“Yes!” I said.
“Then why aren’t you studying art?” she asked.
No one had ever asked me that before. Something thundered inside my head, and I instinctively asked her, “Isn’t architecture a form of art?”
She smiled. “Of course it is. But what you are about to study may not be.”
I was speechless. Then she asked, “Besides architecture, are there no other art fields that interest you?”
Without thinking, I said, “I love animation.”
“Then why don’t you study it?” she asked.
That was the end of our conversation, but the thick layer of earth pressing down on that seed had finally begun to crack.
Once I actually began studying architecture, my drawing teacher’s words proved true. Architecture did not fulfill the deepest part of my longing for art. I gradually realized that I did not simply want to design a physical space. I wanted to create an entire world and tell stories through it. Architecture could not fully contain that desire, and every day I remained there became increasingly unbearable.
One day, I asked myself, “Are you willing to live like this for the rest of your life? Are you willing to wake up thirty years from now and see the dream that your eighteen-year-old self strangled in its cradle crawling to your bedside and wailing?”
My answer was that I could not imagine living with that kind of regret.
So I left my university in China and came to the United States to begin studying animation.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The greatest obstacles I have faced are insecurity and self-doubt. I am always worried that I am not good enough, and even when I receive praise, I wonder whether the other person is only trying to make me feel better.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a 3D artist specializing in visual development, modeling, texturing, and lighting. My work is often characterized by stylized world-building, dark humor, and a slightly strange or theatrical atmosphere. I am especially interested in how design and lighting can communicate story—not simply making an image look beautiful, but making the audience feel that something has happened, or is about to happen, within the world.
I am most proud of my thesis film, *The Grand Cosmos Casino*, because I developed it from the initial concept through visual development, storyboarding, character and environment design, 3D production, lighting, and compositing. What sets me apart is that I understand both the artistic and production sides of an image. I can think about the larger story and visual language while also building the assets and solving the technical problems required to bring that world to life.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Honestly, I think I have been very lucky. I do not have a secret formula for finding mentors or networking. Many of the most meaningful connections I have made came from being in the right place at the right time and happening to meet someone who was generous enough to speak with me.
The only advice I can offer is to give luck more opportunities to find you. Go to events, attend talks, show your work, and introduce yourself even when you feel nervous or believe you do not belong there. I have been fortunate, but I also had to walk up to people and begin those conversations. I think networking is partly luck—and partly making sure you are present when that luck arrives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.santiochen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sssantio_tio
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/santio-chen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SantioAnimation
