A New Way to Boost Your Demo Reel in 2025

[@SirWade]

This is an idea that I'd like to see more people try, because this is what helps us all grow and have interesting conversations! And I think it would definitely help you land a job at a small to mid-size studio, or your next freelance gig :)

[@TimotheosFraser]

Very helpful, Sir. I'm currently a student at Animation Mentor, and my greatest struggle right now is *blocking,* because it forces the creation of a pass of animation that won't look complete yet. This goes against the grain of how I earned animation when I was younger through stop motion; Straight ahead, & try to get it right in one go. Due to the nature of my stop motion practice, if my first pass didn't look how I wanted, I just had to _start over._ So seeing a blocking pass of choppy animation in 3D pings that sense of defeat, even if what I have is only the beginning. I think I should start this documenting process, so that I can remind myself of the next steps when I experience this.

[@sno7599]

i'm not an animator, i'm also only a student. but i used to do this and i got corrected and told very quickly not to do so. because "they don't care. they need to know you can do the thing you're' supposed to do. don't overcrowd your project with information they don't care about. they won't read the discription they won't care about the ugly parts. they need to know you can make the asset they need from you." so i'm kinda iffy on this. I've had companies sked me specifically to document my process and show it. and I've had teachers and industry professionals tell me that the person looking at my portfolio will never be interested in anything else then the thumbnails because they have to many portfolio's to go trough. perwonally i love flipping trough artstaiton looking at peoples process. but i geuss i'm differnt from the Hiring manager or whoever looks at the portfolio's

[@SirWade]

I think the main thing to keep in mind is that your demo reel itself should *just* have the final work with none of this. But having this idea as a supplemental piece of content is where the magic is :) Because yeah, a recruiter likely doesn’t have the time to care about it- but if it goes beyond the initial look and it comes down to a decision between you and another animator- who knows! It could be the thing that makes the difference

[@silasrobledo]

Great insights as always, Sir! It's funny how the pressure to present the most optimal version of a project can overshadow the real beauty in the process of creating something unique and special to you, which is actually what most Jobs, Studios, and Fellow Animators really want to see. This is a really good reminder, man.

[@RaviVarmapenmetsa]

This would be awesome to see! Could you make a tutorial on how you build an environment from scratch?

[@NorthwoodsInteractive]

Sir Wade, I completely agree, and I have been saying this to fellow artists. Although I am not trying to get a job at a studio, by showing my work on my channel, it creates value for other artists, and has directly led to many business inquiries through my production company.

[@ArvinAnimates]

Thank you Sir Wade, I was thinking of doing this, now I'm convinced to do these process videos!

[@8ShadesOfCyan]

Thank you for this great advice

[@SarpSerter]

I would love some of your advice on how to grow in social media/youtube as an animator

[@idkjr6060]

Id love to see how you made that environment

[@OfficialAEPBR]

Awesome!

[@falsehero4476]

I wish we had a timelapse of this environment you made.

[@SirWade]

I did record the whole process! I can turn it into a Timelapse on IG or TikTok. I was thinking of making a short video on the creation of that environment

[@omkolhe2006]

thank you