From June 11 to 14, 2021, the first-ever Yuelai International Digital Entertainment Industry Expo & Conference (YUE·IDEE) was held with great fanfare at the Chongqing International Convention Center. Since the expo coincided with the release date of Up to the Ears and the second series of Graphic Novel Collection of Liu Cixin’s Sci-Fi Classics, FT Culture was invited to attend the conference to put on a completely original painting exhibit for the Southwestern Chinese audience, while also giving them a firsthand look at the new volumes. This was the original exhibit’s second major appearance, after its debut at the CICF in Guangzhou last October.
Yuelai International Digital Entertainment Industry Expo & Conference
With its content-rich exhibits and interactive events, YUE·IDEE aims to target the things that digital entertainment fans love most. In doing so, it provides its target audience with all-new immersive experiences, while at the same time giving companies in relevant fields a massive platform and highly advantageous publicity tools. By integrating the unique fields of gaming, entertainment, comics, and animation together at “Southwest China’s premiere digital entertainment expo”, it can shed a light on the flourishing state of the digital entertainment industry as a whole. Nearly one hundred well-known companies participated at this first conference, covering every aspect of the digital entertainment industry supply chain: manufacturing, publishing, licensing, design, and much more.
Graphic Novel Collection of Liu Cixin’s Sci-Fi Classics Original Painting Exhibit
The Graphic Novel Collection of Liu Cixin’s Sci-Fi Classics Original Painting Exhibit itself occupied 200m2 of floor space. In addition to displaying finished comic books and sketches, it offered autographed original artwork, reproductions, and spin-off products for sale, as well as a virtual reality (VR) experience. Collectively, all of this created a three-dimensional, multi-faceted space in which visitors could personally experience the art of comics for themselves.
Eight volumes from Graphic Novel Collection of Liu Cixin’s Sci-Fi Classics were exhibited together, along with more than two hundred artworks, including two-page spreads, panoramic fold-outs, sketches, cover design drafts, character concepts, promo videos etc. These served to give visitors an inside look at the comic production process, as well as the stories behind the creation of these specific works.
Visitors also took part in a VR experience (licensed by FT Culture and produced by China Focus) featuring content from Yuanyuan’s Bubbles and The Wandering Earth. With the aid of special VR goggles and 5G internet, participants could enjoy 720° immersion in 3-D panoramic imagery from these two works. This groundbreaking 5G reading experience was especially popular among children and young adults.
Chongqing officials visited to the Booth
The rich interactivity and polished professionalism of the exhibition received high praise from many visitors. Conference attendees ranged from traditional digital entertainment enthusiasts like comic book readers, sci-fi fans, and cosplayers to ordinary people who are traditionally absent from the industry’s core audience. In the words of one local visitor, “I didn’t expect to see something here as high-quality and international as this Original Painting exhibit. I’m so glad you brought this exhibit to Chongqing!”
Things you may not know: there're many scences in Yuanyuan's Bubbles are from city Chongqing. Have you ever noticed?
