Kuozheng Hao

Animation professor

Professor of animation, Fall 2023–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA

Storyboard artist, 2022–23, freelance
Produced highly detailed storyboards and animatics for in-game cinematics and cut scenes for popular titles, including League of Legends and Call of Duty Mobile, collaborating closely with art directors and creative team to ensure visual consistency and quality. Collaborated with the director, screenwriter, and creative team to develop and visualize the story and characters for an upcoming animated feature film, creating detailed storyboards and animatics to guide the production process.

IP team creative director, 2021–22, Tencent
Supervised the production of League of Legends (LoL) Lunar Revel 2022 cinematic A Hero Awakens (5M views on YouTube and Weibo in 3 weeks) including vendor selection, story exploration, aesthetics establishment, etc. Co-directed the LoL CN region Phoenixmancers cinematic Rebirth in collaboration with CRCR animation studio. Designed and created a series of Arcane (LoL animated series) animated stickers on WeChat and QQ (170k downloads and 376k sending volume in total in 3 weeks). Led video production projects from beginning to end, including but not limited to selecting vendors based on project themes and matched art styles, providing references, setting up production schedule, reviewing and examining WIP works, and providing feedback on storyboard, shots, modeling, and rendering.

Animation department lead, 2021, DA Culture International Inc.
Revised and provided feedback on the animators' work to ensure the quality of the animation projects. Communicated and collaborated closely with the post-production department to manage and align the production schedule, assigning tasks and keeping track of the team members' work.

Story intern, 2020, Pixar Animation Studios
Completed the 12-week classroom-based story training course and gained knowledge about the Pixar story process. Completed and pitched a series of visual storytelling assignments under the supervision of story mentors. Interpreted and translated scripts into visual storyboards with a sense of humor and entertainment for multiple types of creative projects, applying storytelling techniques for film and making effective use of cinematic language.

Art supervisor, 2020, Shenzhen Jimei Cultural Technology Co.
Led a group of eight illustrators to create a series of eight animal-themed illustrated children's educational books, delegating tasks based upon the illustrators' art styles and skills. Set up the illustration production timeline and provided timely paint over and feedback to ensure the quality of the work and the on-time delivery.

Concept artist and illustrator, 2020, T-Rex Lab Co.
Created appealing and vivid illustrations for characters in games based on the concept. Created detailed model sheets for 3D artists to work from. Created expressive concepts for various projects with the ability to adapt to different styles accordingly.

First Place, BYD E Area Online Illustration Competition Professional Category, 2020
Official Selection, Dumbo Film Festival, 2019
Semi-finalist, Best Short Fest, 2019
Semi-finalist, Los Angeles Cinefest, 2018
Official Selection, Miami Independent Film Festival, 2018
Red Dot Award, 2017