Digital Photography And Imaging - FINAL PROJECT
Biography about myself
INTRO | My name is Zhao Jie, and I come from Baotou, a small city located in Inner Mongolia, China, right at the northern part of the country. It is also known as the “City of Deer” because of the many sika deer living there. |
PARAGRAPH 1 | Baotou is famous for having what I believe to be the most delicious beef and lamb in the world. During winter, the temperature can drop to around -30°C, and the snow becomes incredibly thick, covering everything in white. Growing up in such a place shaped my love for nature and its quiet beauty. |
PARAGRAPH 2 | In my free time, I enjoy watching movies, reading books, and cooking. I am deeply fascinated by aquariums—watching the fish swim brings me a sense of calmness, as if my soul becomes peaceful with them. Art is my greatest passion. I dream of becoming an independent artist, creating oil paintings and dolls that express delicate, sensitive, and fragile emotions. Through my work, I hope to share my life experiences and the way I see the world. |
SUMMARY | Overall, I am someone who finds beauty in small details and emotions. I wish to continue growing as an artist and bring warmth and meaning to others through my creative journey. |
Statement about my work
INTRO | This artwork is inspired by my childhood winter memories. Growing up in a place where snow was a big part of life, winter has become a season that carries warmth, nostalgia, and imagination for me. |
PARAGRAPH 1 | When I was a child, snowy days were my favorite. I still remember how my hands and cheeks would turn red and stiff from the cold, and how the thick snow would make a satisfying crunching sound beneath my feet. Even my eyelashes would be covered in tiny snowflakes. I would imagine myself as a princess dancing inside a snow globe, spinning endlessly in the falling snow as if performing ballet. |
PARAGRAPH 2 | My father once brought me to hold a little lamb during a snowy day. The snowflakes on its fur felt cold, but its belly was warm against my arms. The air was so freezing that both the lamb and I breathed out white mist while standing there together. |
SUMMARY | Living in Malaysia now, a country where summer never ends, winter has become something distant yet precious to me. While chatting with my family and friends back home, I often hear their complaints about the harsh cold and heavy snow. But for me, the longing is more than just for the season itself — it’s for the people, the moments, and the warmth hidden inside that coldness. That is why I created this artwork: to capture the winter I miss dearly and the memories that continue to warm my heart. |
Final Poster
ARTIST STATEMENT:
This artwork is inspired by my childhood winter memories. Snow used to be the most familiar scenery in my life — turning the world into a quiet, pure, and imaginative space. As a child, I would often imagine myself as a little princess dancing inside a snow globe, spinning with the falling snow like a ballet dancer. During winter, my father would take me to watch the snowy grasslands. I hugged lambs in the herders’ sheep pens, welcoming the snowfall with them. Snowflakes landed on their fur, feeling cold to the touch, yet their bellies stayed warm against my arms. The air was freezing, and the white mist of our breaths intertwined — that soft and hazy companionship has stayed in my heart ever since. Now living in Malaysia, where endless summer replaces the seasons I once knew, winter has become a distant yet precious longing. Through this artwork, I hope to preserve the warmth and nostalgia of winter — the human connections, the quiet happiness in memories, and the childhood moments that can never return yet continue to shine within me. This snow globe carries the story of my past — my hometown, my childhood joy, and the little girl who loved to dance in the snow. It preserves the lambs that brought warmth in the cold and the winter that forever glitters in my memory.
Final Video
Through the development of my final project, I experienced the complete creative process from concept planning to animation and final submission.
At the beginning, learning the basics of After Effects helped me understand how still images can be transformed into moving visuals. By starting with sketches, I was able to plan composition and motion more clearly before working digitally.
As the project progressed, I gradually turned my poster into an animation. During this stage, I realized that animation does not need to be complex to be effective. Simple and controlled movements were more successful in enhancing the mood and atmosphere of the artwork. Adding snowfall effects and background music also helped me understand how visual effects and sound work together to support emotional storytelling.
Completing the final animation, preparing the submission PDF, and uploading the video gave me a strong sense of achievement.
Looking back, this project allowed me to combine technical skills with personal expression. I became more confident using Photoshop and After Effects, and more importantly, I learned how to communicate emotions, memories, and ideas through digital imagery.
This final project clearly shows my growth throughout the semester and has encouraged me to continue exploring digital media and visual storytelling in the future.
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