Yes, I just wrote a long, rambling post on some productivity tips, but here’s another one! I can always count on Jason Schleifer to find the best productivity tips for creative folks.

Today on his blog, he linked to a site called the Accidental Creative, specifically to an article about the importance of being “effective” rather than just “efficient.” It’s a great follow-up to his posts on Quality vs. Quantity in animation. Yes, you can break down your time and blow through tasks at rapid-fire pace. But how well are they getting done? How much focus are you really giving the important things in life?

Check out the Accidental Creative and learn how to “get to the good stuff.” Founder Todd Henry even has a book, “The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice,” and the first chapter is available for free download.

Thanks Jason!

While perusing my daily newsletters from Etsy  (in my spare time – ha! – I make jewelry), I came across a few more great articles from The 99 Percent. I love when I find articles or techniques that apply not only to animation, but the rest of my hobbies/life.

Since I am, ahem, unemployed, I work from a home office. It’s great. I have everything I need, including my pets. I also don’t have to drive anywhere. However, it does have some disadvantages. Because I work from home, I tend not to keep a regular schedule. I also give in pretty easily to distractions, which are almost constant. The dryer buzzes, the dog wants to go out and bark at nothing, I hear the mailman come by, I should really re-organize that closet… you know how it goes. You think something will take five minutes, and then somehow it’s dinner time. I’ve written on this before, but it’s an ongoing problem.

Because I am at least aware of this problem, if not always actively trying to fix it – sometimes there’s nothing more therapeutic than re-organizing a closet – I always keep a lookout for techniques/tips/tricks for battling distraction and staying focused.

The 99 Percent published an article called “A Day Without Distraction: Lessons Learned from 12 Hrs of Forced Focus.” Now, we can’t all be lucky enough to get 12 hours without some sort of distraction, but writer Cal Newport does bring up some interesting ideas. It essentially boils down to attacking tasks in 30-minute blocks. If you devote 30 minutes to small tasks, then they’re out of the way and hopefully off your mind until the next 30-minute block for small tasks. This method will ideally keep you focused on the task at hand for that block instead of constantly giving in to that desire to check your inbox.

The technique, called “Batching,” seems like a great idea for people who can break down tasks in that manner. Even if I tried to ignore the Internet – I sometimes disconnect mine when I’m in the zone on a shot – sometimes you gotta jump over and look for that amazing shot from some movie, or hit the forums somewhere to figure out WHY THE HELL MAYA IS DOING THAT EVEN THOUGH I’M PUSHING THE RIGHT BUTTON. Was that out loud? Sorry.

Newport realizes that not everyone can batch so cleanly. You should also check out his article, “Getting Creative Things Done: How to Fit Hard Thinking Into a Busy Schedule.” This article is a little more geared towards those of us who sometimes need to stare into space for our 30-minute block, trying to imagine the perfect acting beat or hand pose. Based on David Allen’s GTD method, this article points out some great ways to organize the nebulous mental state of a creative.

I’ll stop rambling and let you check out the articles for yourself, but before I go, I’d like to highlight the last bullet point Newport lists under his GCTD system: “Focus on process, not goals.” This is especially important as a student of animation. I constantly have to stop myself from looking at every shot as: “This one better get me a job,” and instead as, “I really hope to learn better body mechanics from this shot.”

As an animator, you’re NEVER going to stop learning. That’s what’s so great about the industry! So, to abuse an old cliche, focus on the journey, not the destination.

Happy trails!

Few feelings can trump the terror, frustration, and general homicidal tendencies that result from losing your work in Maya. We’ve all seen it (well, those of us who work on Macs): the pinwheel of death. You were totally in the zone, polishing away, just zipping through who knows how many frames. And then that little pinwheel pops up.

“Oh shit.” When’s the last time you saved? Who knows?! When’s the last time you got up to get a snack? Maybe you saved then? You can’t remember! And you won’t know how much time and work you’ve lost until the whole thing shuts down and feels like opening again.

In an attempt to help save the sanities of countless animators, Tim Sormin has provided Kenny Roy’s great animation site with a list of tools that will help remind you to save your work! Check it out here and save yourself some heartache.

And never forget, back ups are your best friend. I have external hard drives, jump drives, burned CDs and DVDs, and even some hard copies of text files. My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy (for many reasons, I’m sure), but I recently heard a sad story from a friend whose house was broken into while he was away. He had just finished his student film, was working for a small studio, and had some freelance gigs going. The burglars took everything they could find, including his external hard drives. With two weeks to go on a huge deadline, EVERYTHING was gone. That story shook me to my very core, and now I have back ups of backed-up back-ups.

My good buddy Mike Walling, who just finished work on Kung Fu Panda 2 has somehow found the time to make another great walk-through for Jason Ryan/iAnimate.net.

Shortly after joining iAnimate.net, Jason Ryan’s new online animation school, Mike put together a great in-depth walk-through on a body mechanics shot featuring one of the school’s characters, Skyscraper. Even though body mechanics is one of the few areas of animation I feel pretty comfortable with, I immediately purchased it. I do not regret a cent! (And Mike didn’t pay me to say that, although I should probably talk to him about that…)

This new tutorial, which is a very affordable $9.99, is a one-hour walk-through on animating overlap and follow-through using Totts, a “thing on a spring.” In addition to being a ball on a spring, Totts has a little feather or tuft of hair, which is perfect for illustrating these important concepts clearly.

Mike is largely self-taught and has had a pretty impressive journey to feature film animation, so I always enjoy seeing how he approaches different shots. I had the good fortune to work with him at Blue Sky Studios during Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and he was always willing to talk me through what he was working on, even during crunch!

I mean, let’s face it. A tutorial is a tutorial. They can be a bit dry and technical by nature. Mike, however, livens things up a bit by letting you watch him work on the technical stuff while he talks about broad concepts ranging from finding motivation, learning that it’s ok to fail and even better to fail A LOT, and how to keep finding the fun in what you’re working on. We all know how to set keys and adjust curves; that part doesn’t need constant narration. The real value in Mike’s tutorials are that they’re sort of two-in-one – the technical side and the practical side.

No matter what your skill level, these walk-throughs are great to check out, if only to see how Mike works. I’m looking forward to the next, which I hope will be facial expressions or acting.

I for one cannot wait to see Kung Fu Panda 2, in theaters this Friday (May 27). I saw a few clips during a recent visit to Dreamworks (see above photo), and I’ve heard amazing reviews of the film so far. Plus, if you visit the website, you can get a sneak peak of some of Mike’s work – he did the Po animation on the homepage!

PS – Mike, you can send me cash or a check for the plug. I kid, I kid.