Detour Ahead

I dedicate this post to JK. From the start, he has offered his help and been very generous with his time and sharing his experience. JK, I appreciate the huge favor you have done for me by helping me focus on what I'm doing. I've arrived at this point a lot sooner than if I had been completely alone.

I started working on an anticipation/follow-through exercise, but I've gotten to the point where I have to really push myself to sit down and practice. For the amount of time that it takes to become a skilled animator, shouldn't I at least look forward to practice?

I'm afraid that concentrating on the technical aspects of animation have started to overwhelm a more basic desire: telling a good story. In other words, I'm getting hung up on the small details before having giving enough thoughtful consideration to the big picture. I don't feel like I've put in enough time and practice with the things that go into making solid animation (drawing, writing, acting, filmmaking). I wouldn't be surprised to find a lot of animators feel the same way, but I also am finding myself more interested in the story aspect and how to tell it than in the actual creation of the animation itself. It recently dawned on me that most of my browser bookmarks are to the websites/blogs of story artists, not animators.

I guess what I'm saying is that it seems that most, if not all good animators come from an artistic background first instead of the other way around. I know that there's a low barrier to entry with Flash and the Internet and I've heard it said to just get something up, just do it.

But to me, that doesn't feel right.

So I'm closing Tony White's book and shutting down Toon Boom. For now.

Currently, I'm in a basic film/video production class at a community college here in Orlando. Aside from learning from the course itself (camera operation, lighting, sound, editing) and projects we've worked on, it's also allowing me to connect face-to-face with people that share similar interests as me - something that was missing from studying on my own. This fall I'm going to take a screenwriting class to learn dramatic writing.

I plan to continue on learning the crafts of drawing and filmmaking. For starters, I will complete the FAS course, if for no other reason, than just to complete it. In the near future I would also like to start creating storyboards for local filmmakers (and maybe not-so-local too) to get additional practice and meet more people.

If I could make a wish: I would continue to sketch and draw on my own but attend film school full-time. Not because I have dreams of becoming the next big director or screenwriter but to simply immerse myself in the filmmaking craft and work with and learn from people like me but not like me.

Snap, crackle, pop.

Back in reality, my top priority is my young family. But I'm restless. The challenge is to reconcile my responsibilities while honoring my personal creative desires. Nothing new there - that's something I know many people struggle with every day. So, taking a class when I can, along with the FAS course, and drawing and writing on my own, is my attempt at meeting that challenge.

I end with a quote from Bill Watterson, lifted from a post on Do It For The Fat Lady:

"The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive. At that time, we turn around and say, yes, this is obviously where I was going all along. It's a good idea to try to enjoy the scenery on the detours, because you'll probably take a few."

Thanks for reading.