Lin Fan (1931) was born in Yiyang, Hunan Province. He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1949. During his career, he has served as an art editor, designer and teacher in the Hunan Military Region, the Central-South Military Region, the Political Department of the General Command, the Shanxi Provincial Cultural System and the Military Art Academy.

Lin is known for his Chinese paintings, calligraphy, murals, comic strips and New Year pictures. He cooperated on poster designs with Li Jiyuan, Wang Jue and Meng Qingjiang.