Motivation

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lwaxana
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Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Sometimes I need some help getting motivated to work on animation. So I thought I'd collect some links to serve as a pep talk for myself and anyone who wants to muster up some motivation. Here are some I've seen recently. Feel free to add more!

Ian Jones-Quartey's tips for an aspiring animation series creator:
http://ianjq.tumblr.com/post/8852363047 ... -hoping-if

Draw with Jazza - Creative Motivation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqzFpUbbhuc

"Noodling" on Animator Island
http://www.animatorisland.com/is-noodli ... animation/
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neeters_guy
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Re: Motivation

Post by neeters_guy »

This has been around a while, but I love this panel talk by Ralph Bakshi at ComiCon 2008. The interviewer asks Bakshi how he survived the collapse of the animation industry in the late 60s and his advice is a kick in the pants for animators even today.



I love it when he says, "Entire studios are in one box...4 guys can make their own movie in a year, but nobody does it except Bill Plympton."
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Neeters, that is a really inspiring talk! The part about Disney creating a standard that paralyzes the industry is also a sort of liberating concept. Thanks for sharing!
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Eyecager's notes from a Glen Keane lecture:

http://eyecager.deviantart.com/journal/ ... -299465238

some of my favorite parts:

"The feeling of drawing is like playing make believe and being a kid. Don't forget this feeling."

"I have a weird view on characters like they existed before you started animating them."

"Hitting a wall is great! It's when your ready to draw and find new potential with your work"
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

In reference what Bakshi said about quality, I realized one of the most inspiring things for me is to watch animation that is not technically perfect, but still successful at drawing in the viewer. That imperfection makes it feel more relate-able and more achievable and that feeling is really exciting.
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neeters_guy
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Re: Motivation

Post by neeters_guy »

The Glen Keane lecture notes was very cool.
***
I ran across this video where the unabashed Stephen Silver explains the changing nature of the business.



One point I found intriguing (and this reiterates what Ralph Bakshi said) is the the idea of pooling resources. Businesses routinely form partnerships to minimize risk and create synergy, why not animators? Recent changes to the youtube algorithm has made it harder for lone animators to monetize their content, but imagine the possibilities if a group of animators got together?
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slowtiger
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Re: Motivation

Post by slowtiger »

Chances are that they only multiply their costs, not the income.
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Interesting! I take it you're referring to these changes in youtube's algorithm. The sad thing is that even if you don't care about making money, the algorithm makes it harder just to get your work seen. If preference is given to channels that release content frequently, collaboration could be as simple as sharing a youtube channel between a few animators who appeal to the same audience.

There's also the possibility of posting non-animation videos on the same channel. I love robsugar's channel with Rebecca Sugar's song demos and her sketches like this example:


I'm also interested in Collaborating on actual animation projects as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to make something I couldn't make on my own. I haven't done it before and I imagine it would be challenging with issues like how to make decisions about the project, how to combine different workflows, how to divide the work, and how to maintain consistency. I mean if you're working tradigitally, you could divide tasks like an animation studio would, (backgrounds, storyboarding, rough animation, clean up, etc). Anime Studio workflows could help with character consistency, but if you want the character to look good, using unique drawings for different angles/closeups etc you might end up doing a lot of extra rigging.

How do you envision animators collaborating?
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Motivation from Ira Glass:
Dalv
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Re: Motivation

Post by Dalv »

neeters_guy wrote:This has been around a while, but I love this panel talk by Ralph Bakshi at ComiCon 2008. The interviewer asks Bakshi how he survived the collapse of the animation industry in the late 60s and his advice is a kick in the pants for animators even today.

I love it when he says, "Entire studios are in one box...4 guys can make their own movie in a year, but nobody does it except Bill Plympton."
Very inspiring talk, thanks for sharing. It reminds me of how good we have it today.
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Greenlaw
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Re: Motivation

Post by Greenlaw »

Funny thing about me is that I think it's in my nature to resist collaboration and try to do everything myself...and, yet...

I'm constantly amazed by what comes out of collaborating with other artists. Some kind of magic always happens that I never would have come up with if I had been working alone or trying to rigidly control everything to fit my 'vision'. I could cite many instances of this happening on commercial productions I've been involved with but this even happens on my small personal projects.

A good Anime Studio example is the background paintings Alisa created for our film 'Scareplane'. The style she came up with is totally different from what I had in mind, and when I first saw it, I didn't know what to think. After I stepped away for a bit, I realized that it was much better than the picture I had in my head! (And I'm not just saying that because we're married.) :)

Another fantastic example is the vocal recordings for the Brudders music video we're working on now. Originally, I had planned to use the same 'cat' voices from 'Happy Box' but Alisa suggested that we ask our neighbor kids to try out for it. I was skeptical at first but, wow, when I heard the first rough mix, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Once again, the collaborative result was so much better than my own idea.

I think I need to get better at just trusting other people. :lol:

G.
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neeters_guy
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Re: Motivation

Post by neeters_guy »

While browsing Terrence Walker's blog, I came across this inspirational video. The audience is indie filmmakers, but the message is equally applicable to indie animators:



As Terrence summarizes: Aspiring Filmmakers, Ava DuVernay Thinks You Should Lose the Desperation and Just Make Something!
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

Great talk by Ava DuVernay! And greenlaw, I totally agree that there is often a magic in collaboration! Have been learning the 3d side lately where I think it's much harder to strike it out on your own. I miss working in AS! But I have some AS rigging ideas I want to try now...
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lwaxana
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Re: Motivation

Post by lwaxana »

This one is discussing game development, but it can also be applied to animated projects in general.
Animated shorts are good examples of the discovery of mass appeal and minimum viable product strategies. Nick Animated Shorts: https://www.facebook.com/NickAnimatedShorts/ Frederator Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 5WlL_Wg2TS
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neeters_guy
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Re: Motivation

Post by neeters_guy »

Interesting talk by GDU (Tim Ruswick). This mirrors my own approach to learning ASP. I have hundreds of these little test files, trying out different techniques or features. ("Quantity leads to quality" as he says.)

One point he mentions (around 2:58) is particularly interesting, that is, about audience "discovery." Mass appeal is hard to design, but making many short iterations allows discovery to happen more quickly.

On a side note, I rewatched the Ava DuVernay talk and in retrospect I find it less helpful than I thought (and disagree on some points). But I'll leave the link up in case it resonates with someone at a different point in their development.

Thanks for posting!
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