The Digital Media Art department at the International Institute of Creative Design held an Industry Expert in Classroom lecture series on the afternoon of 3rd March 2025, at the Industry-Education Integration Building Room 913 in Changning District. Benefiting from the opportunity provided by domestic visiting scholar Mr Yu Feng, the institute was honoured to invite Mr Luo Xixian, inheritor of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage in comic-strip art, to deliver an engaging lecture titled Applications of Genre Painting in Contemporary Commercial Illustration.
Mr Luo Xixian has been active in the arts for fifty years. He served as a professional artist at the Fine Arts Publishing House for many years, producing and publishing more than 150 comic-strip works. He has also been dedicated to traditional Chinese painting for over 30 years and specialises particularly in genre painting.
The lecture began with an introduction to the definition of comic-strip art, explaining that it uses images to narrate a story, with historical origins traceable back to the murals of Dunhuang and reaching a peak during the Song Dynasty. Mr Luo then illustrated the composition of images by presenting one of his own long-scroll works, Shikumen in Four Seasons, highlighting the capturing of moments. He emphasised that although both photography and comic-strip art capture instantaneous moments, comic-strip art uniquely integrates numerous moments into a harmonious whole, something photography alone cannot achieve.Finally, Mr Luo encouraged students to cultivate the habit of sketching and capturing scenes from everyday life. He advised them to practise creating four-panel comics as a way to condense and convey complete stories, and urged students to become versatile generalists, rather than restricting themselves to a single specialisation. Moreover, he stressed the importance of paying attention to local culture and expressing one's authentic personal experiences.
Towards the end of the lecture, students engaged in in-depth discussions with Mr Luo, sharing their own illustrative works produced in class. Mr Luo provided professional feedback and valuable advice on their creative techniques.
