I will confess: my Animation Mentor classes have not been going well. They haven\u2019t been going awfully, but my work is struggling. I\u2019ve been in an anxious panic mode lately because I\u2019m afraid my work is not going to be nearly good enough to send out to studios. But anxious panic mode only makes the work worse; it makes me work slower and more anxiously. It makes animating anything an awful tedious chore, when it should be fun and interesting. While animating, my mind focuses on other things I\u2019d like to do: watch a movie, play a game, compose music, work on my novel, work on my cartoon series pitch, work on my melody generator, etc. Things I just hardly have any time to do… and when I do have time to do them, I do them knowing I\u2019m eating into animation time.<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t complain too much about my job; it\u2019s provided me the money for tuition to learn animation in first place. But it\u2019s the sort of job that can really drive you mad because you can\u2019t really concentrate on anything. And I think most human minds cherish the ability to concentrate on something; to really get lost in a project. Even mopping a floor is a nicer job when your thoughts don\u2019t have to be interrupted every ten seconds. And having your thoughts consistently interrupted mentally wears you down, so you don\u2019t have as much drive or energy to do anything later on when you do have time. It would also be nice if I had more regular hours. As it is now, I can\u2019t get into any sort of routine. It\u2019s mornings these days, evenings these days, weekends these days. Blagh!<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the Animation Mentor graduation in California. Part of me thinks it would still be fun to go, but another part of me isn\u2019t sure it\u2019s worth the trouble, time, and money. I have yet to get to know any classmates as well as I would like; certainly not enough for a trip out to California to seem like something I must<\/em> do. I’d rather save my money and try to get a pitch meeting for my cartoon series idea…<\/p>\n Anyway, fortunately, so I don\u2019t completely fail out of Animation Mentor and\/or go completely insane, I\u2019ll be taking a leave-of-absence for at least a month and a half (maybe more?), starting two weeks from today. I can\u2019t wait to have all that extra time to put into animation and polishing my shots. And<\/em> hopefully the time and energy to pursue my other creative endeavors.<\/p>\n While I look forward to the leave, it makes these last two weeks of work complete torture. It’s like the last days of school before summer vacation — the mind can concentrate on little else besides the presumed luxury of the impending freedom.<\/p>\n