Embrace Fear

I've been asked a few times what a person should do next as an animation piece. There are a few answers I could give to that question and all are valid. All could be combined into one super answer.

The first answer would involve looking at this person's reel, and assessing and saying, "you don't seem to have a lot of *blank* on your reel, you should do some more of that." This will help when it comes time to look for a job. It could also very well be the kind of advice that could cause growth in this theoretical person.

The second might be to tell this person to try a different style, if they do cartoony, try realistic and vice versa. This could help that person get a different handle and perspective on the principles of animation that they might not otherwise get. It will push them outside their comfort zone and they will grow.

I think there's an answer that encompasses all of these and one that is tailored to the animator and not external requirements or pressures.

Do what challenges you, do what scares you.

This is my thought whenever I start some new personal project, what scares me in terms of animation? What animation pieces have other people done where I think, I couldn't do that? What scenes in movies have I been impressed by?

It's good to be challenged at work, but I would take the bigger risks on personal projects. Even if you never show them to anyone else, this gives you the opportunity to fail and learn from it without negative reprecussions from a production. Personal projects allow you to focus on things that you either know you're not good at or don't even know how to start or do.

When I did my "King" animation piece, I wanted to do something I hadn't really done before. I chose a long dialogue, because the management of so many frames caused me anxiety. And I chose to do a subtle performance because 40 seconds of believable subtle performance scared me. But through it I learned techniques to handle lengthy animation pieces (a topic for another day!). It has helped me tackle really long shots at work as a result. Conversely my next piece is a bigger, funnier performance and has a female character, which I don't think I've done before (excluding Kaa).



It's important to note here, that when you are looking at another person's finished product, it's going to be daunting. The natural response will be, I couldn't do that, or do that as well, but you need to temper that with the fact that you're not seeing the process. The sleepless nights, the endless notes, the month or so of cleaning and tracking. Ultimately, with a finished piece, you're just seeing the tip of the ice berg. If you have a good workflow in place, solid ideas and a person you trust to give you feedback; there shouldn't be a limit to what you can do.

So as you are wondering what you should tackle next, keep recruiters and job requirements at the back of your mind, and think about the kind of animation piece that fills you with dread. And then do it. It doesn't matter whether you succeed or fail, or show it to anyone, you will grow from it.

Keep on keyframing!