MARY ZHANG — A WHOLE WORLD WITHIN
Revised portfolio direction · 10 November 2026

Figma board
https://www.figma.com/design/NsEWXxoNkLA8ZUBP1wMB9t

WHAT IS HERE
15 PNG files: 12 sheets containing 106 separate drawings/states, plus 3 scene plates.
60 cat drawings = 12 personality poses + 6 sequences of 8 frames.
46 world pieces = 12 objects + 16 landscape pieces + 8 sheep actions + 6 planets + 4 door states.
The Figma file exposes those 106 drawings as individual reusable components.
The PNG download keeps the original sheets; asset-manifest.json records dimensions, rows, columns and timings.

CURRENT DIRECTION
Keep the approved ring-eyed black cat. Use broad painted shapes, aerial green fields, blue water, reflected clouds, cream paths, restrained print grain and small vermilion accents.
The cat represents Mary, welcoming visitors into her world.
Use a small Chinese seal and landscape composition as the cultural thread.
A plane shadow crosses the fields as an optional interaction.

NARRATIVE
The cat naps on her home globe, wakes and stretches.
The visitor can move her, make her jump, or tap her to roll.
A closed door on that same planet leads to Selected Work.
The view beyond the door stays hidden until opening.
Selected Work is also available directly from the navigation.
About, Photography, Graphic Design, Fine Art and Play are optional destinations.

FILES
01: twelve personality poses
07: sleep / gentle breathing — 350 ms per frame
08: waking, standing and stretching — 200 ms per frame, once
09: idle, tail swish and blink — 300 ms per frame
10: running — 90 ms per frame while moving
11: jumping — 112 ms per frame, once
12: rolling — 175 ms per frame, once
15: overhead fields scene
16: navigation objects
17: composed midnight globe reference with closed door
18: independent landscape pieces
19: sheep actions
20: six illustrated planet destinations
21: four door-opening states
22: midnight globe clean plate, for use with the separate door asset

All sheets have genuine transparency. The full scene plates are opaque.
Frames read left-to-right, then top-to-bottom.
Some frame cells have fractional pixel dimensions. Use normalized sprite positioning to avoid rounding drift.
These are illustrated animation sequences, not rigged 3D character models. The playable preview uses layered 2D artwork, React/Next.js and a Three.js planet scene. Final locomotion can be refined with frame alignment and timing.

BRAND
Ink #101D30; water #2D78AF; meadow #C2D84A; pine #396C3C;
paper #F7F2E5; sunlight #F4D56D; vermilion #CC593F.
Fraunces for headings. DM Sans for interface and reading. Noto Serif SC for the small Chinese accent.
Figma includes shared variables, text styles, navigation components and button states.

PROTOTYPE SCOPE
Working: arrival animation; cat movement/jump/roll; door reveal; selected-project thumbnails, filters and preview details; mouse-responsive planets; motion/frame inspector; interactive asset gallery; plane fly-by; six-sheep herding with pause/reset; reduced-motion control.
About, Photography, Graphic Design and Fine Art currently have destination concepts. Their full content pages are not built.
Existing case studies remain linked. Taft Cooke House is represented as a concept preview, not an implemented project.
This is a private direction prototype. It does not replace mary-zhang.com.

CONTENT MAP
Selected: Duo Duos, GenMotif, SeamPose & SeamFit, Taft Cooke House, Shape of Perception, Entwined Paths.
Graphic Design absorbs Flight of Vanity and 3D modelling.
Photography is a new collection. Fine Art retains art and spatial explorations.
The main selection excludes Kinetic Reflex and NeuroForm.
Remove Physical Computing and the separate Professional Experience navigation.

GENERATION
Illustrations were created with the built-in image_gen tool.
The exact final prompt set is in asset-prompts.json.
Earlier rejected watercolor explorations are excluded from this current collection.
User references guided the direction; their source images are not bundled as created assets.

REFERENCE LINKS
Mary's current portfolio: https://www.mary-zhang.com/portfolio
Duo Duos deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qHpCMb3j263dHYXfrRolcoKEXJSjg9JrbrB8R0mbGGQ/edit
Sheep-scene inspiration: https://x.com/AreadneMaria/status/2114898325451444419
Interaction references: https://interactive-gameboy.framer.website/ and https://cassieliportfolio.com/

