Ziyun Xiao is a multidisciplinary designer, animator, and creative technologist working at the intersection of AI, robotics, and storytelling. With a background in industrial design and expanded animation, she creates work that bridges physical and digital worlds through expressive motion, character design, and interactive systems.

Her practice focuses on 3D animation, AI-assisted production, and human-robot interaction, exploring how technology can support emotional expression and sensory experiences. Ziyun’s work has received international recognition, including the IDA Design Awards (Bronze Award, 2024), the ASIFA-Hollywood AEF Scholarship, and honors at the Hong Kong Digital Art Design Competition.



WORK  EXPERIENCE


Student Animation Leader – Hanson Robotics (USC Collaborative Grant)
Los Angeles, CA | Feb 2025 – Dec 2025

• Lead development of expressive motion systems deployed on Sophia the Robot for live interaction environments.
• Translate keyframe animation into hardware-aware robotic behaviors aligned with real-time control constraints.
• Integrate AI-assisted motion capture and NVIDIA Omniverse / Audio2Face workflows for virtual prototyping and facial behavior simulation.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to bridge animation outputs with execution-level robotic control systems.
• Ensure joint constraint alignment and mechanical feasibility across simulation and physical deployment.

Research Collaboration – Kelp Ark (Marine Biotechnology Initiative)
Los Angeles / Field Research Collaboration | Jan 2026 – Present

• Translate biological systems into simulation-based visual models supporting research-driven system prototyping.
• Support AI-assisted prototyping for system visualization.

Graduate Student Assistant – USC Expanded Animation
Los Angeles, CA | Feb 2025 – Present

• Provide technical guidance on 3D animation workflows and support immersive storytelling production across student projects.

Art Development Intern – Shengqu Games (Legend Studio)
Shanghai, China | Jun 2024 – Aug 2024

• Contributed to character and creature asset production from concept to animation-ready pose setup.
• Collaborated across modeling, rigging, and animation teams to support production pipeline consistency.

Awards & Honors

• ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educators Forum (AEF) Scholarship ($4,600), 2025

• OORI Early Career Innovator Initiative Research Grant ($5,000), 2026

• First Prize ($5,000) – smart Global Store Sustainable Operation Design Competition, 2023

• Time Capsule Bronze Award, USC School of Cinematic Arts, 2025

• IDA Design Awards – Bronze, 2024

• Excellent Graduate, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 2024

• Zhejiang Provincial Scholarship, 2023

• UNNC Provost's Scholarship, 2023
  

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• Hong Kong Digital Art Design Competition, 2023 – Multiple awards, including First Prize, Second Prize, and Outstanding Awards (Spring and Autumn Editions).

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• “Star of the Silk Road” International Art Competition, 2023: Silver & Bronze Prizes.

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• Sustainable Design Competition, 2022: Second Prize for innovative and eco-friendly design solutions.

Festival Selections & Recognitions

From Ruins to Stars (2024)

• INDIE FILM LA (2025) – Selected

• Filmmaker Sessions Volume 1 (Lift-Off Global Network, UK) (2025) – Selected

• LA Independent Women Film Awards (2025) – Nominee

• Independent Shorts Awards International Film Festival (2025) – Finalist

• Urbanite Arts & Film Festival (2025) – Finalist

• Indie Short Fest (2025) – Semi-Finalist
  

Education

• University of Southern California (USC), School of Cinematic Arts
  MFA in Expanded Animation Research and Practice (2024–Present)
  
  • Focused on interdisciplinary animation media research.

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• University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC)
  BEng Hons in Product Design and Manufacture (2020–2024)
  
  • First class classification
  • Ranked in the top 5% of the program for the 2022–2023 academic year.
  • Core Modules: Industrial Design Project, User-Centered Research & Design, Manufacturing Process Capabilities, Materials in Design.

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• Royal College of Art
  Animated Documentary Program (July 2023)
  
  • Produced a short animated non-fiction documentary.

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• Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
  User Experience Program (October 2023)
  
  • Designed app interface solutions for future aging communities.

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Software Skills

• Robotics & Motion
  Robotic Motion Design, Expressive Facial & Body Animation, Keyframe Animation, Mocap Cleanup

• Systems & Integration
  Joint Constraint Alignment, Mechanical Feasibility, Human–Robot Interaction, Real-Time Motion Translation

• 3D & Real-Time Tools
  Blender (Modeling, Rigging, Texturing, Character/ Procedural Animation, Lighting, Geometry Nodes, Cycles Rendering), Autodesk Maya (Character Animation, Rigging), Unreal Engine (Blueprint Integration), TouchDesigner (Interactive Systems),  Houdini (Basic Simulation and VFX), Keyshot (Product- Lvel Visualization & High- Fidelity Material Rendering), Marvelous Designer (Cloth Simulation)

• Engineering & Prototyping
  SolidWorks, FDM 3D Printing, Laser Cutting & Acrylic Fabrication, DFM, Additive Manufacturing Workflow

• Film & Post Production

          DaVinci Resolve (Editing, Color Grading & Post- Production Finishing)

• 2D & Story Development & Graphic & Motion Design

          TV Paint (2D Hand-Drawn Storyboarding & Animation), Dragonframe (Stop- Motion Capture), Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects.

• UI/UX & Prototyping: Figma, VR 3D Sketch.

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