When do YOU find time to animate?

I make music and animations

Age 36

Composer

National Film & TV School

Sheffield, England

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When do YOU find time to animate?

Posted by Ockeroid - March 5th, 2012

See bottom for question

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PICO DAY
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Trying to find a way to make it to Pico Day this year! Bit difficult being an ocean away though
Really embarrassing and geeky to say, but this would be a dream come true for my 16 year old self... and my 17 year old self... and my 18 year old self...

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MUSIC
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Like generic progressive house? Good, cuz I made some.

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CONSTRUCTION MEN TWO
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Might be doing something pretty cool with a sequel to Construction Men (A sort of "What if Pico was older and starred in a weird saturday morning cartoon" flash).
But what it will be depends on if I can get some moolah to give me the time to take off and make it bigger or not. So we'll see how that goes.
At the very least I can say it won't be as rushed as the last one!

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NERDS CAN NEVER LOVE & OTHER STUFF
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More Nerds can never love is still on the way. Some more local stuff like scoring some short films and getting self employed has been taking up a of of my time, so I've not worked on it since V-day. Starting to become a real fucking juggling act working out make sure I keep moving forward in all the areas I want to. Sometimes wonder if I should just quit either music or animation and focus on the other, but then I realise I would never be able to live without the other :p

Attached a screen cap I took in the middle of making a shot (Might be old to you if you follow my twitter, sorry!)

Hoping to make a spare week for my self sometime this month and finish it off. Which brings me to...

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QUESTION 4 U
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Animation just takes a big chunk of time and focus. I usually get around this by finding a few days to a week and doing it all in one go. That has some pretty big down sides like getting that time in a row, it taking a lot out of you, can often end up with stuff that's not as polished as you wanted, and by the end of it you go a bit crazy and sleep deprived.

So NGerz. When do YOU find/make time to animate? And do you think it actually works for you?

When do YOU find time to animate?

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MistyE 2012-03-05 20:58:56

Usually when I have free time and if I feel like it. I do what you do on some occasions and do it all in one go. When I publish it to Newgrounds, sometimes I regret how I animated a certain part since I could have animated it much better.

I try not to do that anymore so that the quality of my work doesn't suffer.

Ockeroid 2012-03-05 20:58:56

There's always gonna be some stuff you're not happy with.
So a lot of the time I just try to remind my self that having something out that isn't quite as good as I wanted but is complete, is better than something that's exactly how I wanted but not finished

Luis 2012-03-06 00:36:37

yea animation is one of those things you need to be in a zone to do... cant just say oh ill just make a few frames and do some later. I find it so hard to get back into animation. I find it easier and more conducive to my schedule to do animations for games where its very shopping list-like.

I am trying to slowly get back into animations tho.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 00:36:37

Yeah, I've been taking a bit of a page from that, and trying to make my movies a bit more shopping list like but trying to get as many creative choices done early in the project so once it gets to actual animation, it really is just "Animate this guy being shocked, colour this background, etc". That way you can get more into the fun of just diving into animation

You better be! ;D

RicePirate 2012-03-06 07:46:04

I am trying to slowly get back into animations tho.

also, bring condoms to pico day.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 07:46:04

I got so confused thinking NG had double posted but added in condoms

Screw that, I'm just gonna straight up have to dress all in rubber to be safe

TheMAM 2012-03-06 09:53:21

I usually find time to animate on the weekends. That way I can stay up late from 11 pm to 4 am animating then wake up like 12 pm to continue what I had been workin' on. So basically, you can call my schedule of animation a little fucked. :P

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 09:53:21

11pm-4am is like the magic time for all things creative

bocodamondo 2012-03-06 11:51:17

i animate allways between 16 pm to 24 pm

on weekend more!

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 11:51:17

24 o' clock?! :o

That's a nice chunk o time there

FrozenFire 2012-03-06 12:26:21

It's not impossible to animate/ have a social life/ get awesome grades/ etc.

If you really want it you'll make it work.
Just my two cents.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 12:26:21

Definitely not saying it's not doable. But can take a strategy or some thought

Wiesi 2012-03-06 13:14:37

oh yeah, doing stuff and having a life isn't easy... never figured how that works lol

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 13:14:37

Well if you ever figure it out, let me know!

Srsly tho
Number 1. Making shit. Number 2. Everything else

MOC-Productions 2012-03-06 13:47:22

I usually start my projects in the spring and work on them throughout the summer. I always found that I (like most) tend to be more active in the summer. So I'll usually sit and work on it for a few hours a night on average. 3-6 months later, I'm done! Lol. Of course this means I'm putting out a movie once a year maybe. I feel its worth it though :P

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 13:47:22

I think there's so just much value in getting shorter less polished stuff out, even when working on a bigger proj. Since gives you that chance to learn from mistakes you make and look back more often

Jonimator 2012-03-06 14:03:32

I find time to animate by taking around 2 years on a single project...
slow and steady wins the race I guess?
but really, I just cant find the time ever and end up taking waaay longer than I plan. It's sad really.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 14:03:32

Deadlines are you friend.

I'm just like that when I've not got some sort of real deadline

kmau 2012-03-06 14:28:04

I can animate without a break like 6-8 hours a day when at college, but at home I just get sidetracked after 3-4 hours. College just has this work-athmosphere and people occasionally show up behind your back and go apeshit over your work. It's easier to forget the time when you don't have the Internet and videogame systems and your kitchen around.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 14:28:04

Environment is important. Kind of reminds me of writers only getting good stuff when in a coffee shop.
Wish I could have a cool atmos like it sounds you do at collage!

You've got some cool character art man. You should get some of your animations up here

CatFat 2012-03-06 15:24:52

I tend to intend (?) to start animating by 4pm for a target of 6 hours but end up staring at my screen and browsing the internet until 20:24 when i finally leave a comment and turn off my browser but only animate for an hour because I'm in pain from aches causes by sitting and staring at my computer screen all day... :(

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 15:24:52

Haha yeah
I thought it'd be too lame, but recently I actually tried turning my wi-fi off when I decided I was actually going to do something, and it actually helped.
Just that little thing to get you into "Ok, I have DECIDED to work now, so I will"

Emrox 2012-03-06 15:40:42

Working at night seems a bunch more productive than working during the day. Pro'lly 'cause there are other things you can do in the daytime, and you feel like you're wasting time in front of your computer.

That's why I plan on going nocturnal when I graduate.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 15:40:42

I think a lot of it can be the "I'll just do this one more thing, THEN I'll go to bed" mentality. You stop putting pressure on your self and are just thinking about what extra task you can get in

HipnikDragomir 2012-03-06 18:15:13

Seeing as how I only go to school 2 days a week, I've got plently of time. The problem is that I don't know what to animate. I may come up with an idea, but sometimes I don't finish it.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 18:15:13

I find that when I get like that I need to do one of two things. Either...

1. Pick something and run with it. or
2. Do something completely unrelated and let my self be inspired by something. Either going some place I've not been or even just watching some movie then sketching parts I liked from it. Surprisingly helps.

Saw your redesign bit when you posted it in the thread. You should do more stuff!

Sandling 2012-03-06 19:10:44

I have a bad habit of starting then stopping for long periods of time. Its why i haven't improved in awhile.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 19:10:44

It's fair enough to have long periods of not doing it as long as you're interested enough to come back. That's what I've done for years.

hbrunav 2012-03-06 20:42:19

When I am done with an animation... I spend like 3 or more weeks of doing nothing... wondering when I am going to start animating again.... I am in that zone right now.... and it SUCKS!... but when I start animating, I work really fast.

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 20:42:19

Hahah I know what that's like. I fucking hate that. It just feels so directionless.
Even tho I'm doing planning and boards for loads of things at the moment, I can't help but have that same feeling cuz I've not got something really showable to be like "LOOK! WATCH THIS! HAVE FUN!" :p

Get back to animating something biyatch
Before I try and steal you away for some crazy collab

VictorVonVice 2012-03-06 21:42:53

During Highschool, I would have plenty of time during the weekends, even going as far as pulling all nighters. During college, it was more of the case of me being lazy and classes. University, its pretty much just the classes taking up 70% of my time, the time I have to myself would usually result in downtime (gaming and whatnot). Nowadays I would probably find time when I have weeks to myself without anything else going on (such as commissions or other stuff)

Ockeroid 2012-03-06 21:42:53

It is fun to bury your self in it a bit more.
I think it only really works if you can spend at least two hours on it. And I can see how that could be hard to find if you've got loads on. So weekends or spare weeks do sound good for it.

TheWitchBoi 2012-03-07 00:02:49

Being in High School, AND having a after school job (2 at the moment, quitting one, then just got hired at a new one) can really take a lot out of you. I find it hard to actually make myself animate. I always think about it at school, but then when i'm giving all this free time outside of school, I just end up wasting it on the interent and minecraft, etc. Usually I animate when I feel like it. Being not that popular gives me a more flexible schedule so I can animate and have time to myself. Thing is, I kinda just use ALL my time for myself, and no animation. It sucks, I wanna animate, I just never have the will to anymore.

Ockeroid 2012-03-07 00:02:49

Well you should only really animate if you think it's something that's going to bring you joy anyway.

For a long time I was stuck on the idea that I wanted to be an animator and didn't realise that I fucking hated it. I had a turn around a year or two ago, but I'd have hated to live my life the other way.

Though your reason could be the satisfaction of a completed toon as well. So it is worth dedicating a bit of time to completing something to see if it's worth it to you

SamGreen 2012-03-07 01:13:26

TIME MANAGEMENT!

Stick to a schedule and kill your social life. I have a job that requires 30 hours+ a week. Though i plan to attend Pico day (I live in Australia)

And I'll be presenting both a regular cartoon and a Pico cartoon before I get there. Here's how I do it.

After work 5PM onwards I go home and animate for an hour or two. Eat Dinner. Another hour or two.

Do that 5-6 times a week and that's 24 hours of animation dedication. Not to mention the weekends where you can dedicate MORE time.

I only attend social events I really have to, and I still have time to slip into the Gym 5 times a week before work. It comes down to being dedicated and knowing the end reward. And helps a lot pre organising your animation before you start the sucker. Then picking it up and leaving it isn't so hard.

I don't know if this is advice or not, though it's just the way I've been doing it lately. It seems to be working.

Hope to see you at Pico Day 2012! :)

Also if you need a room mate for a hotel... I'm looking for someone to hitch up with. This also goes for whoever else is attending...

Ockeroid 2012-03-07 01:13:26

That's pretty sweet man

I think sometimes it can be easy to make the mistake of giving your self too much time in the day and then you've got waisted time (or burn out kind of like what me and Pego are talking about above). Where as when you know you've got those few hours you can work, you fucking get down to it.

You do make me think about trying out making a more serious schedule to stick to. Once you get to doing bigger toons then you've got to be more slow and steady to reliably get something done I guess

Thanks a lot man :D I still have to do some working out to know if I can make it before I start looking seriously at staying anywhere. Might do some sharing info on good looking hotels/hostels if I find any tho!

Pegosho 2012-03-07 10:10:28

I learned something the hard way, and that's to NOT spend more than 5-6 hours animating each day. You are gonna crash really bad, and when you crash, everything you do is mediocre, and that's counterproductive no matter how you look at it.

I was checking my last year unfinished Pico Day project and I noticed how great the beginning was looking and as I was approaching the ending it turned really crappy. What happened? Well obviously, I crashed at the end, I didn't slept well and my hand got numb, I was a disaster!

My advice is to take your time, do NOT overdo it. You only need like 5-6 hours of animation a day, IMO, that's more than enough, if you want to stay sane though. By staying sane, your mind will always be fresh and ready to give 100% each day, otherwise, you'll turn into a disaster and spend more time rubbing your head and complaining instead of animating.

Ockeroid 2012-03-07 10:10:28

Yeah, I think I've just been lucky with my previous movies being so short that I've either just avoided burn out, or by the time I burn out I'm onto smaller details that don't matter so much so it doesn't stop the movie.
But that's totally what fucked me up on this recent one. Did more than I've ever done in such a small amount of time, but just for the life of me could not go another step after a week of it.

Really helpful advice man! I need to really think about getting it done without burn out :p

DuDuL 2012-03-07 14:12:19

Well before university i could spare even 5 hours a day for animations [sadly i didn't use that time as much as i could ;/]
Now since uni kills most of my time - it's a good day when i find 2 hours to do animation.
Just like RicePirate said that you need to be in a zone... when i don't feel like it - im mostly just drafting few scenes or refining what i have already done...
I try to make at least an hour a day trying to animate something, if i catch the zone then as well i will pull an all nighter (fuck uni - zone is more important :D)
I wish i wasn't so lazy though

Ockeroid 2012-03-07 14:12:19

Yeah I find that really annoying. Once you start moving on in life, you realise how much spare time you had when younger and how you'd spend it a million times better if you could go back

That's pretty cool trying to do an hour a day. Since sometimes that's just enough to get in the zone and then you're night's gone haha

When do YOU find time to animate?

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