I had a student, Tom, who had recently completed his animation portfolio. I am very proud of him and I would like to acknowledge his effort in this post.
Over the past 2 years, with consistent 2 hours weekly of contribution to his animation skill, Tom started out learning animation from zero to newbie animator. Tom began learning animation as a hobby as he likes watching anime. Even if it is a passion for him, it was not an easy journey because he tends to get confused very often.
Every week, he stretches and challenges his capability of doing things that he is not comfortable or familiar with. He starts to realize that short cuts without much prior planning do not really produce good results. Thorough understanding of a subject is very crucial in learning. Without a clear fundamental understanding of the learning subject, we might not build a solid and stable foundation for our building.
Over time, Tom got used to such stimulating exercises that makes him search and try different solutions to overcome his technical problems. When an approach does not work, doing it repeatedly will never produce a new result. Be open and learn to find new solutions to any problem. Eventually Tom becomes proficient in his animation skills and he is able to handle most of the basic animation exercises on his own.
Most importantly, he did not give up whenever he meets a new challenges. It takes time for one to be good at anything and giving up is never a solution. Giving yourself time to reflect and time to learn is more important than your immediate result. Your effort will eventually be paid off once when you had really done a quality work.
Animation portfolio demonstrates what you are capable of doing. It is important to have an education certificate in finding a job, but it is more important that your future employer knows what exactly what you are really capable of. Animation portfolio will tell a lot on the amount of effort and details you put in the work. Sometimes it tells more about your attitude and personality just by looking at your animations and acting skills.
If you are learning to animate, learn to do it with a good understanding of the principles of animation. Create animation with real quality and give yourself some time for your seed to grow well into a strong plant.
Here is Tom's animation portfolio and I hope you will enjoy watching it and inspire you to keep pressing on your passion!
