Hand-Drawn Digital Animation: Bring Illustrations to Life

Yukai Du is a Chinese-born illustrator and animator based in London, UK. At just 15 years old, she began training at GuangZhou Academy of Fine Arts where she learned to work with acrylic and still life paintings, pencil drawings, and sculpture. From there, she went on to study animation at college, where her traditional art skills were put into practice. It was there that she discovered her passion for creating craft-like illustrations and animations, and she later moved to London to pursue a Master’s degree in those art forms.

After graduating, she worked at various studios in the UK including M-I-E and Bliink. Since then, as a freelancer, she has collaborated with well-known brands including The New Yorker, Spotify, The Guardian, MTV, Adobe, Apple, and WeTransfer. Her work has also been recognized by Adobe Design Awards, 3x3 International Illustration Awards, and more.