I think the worst part is finding the time. Flash, and harddrive space aren't free, at least they weren't for me. So between working, making sure my family is alright, letting my friends know they're important to me, and taking care of my zoo of pets, animating is often put on the back burner. You have to keep your head above water, and sort your priorities. While it might seem like it's taking forever to go anywhere, atleast you will be getting somewhere. Yes, finding time has been my most prominent hardship. It might be different if I were insanely wealthy, but if that were the case, I don't think my personality would have been moulded as it has, and thus, I may never have taken an interest in art to begin with. Sacrifices have to be made no matter what path you chose to put your feet on.. so always make sure to carry a spare white rooster and some black candles, if you want to become an animator.
The best? Well, there are a lot of great rewards that come with the job, it's hard to think of which is my favorite. There's the recognition, and knowing that I've made something that will last longer than me. Of course the money is a noteworthy perk, whether you're in the green or just breaking even. And then there's the knowledge that you can be helping someone out. Take you an I, for example. I've known you longer than almost any of my friends, whether I met them in real life, or on the Internet. If I can find a hole, a way through the fence rather than over it, I will show you where it is, and how to get through. I like to know that my experiences, and the rough times, do have justification if I can get my brother on track and forewarn him about the pitfalls that I may not have seen when it was my turn. So I bleed a little.. it comes with the territory. To know that an aspiring new face is doing well is more than enough to patch up the big, nasty wounds.
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging" - words to live by. If the clock is against me, I know I have to stop, chill out, and find inspiration before I can get back to my art. My favorite methods? Throwing dice, dreaming, and the good old fashioned watching of cartoons. When I play games with my little group, I get exposed to streams of creativity, some of which only flow when in the rpesence of others, and usually it's very hard to turn them off once they're all gushing at full blast. And dreaming, which as you know, is a very important part of my life. It lets me understand what I'm really trying to tell myself, and births wildly detailed plots and character designs. Even if there is nothing profound in them, there are also those that just confuse me to the point where a psychiatrist would like to say I was, "Driven sane by insanity". And cartoons! To see what others have done, in times when there was less technology and the artists and animators were far more self-reliant, is a highly
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It does bother me sometimes, but you have to remember something. It's repetition that hones your style. Outside of animation, among what I leave as static drawings, I do my best to create new poses and subjects as often as I can. Still, from habit, a lot of it winds up looking similar, if not dubiously so. That peeves me, and sometimes dampens my will to keep drawing, if I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. The exact opposite is true for when I'm animating.. it's the ability to maintain the same picture, over and over again, with just a tiny change here or there every few scenes, that brings relief, to know that I've got a look down, and don't need to constantly refer to my previous frames. It's like a hard-earned level of advancement, knowing that you can do something you don't like to do, because you have to do it in order to do what you love.
I did fail to mention a question or two ago that after I find the inspiration and have my plan laid out, it's time to work my fingers to the bleeding nubs. Fortunately, when I take on a job, I make sure that I'm going to have ample time to do it. I need to discuss with the customer constantly throughout the project, let them know what I'm going to do, and get mounds of details from them so that when the animation is ready, it's going to satisfy their tastes. I carry.. three notebooks, a small sketchbook, and a pad of graphpaper in my bag that goes whereever I do, so I can take ful advantage of what spare time I may have. If you have your gear ready, you will begin to notice a lot of opportunities to draw or script -- the preparation work. I scribble every time I'm in a car with my friends, or the slow times at work when I'm done my chores. Even in the woods, I like to sit by the stream and just sketch. The earlier you get that much done, the easier it is on your poor brain, hands and eyes come crunch time.
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