Here's a topic that spans 2D, 3D and Flash -- How do you maintain your interest and level of quality toward the end of a project?
My stick-with-it-ness seems to fade as the deadline approaches and I find myself saying "good enough". That's not a very good thing in this field. Some random thoughts on why this is happening... as someone with a few years under her belt, not quite a newbie but a long way from being experienced, I KNOW it can be better but don't quite have the skills to get it there. Frustrating.
Under estimating the scope of work and a project takes much longer to complete - and of course over estimating the time you actually have to work on a project. Typical rookie mistake.
And lastly, without a lot of experience, I'm lacking the shortcuts and knowledge to produce something quickly. The fine tuning and details will always take time but with experience you can get the bulk of the work done faster leaving more time for tweaks.
But I guess, in the end, you have to push to get the best it can be. Does that come naturally to you? Do they have to pry the project from your cold dead hands because you have to tweak one. last. thing.
Or, after many hours, you say ENOUGH! accept that it's not perfect and try for better the next time.
ramblingattheendofalongsemester
ok, ready? breathe. in....out....in....out.... :p
are you talking a project in school? or a paid project?
i will do a comparison of the two, because i believe that i have been in a similar situation as you. ;)
i am an EXTREME perfectionist. EXTREME. however, when it comes to school, i procrastinate because i get anxious about not being able to finish the project up to my own standards. then i end up doing it really fast, without much time left and end up settling for the end product. something i'm not usually happy with (but that i later go on and fix up, if it's worth it).
i think that you are feeling something similar... that you're just settling for what you have produced, but you feel that you could produce something of better quality. and you're afraid this is going to carry over to your professional life...
let me tell you something.
that quickly goes away when a pay cheque is involved.
my brain knows that someone is not going to hire me based on my grades at school, but how kick-ass my portfolio is. so as long as i'm producing work to enter to get me that degree, i can continue to improve the work i have already done to make it up to my own standards.
when you are doing what you love... you really try your best to please your employer and you'll have fun doing it. you'll enjoy going to work every day, your day will fly by and if you're in the right environment, creativity will flow from every oriface.
trust me. :D
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That's exactly it. And I have every intention on going back and fixing the glitches for my reel. "Continueing to improve" is the real lesson here. Keep on keeping on and make it better the next time.
Thanks.
A scene is never done - time just runs out to keep working on it ;)
There's not a single thing I've ever done that I wouldn't take another stab at if I had the chance.
Believe it or not, that's a good thing. It means you want to improve your work and are striving for higher goals. Naturally, that conflicts with the nature of deadlines. All you can do is the best you can do, and try to get better over time.
It's also good to keep in mind that we're not the best judge of our own work. I have a friend who did some brilliant animation that I saw on his demo reel before he was hired where I used to work. I've asked him repeatedly for a copy of his short, and he repeately refuses to give it to me - he hates it. It's brilliant, but all he sees are the mistakes, and he's moved on. Of course, I do the same thing when he asks for copies of my old work...:D
I'm just now starting school and taking the hobby a step further, so I've never had a really gruelling schedule. As a kind of halfassed perfectionist, I find it's always important to identify the subject and main action of a shot so you can obsess over it and halfass the background stuff. Disney used to say get the eyes right, if nothing else. Similarly, Richard Williams said to save the eyes for last because they instantly draw the attention. This is true if the face is in the shot. Otherwise, just get the subject right. I like to use Adobe AE, and gaussian bluring the background has become my best friend. Think dramatic focus.