Why Animators Should Fail Upwards

Animators are made, not born.  All of us are likely fail in most of the things that we do, at least at first.  The key to success is to keep at it, and  fail faster.  Great animation doesn't emerge fully formed, it needs to be tweaked, revised and perfected. When you see a Pixar or Disney film, you see the finished, polished result - you don't see the pain the animator went through along the way. Everything we do can be done better. If you don't keep trying, and practicing, and getting feedback, you will never create anything good.  Your animation does not have to be perfect; you just have to get on with it and keep practicing your craft.

Make Mistakes - and Keep Making Them

Fail, but Fail Faster

The ability to make mistakes - to fail - is one of the best things about being at university. Your work does not have to be perfect, or even near perfect.  You just have to keep doing, and trying, until, at the end of your three year degree, having made plenty of mistakes along the way, you start to do seriously good work.

So keep at it, and trust in yourself - you will get there, and you will succeed in the end. What we all need to do is learn to fail faster.

Animation is like a Video Game
Game players love it when they get “The Epic Win”, that feeling of success that makes them feel great.  Games like World of Warcraft gives players the chance to be tested - not too much, not too little, but just beyond their abilities - players get challenged on the tipping point of their ability. So it is in the classroom; at the end of a day's work, students should feel the thrill of a "Level Up!".  Successful video games give us a fair chance to get past the monster, and that it is this that makes them work.  In order to succeed, we have to fail first.

Who's Afraid of Failure?
Arguably, both educators and students are now too afraid of failure.  Students ask "what if I fail?", but perhaps we should ask a better question: "After I fail, what then?" After all, successful people don't necessarily succeed initially. Many fail, and then overcome their failure.  Success in life is less about succeeding first time and much more about failing, trying again, and succeeding he next time, or the time after that.

Walt Disney - the failure (at first)

Walt Disney - The Failure
Everyone remembers Walt Disney the success, few recall his failures. In fact, Disney failed with his very first character – he created the character Oswald The Rabbit, only to lose the copyright to an investor.  To recover his business, he then created the famous mouse - which made his name and his fortune.  Consider also the case of Steven Spielberg - who was rejected by film school three times. And don't forget one of Winston Churchill's most famous sayings: “success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm”.

Teaching Resources at Escape Studios
To find out more about teaching resources at Escape Studios, follow the links below:

• Getting Feedback at Escape Studios - How it Works
• The Escape Method - What is it?
• Animating Learning Resources at Escape Studios
• Managing Group Projects at Escape Studios
• What's in the First Year at Escape Studios?
• What's in the Second Year at Escape Studios?
• What's in the Third Year at Escape Studios?
• What's in the Fourth Year at Escape Studios?

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link.   To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here. For the next 12 week animation course, click here.