Heeeyyyiii Welcome & Have Fun

Founded in 2024 • Shanghai by 金羽 Kino Jin
Kiji Lab is an animation studio working across 2D animation, motion graphics, stop motion, and mixed media. But more importantly, it is a playground! A space to experiment, to wander, to follow strange ideas, and to explore the possibilities of animation without limits. Some projects are commissioned, some are personal, but all of them come from the same place: curiosity and the desire to shape ideas into something alive \●-●/

Lab Founder & Director

Kino Jin is a Berlin-based animator and director whose work bridges poetic storytelling and emotional realism. She received her BFA in Animation from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA in Digital Arts from Pratt Institute. Her short films have been showcased internationally at festivals including the Athens Digital Arts Festival, Fest Anča, ASIFA-East Animated Film Festival, KuanDu International Animation Festival, and Feinaki Beijing Animation Week. She was also shortlisted as one of the best-emerging marketers in The Drum Future 50 - 2023.

With over a decade of experience, Kino’s practice centers on the exploration of identity, emotional vulnerability, and the tension between individuality and conformity. Her films are recognized for delicate character animation, subtle gesture-driven performance, and carefully constructed visual atmospheres. She is particularly drawn to moments of quiet psychological intensity, using movement and pacing to reveal inner states that often remain unspoken.

At Kiji Lab, Kino works as a solo director, creating independent and commissioned work where design, movement, and meaning come together.

Lab Sidekicks

Supporting the process from idea to final frame

Occasionally making things a little more fun & chaotic ˏˋ ✸ ˎˊ

史怡璇 Marina Shi

Motion Designer & Visual Artist

Graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design. Works across commercial animation as a background artist, animator, and storyboard artist, shifting between building worlds and bringing them into motion. Recipient of Distinguished Merit from 3x3 and Young Ones for illustration work.

张颖凡 Yingfan Zhang

2D Animator & Illustrator

Yingfan is an independent illustrator and animator who observes the world with a quiet, attentive sensitivity. Through a nuanced visual language, she translates subtle, often inexpressible emotions into evocative imagery.