rae xiang published by daylon hicks
Rae Xiang is, above all else, a storyteller. Her focus of 3D animation and illustration, allows her to provide narratives that are both visually playful and emotionally resonant. Her works such as The Ugliest Masterpiece, Catbirb, and 再见 embrace that playful, expressive style that immediately captures attention. Beneath the surfaces lies a depth of meaning that reveals itself through careful observation. Her direction for SFMOMA’s feature on the renowned artist Kay Sekimachi exemplifies this duality. By incorporating surreal animation into her life story, she transforms a biographical piece into an evocative exploration of creativity, time, and transformation.
It’s the importance of feeling in both in her work and in who she is as a person. Emotion is the foundation of her creative process, guiding every decision she makes, from color choices to the rhythm of movement in her animations. Rather than striving for technical perfection alone, she provides authenticity, the sensations that connect viewers to her stories on a deeply human level. This emphasis on emotion allows her art to transcend boundaries, speaking to audiences regardless of age or background.
The process behind her illustrations specifically is as layered as her storytelling. She seeks to capture the essence of a moment or feeling before refining the visual details. From there, her workflow transitions fluidly between traditional drawing techniques and digital sculpting, using color and texture to amplify mood and motion. Her playful use of exaggeration and distortion invites viewers to enter a dreamlike space, where characters move with the elasticity of thought and imagination. This process is also showcased with her speech for RGB Design Conference in 2022 going in-depth with her journey in 3D animation known as Watering Your Creative Plants.
What makes Xiang’s work especially compelling is her sensitivity to both childlike wonder and adult introspection. Her illustrations often speak on multiple levels, bright and inviting for younger audiences, yet layered with symbolism and emotional nuance for mature viewers.
She treats learning as an act of play and freedom, constantly experimenting with new textures, perspectives, and visual languages. This openness allows her to infuse her art with a sense of discovery, reflecting her belief that storytelling is not about perfection but connection. Through her animations and illustrations, Rae Xiang reminds us that to create is to explore, and to explore is to feel, freely, deeply, and humanly.