#advide

180319 // We all feel a little bit down sometimes and are at risk of getting sucked up in a spiral of self-pity. But the pressure of always being productive and seem to have it all figured out can also lead to the oppression of negative feelings, which is neither “strong”, nor mentally hygienic. You can grow to be so much stronger and resilient, if you start listening to yourself again. Here are a few tips on how to train your self compassion.

Hey!  I’m sorry ittook so long to get to your question but I’m so glad that you are going to SCADnext year!  Being a freshman can beexciting for some people but at the same time it can be nerve-wracking.  I was in this same position when I started atSCAD but due to several aspects that I will soon discuss, I was able to beprepared for my animation classes:

FOUNDATION CLASSES:

Yes, it can be frustrating that people have to go throughdrawing classes again even though they already have a grasp of it foryears.  But it is extremely helpful whenit comes to refreshing on your knowledge of space, perspective, proportion andanatomy.  In animation in particular,this is crucial on whether or not you can get a grasp on it because it involvescopious amounts of figure drawings which involves using your sketchbook alot.  A sketchbook is required in theseclasses because you have to practice a lot: practicing on how to draw from reallife, practicing on how to deal with mass and shape, even practicing on how todeal with light and shadow.  This helpedme exponentially during these four years so I highly recommend getting asketchbook early on and start drawing from life.

TIME MANAGEMENT:

If there is one thing that I want to push a lot for peopleto consider is time management.  This ishow you balance your time between projects and maintaining its quality so youcould be proud of it at the end.  Thereare some that are great in keeping a schedule to keep themselves on track butthere are others that falter due to either spending more time in their personalactivities or dedicating themselves to one project while leaving other workswith little to no development until days before it’s due.  I have unfortunately seen students in theanimation department that would pull all-nighters to finish their projects andit rarely results in a good product.  Thereare several ways to manage your schedule: the one that I used during myfreshman year is to calculate how many hours I should spend on each projecteach day.  This helped develop myproductivity in taking on multiple projects including my character animation.

COLLABORATION:

Another aspect that I want people to consider, this willmake or break if you can work in a team because animation heavily leans oncollaboration.  No matter if you arequiet and reserved or an extrovert, you have to start talking to your fellowclassmates during these courses.  Likedhow one did a project and want to know how they did it?  Go up and ask them.  Want someone to critique your work and pointyou to the right direction?  Ask someonein your class and let them say their opinion. While it is nice to work alone, you need to start collaborating withother students because there is nothing more satisfying than several youngadults connecting and work together to make high-quality works.

PROFESSIONALISM:

This is not only how you handle your work but how youproject yourself in a work environment. This is a culmination of my previous points but it includes how you takecritiques, deadlines, multi-tasking and communication.  This is how you develop your reputation inthe animation department because it will determine on whether or not peopleshould hire you after you graduate.  Thisalso applies to collaboration classes, senior and thesis films becausedirectors usually look for people who are both good in their specialized field(character animation, layouts, effects animation and storyboarding to point outa few examples), and communicate very well with them on how their work issupposed to go and when they should turn it in. There are people that may not be exceptional in their field but isreally good in maintaining a working connection with those in charge of theprojects.  But don’t be a jerk.  Don’t be that one student that nobody wantsto work with because I have seen and heard about a few people who were this wayand it never ended well for them.  The bottomline is be a good collaborator.