When AnimationXpress.com asked me to share some of my thoughts for this column, I was pretty excited. I have some pet passions and pet peeves and any opportunity to share those are ones not to be missed. Having been in this industry long enough, I have realised that besides the actual part of creating great work, I am passionate about a few other things within this industry. And the top of that list is Learning/Education and which is what I would like to share some thoughts for the benefit of current and future students. I sincerely hope that some of these pointers end up being useful for the readers.
It’s been nearly 25 years since I ventured into the world of Animation and VFX. It has been a fantastic journey which has taken me right across the world and I have been privileged to work with some of the smartest minds in the industry. I can safely say that despite spending so much time in this field, I still am excited as nearly every day I learn something new. Nearly every job makes me wonder – how will we achieve this? Above and beyond, the one constant throughout this journey (along with change) has been a constant process of learning. At times the learning has been about the ability to understand colour better, other times it has been some simple math formula which I forgot in high school but was so important in trying to solve some particle behaviour and at times it has been learning about how business and deals are conducted. Whatever it may be, learning continues to play a big part of my life and it is also something I encourage within Anibrain and the School of Media Design on a regular basis.
In fact if you look around you, the smartest people are the ones who continue their tryst with learning despite how senior they may be.
Solving your own problems
I was lucky to go and study digital animation in Canada right when computer animation
If there is one skill I like to drill into everyone whether at the studio or at the school, it is the ability to solve your own problems. There is no skill greater than this and I cannot emphasise this enough. This one quality is enough to help one in so many life situations. Unfortunately our schools and institutes do not teach this and I would urge everyone to strongly look at this and see how they can incorporate this into all of their courses. Every student studying Animation, VFX or Gaming today needs to inculcate this skill. A great way to do this is by spending a LOT of your time studying and learning by yourself. Solve problems by yourself and believe in yourself. You will be surprised at how many things you can probably solve if you only give yourself a chance. was just starting out. In fact, it was the first such course being offered at the school I went to. We had a small period of lectures followed by long hours of experimenting, self study and projects. There was no one really to ask advanced questions and what we were encouraged to do was try things out and find solutions on our own. This turned out to be a huge blessing as it forced the students to solve complex problems by ourselves. Within a month we had all really explored the softwares available to us and were tackling family complex assignments on our own and figuring out techniques which were pretty cool. Coming from India, this was my first opportunity for self motivated study and this really set the tone for the rest of my career. What this did was teach me how to solve problems without seeking too much guidance. It taught me to believe in myself and the fact that I could come up with solutions on my own. This is one aspect I cannot emphasise enough as the ability to trouble shoot independently is one of the biggest weapons one can have in their arsenal. Armed with this, once can go on to become a leader and grow tremendously in their career.
Strong Foundations & Fundamentals
This is another area where I believe we falter. Our training and education is too software focused. We tend to advertise that we will teach so and so software. As if the software is going to do everything for you. If I got a Ferrari and Loius Hamilton had a Honda, I am willing to bet money that every time I race him, Louis Hamilton will beat me at the race tracks. Every time! Remember, the myth that softwares can do things for you, is total mumbo jumbo. Only the person sitting in front of the software can do something. So when you learn any skill, focus on how well you know that skill and not how well you know the buttons of the software. This will take you a very long way.
Always focus on the fundamentals and learn them so well that you can do it in your sleep. Today there are so many avenues to add to your learning. YouTube is filled with great tutorials which you can learn from. Use open source softwares like Blender if required to learn your skills. But learn the foundations so well that no one can shake you. The fundamentals across ALL softwares are the same so if you excel in particular softwares then you can easily take those learnings and implement it in other softwares.
Keep challenging yourself by creating your own assignments and challenges. Go to sites like Deviant art and see what the world is creating and be inspired by it. And remember that in all that you do, your fundamentals are strong and ensure that there are no technical flaws in your skill sets.
Without knowing your basics correctly, working in big companies can get difficult.
Quality
Lastly, thesis is one key area for anyone learning to get into our industry today. If you want to shine then you need to make quality your second nature. Let’s look at someone we admire. For example Amitabh Bachchan; now, if he were to take on a low budget movie, under no circumstances would he allow himself to act poorly in that film. He would still give it the complete quality he is now know and famous for. Bachchan has set a benchmark for himself and no matter what he will never lower it for anyone – not even if he is being paid less for it. Similarly, you need to set your benchmark very high and never compromise on quality at all. By doing this repeatedly you will find that quality will have become second nature to you and you will be known as someone who can be trusted and relied upon to provide great work.
Along with that, I have also seen that when one does good quality work you only need to do it once But if you do sub-standard work then you have to keep fixing it till it improves thus spending more time and effort in that. Hence, I really believe that quality work takes less time to do than sub standard work.
Set your quality benchmark very high.
Quality also means on time deliveries. No one wants stuff that is late. Late is never acceptable. So quality must be delivered on time.
Communication
This is another area I find we do not emphasise enough on. A majority of our work is done in teams – large & small. Hence communication is such a big part of the larger role we play. Put high emphasis on learning how to communicate – via email, in person, over the telephone etc. The better you communicate the greater your career will go upwards. Beyond a certain point, technical skills cease to hold all the importance and skills such as communication become very crucial for your growth. Communication is a very big part of every role today and possessing the ability to clearly put across your thoughts can make all the difference between getting the all important position or not.
So that about sums it up for me. Keep learning and keep growing. Today, all one has to do is go on YouTube and search any topic and you can find experts waiting to help you learn any skill you feel you may need. Learning is a lifelong process. Learning keeps you motivated, fresh and also keeps you on the fast track to success.
(These are purely personal views of Anibrain, India – Founder & Ceo – Jesh Krishna Murthy and AnimationXpress.com does not subscribe to these views)