How I stay motivated 

You may not have gotten the rewards you were looking for from your pitches, but I'm so impressed by your willingness to pursue your own thing. You're an inspiration to many of us!

“If I finish this sketch I can watch an episode of (insert good show)!” *my brain being too good at worming out of stuff* “or you could watch it now” “..... you know what you give a compelling argument”

Motivation from within list: 1.) Self Challenge 2.) Self Incentives 3.) Finding Solutions 4.) Find the Fun in It!

I think to be actually motivated, from my own experience, is that there is probably a thing in your life that is bogging you down. It is always worth it to ask yourself “What are the problems in my life that’s making me not do things?” I would then say contribute time to manage and solve those problems. Personally I am a lot more motivated because the problems that I have with myself are solved.

I'm motivated by the project itself. All I want in life is to get my stories out there, I don't care if nobody sees it.

just what i needed rn, i was super motivated this past week but the past 2 days been a struggle. thx for the reminder 💙

so motivation by fear is like using the dark side of the force, short and effective, but physically and mentally taxing

You don't need motivation because motivation is CRAP. Motivation LEAVES YOU. You have to be DRIVEN in order to see the end product of a project you're doing. When you're driven, whatever is standing in your way will be DESTROYED. I learned this from David Goggins and take it to heart.

As animator I always felt moltivated animation was everything in my life until i suffered from depression. It took a long time to get motivated again.

Another secret is to not get bored. If it's fun, you'll stay motivated

I don't remember the exact quote, but it's similar to: ''When not doing it is harder than doing it, you don't need motivation''. I guess it applies more to personal projects.

From what I gather you’re saying external motivation can be good but often be either fleeting, fickle or disloyal, but in the long run internal motivations can set you up on a path to be more disciplined.

Something that really helps me as someone with depression is having a "schedule" which is a loose term in the way I am using it here. It can mean different things to different people, but essentially it is accepting that I have a disconnect in my mind because it is elsewhere, and doing things anyway. How does one just do things anyway? It's not always an option, but what is possible is to motivate yourself by only one core issue that isn't specific to "doing tasks." What I do is I take my depression and make it the single motivator in my life. I am going to get up and do things I used to care about, not with pressure to care about them suddenly, but because I care about MYSELF and my wellbeing. It is just a thing I have to do, like brushing my teeth. It can start small, but making things a part of your day will eventually help you to remember how you might feel about them. If I cannot care about my life first, I'm not healthy enough to draw. And often it is the first step to movement when in depression is to get your core self to be self considerate. To work yourself out of the worst of it and get help where you need to, use coping mechanisms, and then you will start to move again. When I start drawing, I do it with no motivation, inspiration, almost no memory of why I wanted anything in my life or cared about doing things. And that's okay because I do it anyway and it is what teaches me the opposite. It shows me simple things, and grand concepts, and the way stories have changed me, and that monotony exists even in things we care about, and that it is okay because it is worth it. I compare it to my depression. It's okay to have that monotonous depression because I am worth it. I do this because I am worth it. That is how it becomes a core part of me despite those feelings, because it is something I've been working on. Life isn't all drawing, life isn't only about the one thing that "gives you purpose." The point of your life is more than that thing, and isn't easily defined or even definable. You are enough. And you are more than enough. And you will be more than this.

Starting to think this guy can read minds. Was just thinking about this

This comes up all the time in all creative fields, not just animation or art. I'm an author and I've been giving people this advice for many years and it's amazing how many people are vehemently opposed to it. They think that they need to be constantly motivated from the outside, they need to constantly be told how wonderful they are and it's why they never get anything done. You need to work because you want to get it done. Everything comes from within. You have to be able to hold yourself accountable. Fantastic video. I might send people your way the next time someone whines that they're not motivated.

It's like I'm having a therapy session every time I watched your vids and this helped me a lot :') Love from PH.

The way I motivate myself is picturing me in the next day and trying to see how I spent the day before (today). Would I feel good if I use this time that will never come again, for something productive or un-productive?

"In a way you just can't get out of work mode" THAT. I need to take a deep breath.

Thank you very much ! This really helped alot :)

Just as I was questioning why I'm not being productive, thanks mate!

Usually, to incentive my self I create a list with checks to check when I finish a especific part of the project (like characters desing ofthe project, background, storyboard and etc...). And everytime that I check a item of the list I feel so happy

Motivation by fear has led me to stop working on personal projects and work to the point that I want to do something else , like customer service or something. Hopefully I will manage to get out of this loop. Thanks for this video.

Hi, really appreciate to see this video because recently I'm super struggled with my personal short and it caused procrastination. Thanks for your inspiration.

I looked at this because if I substituted the topic of "art" with "school," I have the exact video I want! So thank you

This was surprisingly helpful! I find that a lot of these videos tend to just be some jaded person who just goes "Motivation is bullshit! you just do it." without really giving any answers or solutions. This video has some really good ideas that i want to try. It's especially hard to focus with my Autism and ADHD, but it's something i know i have to overcome.

THIS doesn;'t just apply to animation! This is how I do things as an editor too.

That is so insightful. Motivation is fickle. A mood can change like the weather. I know from experience that I'll never be in the mood to do something I don't 'want' to do. The completed project will be exciting. Keeping that picture in my mind will help me finish.

I'm in my early 60s. I'm finding that an aging body can affect your motivation. I remember that, from when I was a kid up until my mid 40s, motivation wasn't hard to come by. If I wanted something, or wanted to accomplish something a lot, my motivation to get it was off the charts. I did things I thought I'd never do the achieve something. Now, that kind of passion doesn't come quite as frequently, if it comes at all. Those things that I used to love to do, like drawing cartoons or playing music, I don't feel the same level of passion for. And there are many factors that can cause this. Some of them you mentioned. Fear and pressure. If they go on for years, they will take their toll on you. Then there are physical changes that happen with age, like shortages of the things in the brain or the nervous system that deaden your ambition.

The 'motivation by fear' really hits my junior highschool years. I unintentionally went into this mindset because of all the pressure of having good grades, good performance etc. And I didn't last long. Those days we're really tough for me, the fear that I've built up for myself, so heavy carrying at my back going to school everyday, my mind and soul just wants to blow up. Good thing that I've moved on to that and now I can say that I'm livin a positive life working as a freelance artist at the same time a college student :)

My mentor suggest me to watch some of your videos. I'm mostly watched about like these rather from the tutorials for the animation (might be because I want to set on my mindset into the good ones first before watching the tutorials). These type of videos really are the ones that I'm curious about, how to have it, and what their different kind mindset because I have the hard time figuring it by myself. You have a new fan and supporter, looking forward to watch your videos.

So I'm an underaged non-professional artist and its extremely hard for me to become motivated and currently my motivation drives my productivity since I'm not forcing myself to draw that much. However, I do have 3 additional tips to how I keep myself motivated! The first might not apply to everybody but me and my mom have maladaptive daydreaming, so because of that I end up drawing scenarios and characters that I randomly come up with😅😅😅 Second is watching other people being productive. I don't know what it is but watching other people being productive in any way at all sets something loose in my head that just gives me an extra push in a way. The last one is mainly for when I've already started something and I cant bring myself to finish it but it can be applied to other scenarios as well. Thinking about how good I can make the final product if I really try to do it well, or just imagining that satisfying moment of when you've just finished a big project or piece.

True. Motivation isn't motivation if it's fear. It's a bad health mind set I need to get out of.

It's not just about "doing the work", like you said it's about creating habits/routines to where it's only natural for you to keep going. One way to help yourself do this is by changing your environment. Put your game console out of reach, buy a sketchbook, whiteboard/notebook for ideas, make a rough schedule and place it on your desk. Ask yourself: "what would be a fair workday for me?". Don't go overboard because you wouldn't start exercising with 100kg lifts or 20km runs either. Make the challenge manageable. Even just putting in one or two hours a day would go really far!

I think this video will be helpful to me because when you see such a big community such as the youtube animator community, it makes animation look easy, but you know how difficult it can be when you actually try to tackle it, and it can be very demotivating to see great animators, or even just lots of animators doing so many things where you struggle so much :') I mean I'm not even kidding, there are masterpiece animations coming from people who just started, and they make it look so easy xD

Most of the times I don't feel motivation until I actually start drawing

you did it again, you uploaded it at the perfect time! I've been working from home since october and my mental state got worse with every week so my motivation for work projects and personal ones left me completely. thank you for this video!

The cute opening music, puppy, and harmless voice makes my heart soft

I have found great results with a giving myself a reward at the end of certain milestones, and by challenging myself with each project,fantastic video by the way

Gosh i needed this so much, I constantly get stuck in this rut where if every single external factor isn’t exactly right i won’t be able to work at all and that, coupled with a few mental health issues is a challenge to say the least. How true this video was!! Thank you for the reality check👏

I remember that during cheer season, our coach would have us run laps and I was *so* motivated by the fact that I could be the best on my squad. Competition. It was my motivation.

You are wise in the ways of production. I completely agree. I have 22 years of making my own animation for Dark-skin people.

I know it soudns stupid, but my demotivation comes from not being at the level where I can put the crazy shit that's in my mind onto a canvas. I know, I know. It takes time and dedication to get there, but if I was at a certain level I dont think I would run out of motivation that easily anymore even though I know that you always feel to be not good enough.

Thanks for the motivation advice. I too have gotten lots of work done while feeling very unmotivated, but animating helps me feel better. It's kinda relaxing when you're stressed out.

The reward one you mentioned: That one bit me hard. I did a 13 page comic that I was really focused and motivated to complete. I worked on it daily for a year. When it was done, I was expecting some external thing to happen, but it didn’t really change much and it was unrealistic to think that my first comic in years would really change things for me. It really made me bitter for awhile and felt like I was just wasting my time. This video was really nice. Thanks for the tips!

I've always had a different idea of motivation on mind. Before I start working on stuff, I feel less motivated, however, once I start working, I eventually get Very focused and more pushed to keep going. It's a weird thing that happens to me, but it works.

This video was extremely inciteful and something I didnt know I needed to hear. Thank you so much for making it!

I have motivation problems I want to animate or draw something but as soon as I start immediately want to do something else this my help me

I never really considered thinking that we should rely on motivation that comes from myself, it really does make sence that that should be the case rather than relying on external motivators. Thanks for that 💕

Saw thumbnail and immediately liked. Progress almost has nothing to do with motivation its about dedication homies

I found that learning to appreciate the process rather than trying to be motivated is a much better way to approach something and you're more likely to more truly reflect how you're feeling inside. If you don't enjoy the process, don't fight it and choose something else to do.

Coming from personal experience as a Freelancer, you have the words of wisdom. I hope many artists will be able to learn the art of moving forward in work despite many challenges through a mixture of these amazing tips (external and internal validation) varying over time.

It's great to hear I'm not the one struggling with motivation these strange times we live in. Getting into flow is the hardest, especially when you share living with someone, interrupting your flow with their banalities lol. Being alone is bliss for any artist.

Thanks for making these videos! Ever since I watched your video about how to stay productive and started using the tomato timer, I've been able to make so much more progress on my personal projects! That little break really does help a lot! I really appreciate you taking the time to give free advice to budding artists, it leaves a really good mark on the world! :)

If I don’t get my motivation, my art turns trash and I can’t draw well. I feel bad about it, and I do just need motivation! When I do have motivation I have decent-not good art but when I am not motivated , I can’t focus, I can’t get drawing, I get art block when ai try to draw, and it looks like trash. Motivation is the one thing that is keeping me drawing, and stuff. It’s a hobby now and that’s it. I just want to get out there in the future.

Hi there, I saw the title on this one and it brought a smile to face. Great vid! I find you very motivating! Love the reward idea. I will use that for some of the non art things in my life ( like house cleaning - that, I need motivation for).

I agree with fear and competition being good motivation tools. I noticed that I’ll wait till the last minute to start a project and then push myself to complete it. Crazy idea flows in at this point. I like the challenge of friendly competition

I'm about to take some college classes for the second and hopefully final time to graduate. My biggest problem (besides adhd) is staying motivated, and with class starting in two days, I was having a touch of panic. This video in my feed was perfect, and I'll definitely be snooping out your other video(s) on it. Thank you man.

I do have issues with spotty motivation; you''ve helped me realize that other factors besides motivation can be at play to make sure you get what you want done DONE. thank you for sharing.

my main issue with motivations is, i get hyperfixated on things fast, but they also fade fast, so ill come up with an idea, get hyperfixated on it, but then get hyperfixated on something else, to the point i cant work on it anymore.

This is both relatable and helpful, thank you🤜🤛

i kept beating myself for other successes. thank you very much sir for providing these advices.

routine, schedule, and small rewards for accomplishing small goals.

love how you tease your oncoming projects at the end

scheduling and routines. Also set up a good working environment

I thought the reward of all those shorts was that.... now everybody sees you as the king of Indie Shorts around here, you are like that guy

Awesome advice! Your videos are a godsent to newbie animators, like myself. Recent(ish) grad here, launched my full-time freelance career last year. Right now my biggest struggle is going from, working on my own projects all the time, to having a small amount of time or no time to do so. I suffered crippling burnout at the end of the year, due to poor management of my personal projects, I was working 10+ hours every day with little breaks (in this hellish isolated environment). It wasn't fun.. so I took two months off my personal work to recover, and I have! But my question of how to manage your personal work with full-time freelancing is still haunting me. So far I know there's some animators who strictly work on their personal projects on the weekend, and not straight after work. Which I have been adopting, but sometimes I feel like I should be spending more time. But then I fear that if I do, I'll end up burning out again.

As a recent graphic Designer graduate, I procrastinate a ton and have made a ton of excuses why I don't get my design done. It's time to change that and thank you for your perspective, it really helps!

I'm realizing that this probably applies alot more to passions and hobbies than finding the drive to do homework

haven’t animated since i was 16 due to my own self-doubt, 21 now just bought two laptops, and installed adobe animate and using a drawing tablet. lesgoo

Thank you for your time and work ❤️

You're saying it's better to stay motivated externally, but you are part of what helps me stay motivated haha

This seems like wonderful advice for neurotypicals and Neurotypicals should probably strive for this, but I feel a responsibility to point out that for ADHD ppl and similar mental disabilities these kinds of rigid productivity systems are worse than useless because they actually kill your productivity. No shade to this guy, he's a great animator and this is good advice for him and people with his type of brain and it's worthwhile that he shared it, but for my fellow neurodivergents, some advice that's more applicable to our chaos brains lol (this stuff has worked for me): 1. Have a dark why: you know that quote "a man who has a why can bare almost any how"? Well if you have ADHD or even really bad depression you can't really rely on "Because I want to affect people with my art". Instead, use fear or anger to give yourself mental energy. I good way to do this that I find is sustainable is to make yourself angry. Like, that righteous kind of anger you feel when you think about the fucked up world you live in. A lot of the times when I really need emotional energy to make art, I force myself to think about the economy or social injustice or something. When I'm feeling unapologetically pissed as hell, I use that energy to make art. It might sound toxic, but I can assure you turning negativity into something positive is less so than always doing everything for the most altruistic reasons and expecting yourself not to burn out. Struthless had a great video where he went over this in detail. He suffers more from PTSD, but it's very useful for ADHD, too, I've found. 2. *Ethan Becker voice* don't you EVER eat the frog! NEVER EVER!: What I mean by this is never start with the hardest task, because then nothing gets done. Instead do the fun stuff first (whatever the fun things is at that moment) and work you way up to the crappier stuff. You'll be already in the flow so the thing your dreading will be easier. 3. Make excuses for your excuses: if your reading this because you have ADHD and are trying learn to be productive, er, some bad news buddy: your never gonna stop making excuses. Sorry, that's just a fact. Your not lazy, your brain is just wired to make them. In fact, we actually have an outrageous work ethic (if I didn't have ADHD I don't think I would have learned so many disparate skills. Not a lot of neurotypical people could learn to draw, animate, sculpt, 3D model, texture those models, rig those models, make 3D rendering, composite those renders, learn basic jazz theory, realize I should have been focusing on sound selection all these years, feel stupid for learning what a tritone inversion is when I just wanted to make melodic dubste- yeah I wish I was making any of that up...) but the issue is, unlike a neurotypical, we don't have conscious control over it, so you need to trick your brain. The "dark why" is really useful for this, but I've also found that countering the excuse your brain makes with better excuses is exceedingly useful. If your brain is like, "maybe instead working on this project I should watch all of arcane again" you need to come up with a compelling excuse to act as a reverse uno card. You can even mix in a dark why I to this,"Do you really wanna force your self to watch a show you've already seen all the way through just to avoid making this one model? Also, like, it takes you, like 3 hours tops to finish a rig, and your not even using a premade base mesh? Tbh when your not overcomplicating your working it takes barely over an hour, and the model looks better. Like, you've timed this before my dude." Obviously I'm projecting here but you get the point.

Excellent! Such a good reminder and summation of all the ways to motivate oneself. Making it fun or relaxing is a huge one for me! 🧐

This is pure truth. Just keep moving forward. 💖🙌

Just remember, it doesn't matter what you do. There will always be a 14-year old in Asia that can do whatever you do but far better.

Sort of like what you said about rewarding yourself for a good job, I constantly mark my calendar depending on how productive I was that day. Obviously a red X is for nothing, an orange check is for when I do _something_ at least, a green check is for doing something substantial that I do regularly anyway, and a big, fancy green check for when I do something big and new like animation. Even if it's little, being able to actually see my productivity in front of me helps, and marking that big, fancy check makes being productive more satisfying. The orange check and even a blue check when something extraneous and necessary takes precedent, like school work, both still make the other things I do feel substantial enough. Plus I customized it to have my characters on it so it's just more fun to have anyway~

I just watch amazing animations to stay motivated-sometimes it works and i can do it ^^' I am stuck in a rut mentally but I'll get there

This video actually contains some great advice. I'm trying to learn German and Coding by practicing a little everyday, but the motivation to keep going died out really quick. After seeing how other people were motivated, how they were able to get things done (Telepurte), I know that all I have to be is consistent. I don't have to go above and beyond every day, but If I just be consistent then I can accomplish the goals I set out to do.

Dude you just saved my life.

I've thought the same. It's like relying on something magical to come and save you, taking the steps to improve your life yourself is more important in my opinion. Its good to have but at the end of the day you're never gonna be 100% motivated all of the time. If you like art, its more about willpower. You need to practice to get better. You wont always feel like drawing, but doing so when you don't feel motivated doesnt necessarily mean you wont enjoy it either.

I can relate to this Ever since I graduated from uni, I found myself a bit lost and really wanted a job in storyboarding to keep me steady But then I came to a revelation. that by setting up my own personal goals and projects, I'm able to keep growing and sleep more soundly

You're right motivation is sometimes an excuse But it can help Thanks mr toniko i'm always learning from your videos 💕💕💕

Well this just inspired me... Linxy- (Thank you so much for this video, I really needed this, I've been stuck watching RU-vid so I never got to animation. So thank you!!) ♥😽👍♥

I was just thinking about this topic. I'm making a fangame and the "find solutions" part is exactly what I'm applying the most. I made a "template game" with an interface, items, enemies' behaviors, bosses' patterns and characters' controls already programmed, so I can reskin it to any set of sprites or world. And since I made this using placeholder art (that's why it's turning into a fangame as well) I just have to change sprites and make new stages to make new games. No work from the blank canvas or programming a billion things from scratch until I lose interest in the game again for a long time for me. And that motivates me as heck, more than anything else! Thank you for the insight, I pretty much agree with everything you said here.

I actually started recording timelapse videos and while it isn't necessarily something that solves the motivation problem for me, it's really insightful to watch how I did things on an artwork, regardless of quality. It helps inform me what works, what doesn't and what other methods have I not tried yet.

Coincidentally, I really needed this video. I've been really wanting to use my spare time to work on a demo reel for free lance animation projects, but I expect so much from myself and when I look back at my work it usually never gets done because I'm afraid I wont be good enough for hire, or that I dont know where to start. I usually spend like 30 minutes to an hour working a day on a project and it slows down more and more. Hopefully I'll be able to learn something as I watch this vid.

I "work" in 3D, if I'm stuck on one thing I try tackling another, working in a constantly shifting industry is sometimes tiring but most of the time it's really what keeps me going. I can view every problem as a puzzle with a small selection of solutions and finding the most productive, non destructive way to work can be very rewarding and motivating/

0:12 is beautiful.

I think what motivates me, if I'm working on a Model in Blender and find out something new or discover something that helps my workflow, that just motivates me to continue going like just recently I found out how to Remesh my models for Sculpting and now I'm able to do more detailed sculpts which is motivating me to get closer to Character Sculpting.

self-challenge motivator to me seems to be the most stable motivator. personally it prevents the trap of getting caught in the over-thinking like what if your efforts do not pay off in the end either financially or gain approval from others. At least you done and achieve something amazing in your eyes since you just learnt a new skill that can be used in many mediums. So many fears can plague a creative's mind to the point of constant procrastination. If you have never created a study schedule like how teachers prepare them for you before i think that's another factor of lack of clear direction/goal/purpose. And depending on your circumstances, how you want your attentions to be focused or redirected will be in your hands. Personally, if a lot of time is spent on entertainment your time that you could have used for building skills have been burnt. Moderation is important. i cannot survive without entertainment in small doses like you have no idea.

Oh damn, this made me realize that i did the internal motivation you listed with even knowing in the first. Especially on "Finding Solutions" and "Find the Fun in It". Just today, that i have to make a video for an assignment and i thought about what part should i record and how to edit the parts together. Maybe i should pay close attention to the internal motivation and use it to my advantage (even though i tend to be doubtful of myself).

encouragment? i guess that's fair my friend: *haha long neck go brrrr* also my friend: *haha square face go brrrr*

This is really well articulated and relevant. Thank you for taking the time to make this.

For me personally it was going to bed at a decent hour (not 3am) and choosing to exercise every morning before working. The results have been amazing, Ive given up coffee entirely now because I just dont need it anymore. I think energy levels are a huge factor to motivation.

Thank you for this video, can’t believe I haven’t even thought of some of these things ! I’m about to start work on my own animated short film and I’ve been very anxious about doing it at all but I’m going to go into it keeping all this in mind and also learning to be patient with myself

Very good video. I live by this a lot actually. Since i have depression and several other mental stuff, its really hard to have pushes of motivation like when i was a child. the world starts to just be boring and you have to be the one who creates themselves and not demand content from others all the time. we feel very rewarded by social media but what i noticed is....a lot of friends and others linger around me asking for motivation constantly claiming they are bored and not motivated and depressed... and i have to distance myself from this, since i am also depressed but i learned that i can create stuff and not constantly reject all ideas that come to me. thats a huge step in motivation: accept that you need to finish a thing and try a new thing. and then do it. only by yourself and not by any other pushes from life. then you become an engine that keeps you going since you depend on YOU and not other sources. Also: stop perfectionism. just stop it. you will never finish anything ever since you always feel like its not good enough. meanwhile, you sulk about others doing things. and slowly getting better. and then the stress sets in. thats a horrible state of mind and its very limiting to yourself. rather accept that things are a process. they are just a step in a huge line of steps until you have something done. rather give a presentation that is 60 to 80 percent done than not give any presentation and claim to be so much better than others but you have nothing to show for since you aimed for 100 percent at the start and set yourself up for failure.

you are a true inspiration thank u

On the "reward" part, i think there are 2 ways you can reward yourself from making something: You can reward yourself if you get X result (like get published, or get into a certain school, etc) OR you can reward yourself for Doing Z (like drawing 1 hour today, or researching a hard subject, etc). And my impression of the research is that it is much better to reward the DOING Z, ie, Reward the process, instead of rewarding yourself if you Hit X.

For those who can't still find motication, We are human , biological creatures defined by the laws of nature , we are destined to be great and not so grat at the same time as we all have the same odds, just remember that the only thing stopping you is your will to keep pushing forward. As an honest example I'm learning unreal right now , and aside from all the technical bits I'm struggling with the "Whys?" of my work, we all want to make things which affects each other in the long term, but for that to affect us we need to look deep into ourselves, the pleasure were missing is in the work were avoiding . Remember , its not just you who will be affected by your work , you want to inspire others to do the same , An inspiration for inspiration , We are artists and we should create without any one stopping for any kind of bias, Dude , just make a square on a sheet of paper if you relate to it and can find what do you want to feel from it , its that simple , DO NOT STOP, P:S: I'm saying most of this for myself , but idk how many will agree with me , even if you don't , just keep on creating , We still haven't even met aliens so we don't know the possibilities of the universe rn , but maybe, one day we might be right , Wont you feel happy to be right when you are referred in the future?

I agree external factors are not effective compared to the internal factors, especially from my experience. This was a good video! Good Job bro!