How Not to Fail

One thing that I’ve noticed over the past few years is that a lot of animators, of the ones I’ve seen and talked to through the use of forums and such, have problems completing their projects. I too would sadly fall into this category of animators. We say that we’re going to do something, we have a project in mind, we announce it to the world, but then after a couple months pass, nothing comes of it and it fades into the lost pages of the internet. What causes this phenomenon? I have thought about it a little and have come up with a few reasons why this might happen and some ways to fix this problem that so many of us have.

First of all, what’s wrong with not finishing a project? Well, the obvious reason is that you failed. Failure is not bad, however, and can be learned from in many situations. Remember that Edison said that he found 99 ways how not to make a light bulb? Through our failures, we still learn. A downside to failing, however, is that you have nothing to show for yourself. You said you were going to complete something, but you didn’t. You never finished your product, you never came to the final result, nothing came out of it. You spoke, but you did not do. Those who take their words to action are those who are going to be successful. How do you think the successful got to be successful? Not by saying, “I’m going to do this and that” and just laying back and relaxing. They had a goal, they saw it, and went through with it.

Now, why do we fail? Here’s a list of some reasons why I think we do. They’re not really in any specific order.

1. We Lose Interest
2. Poor Planning
3. We’re too Ambitious
4. We Don’t Try Hard Enough
5. Poor Time Management
6. Personal Issues

I think these things encompass the main reasons animators probably fail at creating what they plan to do, but there are probably more you could add to the list. Look at this and see if you fall into one of these categories. I’m going to try my best to give some ways you can prevent yourself from falling into one of these in your next project or to pull you out of the one you’re in now. If you get rid of these problems, chances are that you’ll finish your animation.

1. We Lose Interest

This is probably a big downfall in the world of the animator. Over time, we just lose interest in the project. It gets stale, old, and uninviting. How can we prevent this from happening? Get some friends to join in on the project. More people will allow you to throw ideas off each other and constantly get new and interesting information. It will keep your brain thinking about the project and will keep you enthusiastic about it. Taking a break from the project could also help rekindle your passion for it. Sometimes we just need a vacation from the work and once you are done with that, you are more inclined to be ready to work on it again. Whatever you do, try not to scrap the project and start a new one. One finished project is better than seven that are just lying around. Work on two or three projects at most at one time. That should be plenty to keep you thinking and when you get bored with one, you can just turn to the other. Also, try to make the project fun, don’t do it because you’re forcing yourself to, if it’s that way, you might as well not do it.

2. Poor Planning

Many new people to the field of animation (mostly hobbyists) don’t know how to plan their shorts correctly. They don’t pre-plan, they just do things as they go along. This can land you in big trouble and a worse end product. If you’re going to spend much time on this short at all, you should try to get it right and really know what your aiming for before you do it. Write a script and get it reviewed a couple of times, story board, make an animatic, time your animation, lip sync on the computer. Plan for your goal and then shoot for it once you know it. If you’re not entirely sure about what you’re doing, you may lose interest in the film or you could get discouraged by how things aren’t fitting together as you imagined them to.

3. We’re too Ambitious

This is another one of those problems with newer people to the field. We think we can do more than we can. Before you do an animation, think of your limits. Is your animation skill good enough? Do you have the time? Do you have the money? Do you have the software? Plan around these things and you shouldn’t run into too many problems related to them in the future. Being ambitious is good as long as you’re not too ambitious. You get pushed out of your limits and learn new things when you’re ambitious.

4. We Don’t Try Hard Enough

This is a simple one to cure. Try harder. What if you don’t think you can do something? Try harder. Still can’t do it? Try harder. Try, try, try, try again. Then, if you fail, you know that maybe you were too ambitious in your choices when planning the film, just maybe. By trying however, you learned new things and ways not do things and most importantly, you know that you tried.

5. Poor Time Management (Highly Suggested to Work On)

Many people in this world have very poor time management skills. We just do what we feel like it when we feel like it. If you do this when working on a short film, trust me, it will take a long time to finish. What you need to do is make yourself a schedule according to the time you have in your life. Find your goals for the project and set them to be due on certain dates, then, make sure you follow the schedule. If you do this, you’re going to be spending time getting things done rather than messing around and tweaking things that don’t really need to be tweaked. You’ll end up saving time in the long run.

6. Personal Issues

This is the hardest one to fix, simply because life is more important than a short film or animation you’re working on. During your time while working on it, you may run into financial problems, you may get sick, run into a heavy workload at school or work, as well as many other possibilities that life throws at you. These things shouldn’t be ignored and should be looked at before you continue on with your animation. After examining them, decide whether you should drop the project or resume it at another time. It may be a hard decision to make, but try to make the best one.

And that’s that for this article on trying to get your project done. Now, if you really want to get your project done, don’t just say that you’re going to try to fix some of the issues you’re facing, do them. Successful people “do”, they don’t just “say”. I hope this article helped and that you can now be on the path to finishing your own films. Remember to have fun!