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You ever worry that your ideas suck?

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You ever worry that your ideas suck?

Like have you ever been working on something, an idea or even an animation/drawing, and then stop like halfway through and think, "is this really as good as i think?"

I think, what if im wasting my time? and this is actually garbage? Then i get frustrated and stop working on it.

Theres really no way to know if somethings actually as good as you think it is :(

I think, what if im wasting my time? and this is actually garbage? Then i get frustrated and stop working on it.

When Bryan Adams finished composing his song Everything I Do I Do It For You for the Robin Hood Soundtrack he and his band thought it stunk. It was put on the soundtrack of the film but only very quietly as the credits rolled and they wrote out several excuses as to why the song turned out so bad in preperation for the hammer they feared would come down. However, much to their surprise, not only did the song do well, it broke records for holding the number #1 spot the longest. (In think that record has been broken since then. I'll have to look that up).

Now, looking back, it really isn't much of a song, but you can't deny it's success. Therefore, I say no matter what you're working on, show it to people. If it's good or great, they'll say so. If it's full of mistakes, they'll say so too. Maybe some will find mistakes you didn't even think about. It's all part of the learning process.

You do yourself little good by stuffing it in a folder or garbage can not to be seen by anyone.

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You can also read the first 18 pages of my next book for free at this link: The Hap Hap Happy Happenstance of Fanny Punongtiti

Does your whole project suck? is it one character? one scene? can you fix it in the storyline? To trash a whole project sounds extreme.

If you read through "Illlusion of Life" they emphasize working and reworking scenes until you get it just right. Chuck Jones says the difference between a joke working and not working can be one frame.

To avoid NEVER finishing a project, you might concentrate on the prep work. Come up with a thesis statement, work out your characters, style sheets, etc. and run it by people. Get some feed back. A lot of times a good idea is hiding underneath a lot of useless stuff - good, solid, objective feedback is very valuable. Just be careful who you ask. Know your critics, etc.

On the other hand,I think every artist needs a "junk" draw. Not every idea is a great one, but sometimes it's the start of something even better and you might use it a few years from now.

When Bryan Adams finished composing his song Everything I Do I Do It For You for the Robin Hood Soundtrack he and his band thought it stunk.

He and his band were right. And now he has to live with that for the rest of his career.:)

Seriously, though--when it comes to animation, even if I decide halfway through the process that an idea sucks, I'll carry it through because it's going to be good exercise.

Depends on how you define good. I don't mean the word, I mean how you allow the it to be defined. Some people subscribe to the "fifty million Elvis fans can't be wrong" paradigm, where you throw it to the dogs/crocs/masses and bounce things off them for an overall consensus.

From experience, self-criticism --in moderation-- can be a healthy motivator. Anything more than that is asking for it, in my opinion. Doubt will always be there but second-guessing is one of the least productive things you can do. It's always going to be there in some capacity though, so accept that and don't dwell unnecessarily. Just move on and get back to work =) Solves a problem too because generally the more you work the less you suck and the less you'll have to fight with yourself over the quality of something (in your mind at least...your heart will always find it could use more work)

I generally don't create things based on ideas that aren't committed one way or the other, so if I trash something it's either right at the get when I realize it was a bad seed, or afterwards when I can evaluate the effectiveness of the idea and how well it's communicating...rarely in the middle of things though as it doesn't have a clear identity to judge yet.

Make your animation, learn from your own work.

All creative types go through this especially when their families and friends aren't supportive.

I know I have, but I've also been in the middle of something and said to myself this is fantastic. You have to keep yourself open to those moments too. And really relish those moments. When it's good you'll know, and don't let anyone burst your bubble.

I had a painting professor tell me once never to throw out work I was having a problem with. Put it a way and come back to it after a week or so and by then you may have a solution to what bothers you. Maybe not, you may end up gessoing over it and starting over, but sometimes the stuff that makes us the most uncomfortable is the stuff we've taken chances on and it's the most innovative.

So try and keep a good outlook, and don't measure yourself by anything that you haven't really agreed to.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

I constantly think my ideas suck and I fear the day when I'll get so full of myself that I can't look critically at them anymore. As long as thinking you suck causes you to work harder and improve yourself, it's the best thing in the world in my opinion.

Look at your drawing through a mirror from time to time and show it to as many people as you can. Nobody can really draw, just make the best of it of what you are trying to express. Think about the personality of your character while you are drawing it. What does he eat or drink, does he like to brush his teeth….and so on. It helps me to become him.

Besides, Jabberwocky is right in saying that you should always criticize your work and never become full of yourself and therefore avoid to become blind. :cool:

Fybs Claudio Ravenstein
www.ravensteinstudio.com

Best advice I ever got was from Todd McFarlane himself, and he said to me to: " Do it for yourself first".

Part of the artistic journey is to develop aesthetic tastes, part of the journey is knowing when to abandon said tastes.
If an idea sucks, so what........learn from it, and create new ideas.
Confidence is a life-skill of great value, but its not a rock-steady skill.

Remember that Thomas Edison came up with 10,001 really sucky ideas for the electric light bulb, before he landed that one that worked.
In every creative endeavour, no matter what it is........there MUST be someone to champion it. Be your creation's own champion.

And if someone tells you it sucks, tell them you love them and then close the door in their face and go back to work.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

"is this really as good as i think?"

I think, what if im wasting my time? and this is actually garbage? Then i get frustrated and stop working on it.

If you can't decide whether it's crap or not, then it's probably crap. Keep working at it until you're sure that it isn't crap. This can take years, so be patient.

Any sane person has some dissatisfaction with his own work. Those who are in love with everything they do are often the worst artists.