Valentas Aškinis was born in 1959, Šiauliai. In 1983 he graduated from the Vilnius Engineer Building Institute, City Building and Planning Department. In 1989 he received his diploma of animation film director at the experimental creative union Debut, Mosfilm studio. In 1999 he attended master courses for hobby group leaders at the National Technical Creation of Pupils’ House.

In 1979–1984 and 1998–2001 he led the Animators Group at the National Station of Young Technicians; in 1984–1991 he worked as an animation film artist and director at the Studio of Films to Be Commissioned; in 1987–1991 he led the union of animation films, worked as an artist and director at the Lithuanian Film Studio. Since 1991 he has been the leader, producer, director, artist and animator of the animation film studio Vilanima. Since 1999 he has been the director and lecturer at the Animation Film School. In 2002–2003 he was the leader and lecturer at the Young Animators Courses and Educational Programme at the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum.

Valentas Aškinis has written the Textbook of Basics in Animation (publisher Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts), created a documentary-educational film about the technology of producing animation films on celluloid film (1999).