Cut-off animations due to boredom

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sacrejacques
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Cut-off animations due to boredom

Post by sacrejacques »

:shock:
I get neat Ideas for animations, then work on them. But it always takes so long that I'm bored with it before I finish, and I give up. Then the ending is always lame.

anybody else have this problem? :?: :shock:
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Víctor Paredes
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Post by Víctor Paredes »

animating is a masochistic pleasure.
what i do is a lot of little test to improve my skills (right now i'm doing the hands of a character, with all his fingers and all the movements possible).

when i think in a real good story, i make the storyboard and start to animate seriously.
if you don't have a good idea, something that helps you to finish, you will get boredom and all the work will seem to be tons of work.

that is what i think.
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Rasheed
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Post by Rasheed »

The overwhelming feeling that something seems impossible to do makes even the toughest person very unsure of himself. The frustration over this insecurity is called boredom. The next step after boredom is "writer's block", not knowing what to do next.

In effect, boredom might be a strong signal that you have to work on your skills or acquire additional knowledge, or even have to ask someone else to help you. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, even if this person has no clue what you're talking about. It really makes a difference if you express you worries in words, instead of just in thoughts.

If work just seems to be too much, chop it up into smaller, more manageable tasks. Keep track of your progress, though, by using a checklist, and write down how long it took to finish the checked item and rate how difficult it was (either by wording or by numbers, whatever you like). This way you keep track of your methods and determine what method works best for you.

So rationalizing your workflow and improving your efficiency through trial and error is a good method of managing your attention span and prevent getting bored with a project, because it seems to be so huge or so complicated.

This is, of course, a generalization, applicable to many types of human endeavor. I'm sure experienced animators can fill in the details that are specific to animation.
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jahnocli
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Post by jahnocli »

Rasheed wrote:If work just seems to be too much, chop it up into smaller, more manageable tasks
This is good advice -- it's the only way I've ever managed to finish anything! You do need a good idea to start with, but if you can split it up and work on one tiny scene at a time, it seems manageable.

It does help talking to people -- I've got great ideas -- ideas I would never have thought of -- by talking to other people about what I'm doing.

Finally, the lack of deadlines when working on your own stuff can work against you. If you don't HAVE to get it finished, the drive to complete things isn't there. I'm a deadline-driven guy, and I'm as guilty as anyone else in presiding over projects that have fizzled out like a damp squib!

Answers? Try sharing with others on forums like this, every step of the way, from idea to post-production. Just about everybody will want you to succeed, and be interested in what you are doing.

Good luck,

J
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
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ingie01
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Post by ingie01 »

These are good strategies. Good teachers use all the above for succesful learning.
You'll know when you get there! My Dad
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jorgy
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Post by jorgy »

Also, try starting at the END of the animation, rather than the beginning.

jorgy
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Rasheed
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Post by Rasheed »

Also, accept that some days (or is it most days?) you simply can't draw like you want to draw. Those are the days that you would rather cower in a corner with your face covered with your hands, trying to figure out what the h*ll you are suposed to do next and really don't have a clue. Just go and do something else to keep your mind occupied. Don't get comfortable with doing nothing, because laziness is very addictive. These are the days to develop your other artistic skills, playing an instrument, painting, writing poetry and the like (frustration can be a very good motivation for those activities). Keep that grey matter under your skull active with alternatives. It needs a good exercise now and then, doing something which is new and challenging.
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