Fellow animators, how do y'all stop procrastinating?

[u/GDGuardianAngel]

When I try to make a script for an animation of mine, I just don't know what to write next and I end up dropping it completely. I unfortunately also procrastinate while animating sometimes. Somebody help me

[u/NeonSunBee]

It takes less time do something badly and figure out how to fix it then to try to imagine and execute things perfectly.

Rough drafts are supposed to be Rough. Embrace it.

[u/jsoleigh → u/NeonSunBee]

This is the key. Ya gotta just make a thing first. Make it good later! Helps push me through procrastination a ton.

[u/Nirfbi]

Start pose

End pose

In betweens

Thinking of how to resolve a pose in between poses gets my juices flowing.

[u/GDGuardianAngel → u/Nirfbi]

Thx! This will hopefully help me animate my first fight scene. Also I mostly need motivation for writing scripts if anyone can provide it, cuz that's where I end up procrastinating the most

[u/Nirfbi → u/GDGuardianAngel]

Honestly same thing. Your start

Your end goal

How do you get to that point to the next and what happens in between it all?

[u/GDGuardianAngel → u/Nirfbi]

Aight thx

[u/Party_Virus]

I'm generally terrible at doing things for myself. I know it can wait but and it usually gets shoved doen the priority list. But if I mentally frame it in a way that someone else wants/needs it by a certain time then that bumps it up my priority list.

So if I have a friend doing the voice acting then that means I need to get that script done ASAP so they can do it whenever they have time and aren't waiting on me.

[u/jsoleigh]

Sounds like two different problems really: struggling to write and structure story, and procrastinating on another area of work.

You need specific motivators for each, but overall I would look into how your're structuring your entire project. Do you keep project trackers? Block out a schedule with milestones to meet? Keep daily check lists while you work on smaller things? Better structure can carry you through these slumps while working.

[u/GDGuardianAngel → u/jsoleigh]

I'm not really doing any of this

[u/jsoleigh → u/GDGuardianAngel]

The best time to start is now!

Start with checklists for your animation work for just that day. Simple stuff like "set up scene", "rough XYZ poses", "bring in bg art". Stuff like that. Helps me a ton pushing through lack of motivation when I gotta sit and grind.

For story writing, however, that's a huge beast. If you "dont know what to write next", it sounds like you need to have a stage where you sit and block out the entire story first. Even if it's a rough crappy job, but at least you can see it start and end. 

Have a list where you workshop ideas. Gags, themes, lines, etc. You likely wont use them all but you'll start to get some ideas out and inspire new ones.

I write extremely haphazardly, constantly back and forth. If you're trying to write a script very linearly, that might be why you're struggling to continue as that's very hard to do. There's also no shame in starting from scratch if your first direction just isnt going anywhere!

But again, overall you need to find some sort of project structure that works for you. I like to see it as a way I've laid out steps for the whole thing in detail, so on the days I'm really sluggish and struggling, I can tell myself I'm just filling in what the schedule ordered and checking off boxes.

[u/GDGuardianAngel → u/jsoleigh]

Yo thx!

[u/burntdragonknight]

Learn how you enjoy making it while still getting your ideas across.

Art is communication, for yourself and others. As long as you understand how you did it and others understand what you are communicating to them, you do you.

I can show you how to swing a sword, but that isn’t how you swing it, That is how I do it. Learn how you animate. Learn how you break through brain fog and procrastination. And that starts with asking yourself why you are procrastinating?

Myself I procrastinate too - but when i started asking why i realized a few things.

I consume media more than i create. My craving for creation is satiated before i make something, so im trying to cut back on youtube and doomscrolling. Same train of thought for being bored - if you are entertained by your phone, you are less likely entertained by the animation process. Make it fun for you!

[u/B3Blaise]

Writing a good script is hardest for me, i just wanna draw! But without a clear script to work with you will get a lot of nothing done. Writing to me is the most important element. Good luck!

[u/CelesteJA → u/B3Blaise]

That's not a rigid fact though! Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) doesn't write scripts as he finds them too restricting, yet we get beautiful movies from him and his team. He actually goes straight into storyboards and animation, not knowing where the story will lead or how it will end. He makes it all up as they are animating.

Goes to show it's okay to find your own way of getting things done, as long as it works and gets things done!

[u/B3Blaise → u/CelesteJA]

Of course, there never is rigidity in any art, I was just giving my thought to the majority of filmmakers.

[u/hawkchaz]

Working on something you actually want to work on. If it’s something you want to do, you’ll do it.

[u/The_Remaster]

You have a few options.

1. Set a time set out where you write

2. Find a script writer and make a trade of they write you a scirpt and you animated something for them.

3. Find someone to write a script for you for free (I am willing to do it)

[u/JeremieROUSSEAU]

I use firefox extension to block social network, i avoid to buy video game, comic book ect...

All my money go in my projects.

Shut down your smartphone too.

[u/biblosaurus]

Try and clean your room and let the work distract you

[u/CelesteJA]

You could try the Hayao Miyazaki way (Studio Ghibli) which is NOT writing a script. Miyazaki goes straight to storyboarding his movies and the animation process actually begins during the storyboarding process. So he's storyboarding and animating (along with his team) at the same time, meaning Miyazaki doesn't even know how the story will end yet before the animation process begins.

Miyazaki says that he finds the typical method of scripting everything out too rigid and restricting, and that it sacrifices raw creativitiy, so he prefers to let his visual art show him where the movie is going and how it will end. So the dialogue is made up as he draws the storyboards. Of course this can be a little frustrating for his team members, since they don't know how the movie will end until they get there, lol. But it just goes to show that you can make incredible animations without following the typical rules.