Animators with years of experience, question for you.

Well, i started animating like one year ago or so, and i haven't get used to it yet, i can't keep up with a proyect and work on it regularly, i always start to feel this pressure and i start procastinating, the result of that is: wasted time, no progress done, and a bitter feeling of guilt and emptyness, even more when i had voice actors voice for me and want to see the animation finished. My question is: Did you have this kind of situation when you started animating and then got used to animate more regularly? Is it just me?

I see these people that say they animate like 5 or more hours a day, and that they are where they are because of that persistence, and ask myself "Do i lack the passion to do that? Maybe animating is not my thing?"
I remember when i was like 10 years old, i was drawing everyday, i drew anything, i did comics because i liked them, and i probably did more comics in a week than now animations in 3 months...
I know this "problem" i have is very common between artists, "lack of motivation". I really didn't gave it much thought until i heard these words from Max Gilardi, aka "Hotdiggedydemon", he got asked how did he find the motivation to do animation and he said more or less: "I don't have to, i don't know why you would have to get motivated to do something you love". With that, i thought, "maybe i shouldn't waste my time doing something that i need to get motivated to do"

"Find a work you are passionate about, and you will never have to work again" I heard these words in a comercial about some tv program, it is completely true...

I'm just asking if you had a period of time when you knew you should be animating, but just didn't have the persistence or the passion to do it, and then you recovered again. I cannot help it but think that maybe i just can't do it, and that i shouldn't be aiming to animate profesionally some day, because i'll just get depressed by working on something that i don't like, but that's the question, "Do i like animating?" I do, i really enjoy some days, when i start animating and i do a good movement i'm proud of or something, but other days i just don't feel it, i don't enjoy it, i start to get angry, stressed etc, etc... But why does that happen? I just don't understand it, i'm so confused about this, i don't want to end up working on something that i don't like, or wasting my talents because now i just "don't feel like it"...

Sometimes i even wonder if 2d animation has future anyway, Disney going full 3d with even a 3d software that looks like 2d (paperman, look it up), not feature 2d animation anymore in cinemas and shit...
I'm reaching that age when i have to decide if i want to go to college, and i need to decide what to do with my life, but i don't know if animation is the path i should choose, for both reasons, i don't know if 2d has any future and i don't know if i will enjoy being a profesional animator.

"I like to draw, but i like not drawing even more" -JhonnyUtah (seriously i don't want to end up as grumpy about my job as him, lol)

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dylan 2013-09-29 18:48:47

"Do i lack the passion to do that?"

It's not all about being passionate 24/7. Wanna get ripped? You've gotta go to the gym whether or not you're feeling up to it. Someday, the gym will be the highlight of your day or even a part of your job, but for now you gotta push yourself.

Animation isn't like eating a cake or playing a video game; there are no short term rewards, and you won't always be enjoying every moment you work. It's very much a long term thing. "Passion" doesn't really describe what you need to get yourself working; it's much more in the realm of "drive" and "persistence," which are things that don't actually have all that much to do with animating or even liking something. It's about putting in the miles.

"Sometimes i even wonder if 2d animation has future anyway"

Most people who study animation nowadays take 3d courses as well. It's all animation, and the basic principles remain exactly the same. In fact, 3d animation is essentially working on a single 2d animation from 4 different angles, so a solid 2d background is often better than solely knowing how to model something in Maya.

However, while disney and pixar may move to solely 3d movies, that's not the entire market. Commercial, freelance, online, television, and independent projects are largely 2d endeavors. 2d animators are also important in the early stages of 3d animation for places like pixar and disney, making storyboards, animatics, concepts, and so on.

JKSSN 2013-09-30 12:05:08

Hey Daker! Yeah I get what you mean.
When I was younger, I like to doodle a lot on my notebooks, but with the lack of references or someone teaching me, I lost motivation.
And when I got my hands on Adobe Flash, I though this was really cool, animating and all.
That's when I only found it that it was actually hard and time consuming, but making it was fun.
But after just like 10 short flashes, I decided I don't want to this anymore until I improved on my drawing skillz.
It took me 2 years when I actually started to watch tutorials and tips on drawring.
So I got a tablet, photoshop, and a sketch pad.
And I still suck, but I at least I improved and it actually motivated me to finish the collab you made.
Actually thanks to you, I animated again, as a motivation!
I'm not used to actually working on stuff that long and tedious, but I actually had fun again.

But, when I get to college, my passion would be programming, and this is just a side hobby when I get a chance to make my own game! :3
Based on others and my experience, if you really like doing something and youve been doing that thing since you were young, there will come a time when you will actually get tired of it.
Most people I know took a long break and they'll get motivated again once they miss it.
Probably, just take a long rest. You're probably just tiring yourself.

And on the side-note, Jazza released a video on his own oppinion on how he gets his animation done. Try watching that, and you might learn something, that is if you haven't seen the video or already know what he said.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-01 08:15:10

I don't animate regularly, but when I do it has to be in one go or I'll start procrastinating. For me, that's probably because I'm not that good at it, so the work isn't as fluent as I'd like it to be and I end up putting in a lot of effort on even the simplest things. And I'm not a very patient individual. I can relate to your dilemma in other areas of work though, like design and writing. Passion and perseverance isn't all you need to do something properly, you also need a purpose (in life). If you have doubts, or if you feel you aren't getting anywhere, maybe not doing the right thing, maybe not doing what you should be doing - then of course it'll be much harder to focus. If animation is just a hobby, maybe you can find some other purpose and keep animating for fun when you have the time. If animation does have a purpose for you, then maybe you just need to realize it. IDK, hope this advice helps somehow!

Haris 2013-10-29 05:21:07

Same situation as 123mine123 I stop working on animations and improve my art, will return to animating after for sure, there is still a lot to be animated. As for motivation, I understand. What I do is try to browse the tutorials on DeviantArt, look at other peoples art etc.

Yomuchan 2013-11-02 19:20:44

Come what may, ten, even a thousand years later, I'll be doing what I love doing.

3D, 4D, even 9290809210918201D wont faze me. I love the classics. And I'll keep working on it.

Daker777NG 2013-11-02 19:20:44

Yeah of course, but if you want to work as 2d animator and live from it you have to think about these things, for example, if you love writing in typewriters, that's cool, you can do it, but typewriters are not needed anymore nowadays. I don't know if that's a good example, but i think you get my point.

Yomuchan 2013-11-03 12:56:50

Typewriters, eh? Its actually a pretty good example.

So, in this example, I really like typing with a typewriter - and even when I become the President of a powerful multinational mega-corp, I'll keep a typewriter in the President's Office for one simple, specific reason.

Because I have fun typing on a typewriter. That's what I think matters; to have fun doing whatever you're doing.

Daker777NG 2013-11-03 12:56:50

Yeah but, what if you were aiming to make a living by typewriting, but it suddendly got substituted by computers?

My point is, that i'm aiming to be a profesional 2d animator someday, and live from it, but what if in the future 3d and fake 2d (paperman) will be easier, faster and cheaper? Sure, i can still do it for fun, but not as a job.

Yomuchan 2013-11-04 20:53:18

Yeah. I don't intend to keep to animating as a job. I'm planning on a multi-tier approach. Investments, trade, job, and a finance network so even if I'm out of a job, the money keeps flowing. The only reason I took up animating is for fun. I know I'm not a top-notch artist, so I won't have any big-money expectations on ANYTHING (kinda ruins the fun). People become depressed when their expectations aren't what they hoped to be. I ain't gonna fall into THAT pit.