Yibi Hu was born and educated in Shanghai where he received a degree in industrial design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. After a few years working at Motion Magic Studios, he left to pursue a Masters degree in screen design at Kingston University in the UK. According to Hu, these were delightful years for him as he worked on his own concepts, blending his visual palette with his own unique style. Hu has since discovered that he likes working solo when being creative.
With a variety of animation styles interlaced in the storyline, Hu uses his animation to explore the history of names from different cultures in his animated film "KEG." Hu explains, "It is a trial of composing simple animation with rich color elements to create a symbol of culture and politics. This KEG of powder will lead to a lush visual experience."
Hu used Adobe After Effects as his main compositing software, creating almost all of the special effects in the software. He is especially proud of the stained glass style he created in the animated short. Adobe Photoshop was used to paint the 3D models in the story, and Adobe Premiere was the primary editing tool during the creative process; it was also used to create the soundtrack.
Hu is the winner of the 2005 Adobe Design Achievement Award for Animation.
His animation can be viewed at http://www.adobe.com/education/adaa/winners/2005/hu.html.