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40 Days of Art: Getting the Most out of School
So you've gotten into an animation school ... now what?
THE PAIN!
I mean, um, learning. A lot. All in one go. You ready?
Luckily I came to the realisation fairly early in my college education that the more I put into school, the more I got out of it. It was possible to complete my assignments to an acceptable standard with a minimum of effort, but I learned more when I went the extra mile, even if what I learned was 'you have bit off more than you can chew.' That is a valuable lesson too! And of course it applies to any creative discipline, not just animation.
I think the assignment I learned this on was a toddler walk. I had roughed in some animation that was perfectly adequate, but I had a bit of spare time, so I decided I was going to give the toddler some ponytails and a little skirt, and tie down all the drawings. I still got it done on time without too much lost sleep, but I learned so much more about secondary action and draughtsmanship (and what I was capable of) than I would have if I'd left it at the bald generic toddler I'd had originally. Humans are inherently lazy – most of our greatest inventions come from our fundamental desire not to do things the hard way – so it's very easy to fall into the trap of 'good enough.' After realising how much I learned from that walking toddler, I put a little sign on my desk that read '"Good enough" is not good enough!' As it was only for internal consumption I knew I didn't mean it in that damaging, overbearing perfectionist kind of way, but rather simply that if I settled for the least I could do, I would get much less out of my precious little time spent in this institution. 'Good enough' should be your fallback position! Shoot for the stars! You can always come back to 'good enough,' but you'll be bringing with you the wisdom you've gained from the cosmos.
THE PAIN!
I mean, um, learning. A lot. All in one go. You ready?
Luckily I came to the realisation fairly early in my college education that the more I put into school, the more I got out of it. It was possible to complete my assignments to an acceptable standard with a minimum of effort, but I learned more when I went the extra mile, even if what I learned was 'you have bit off more than you can chew.' That is a valuable lesson too! And of course it applies to any creative discipline, not just animation.
I think the assignment I learned this on was a toddler walk. I had roughed in some animation that was perfectly adequate, but I had a bit of spare time, so I decided I was going to give the toddler some ponytails and a little skirt, and tie down all the drawings. I still got it done on time without too much lost sleep, but I learned so much more about secondary action and draughtsmanship (and what I was capable of) than I would have if I'd left it at the bald generic toddler I'd had originally. Humans are inherently lazy – most of our greatest inventions come from our fundamental desire not to do things the hard way – so it's very easy to fall into the trap of 'good enough.' After realising how much I learned from that walking toddler, I put a little sign on my desk that read '"Good enough" is not good enough!' As it was only for internal consumption I knew I didn't mean it in that damaging, overbearing perfectionist kind of way, but rather simply that if I settled for the least I could do, I would get much less out of my precious little time spent in this institution. 'Good enough' should be your fallback position! Shoot for the stars! You can always come back to 'good enough,' but you'll be bringing with you the wisdom you've gained from the cosmos.