How I stay motivated

In this video, I talk about how I try to stay motivated in my projects.
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[@moderndayjames]

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!

[@TonikoPantoja]

That means so much James! Thanks!

[@alanaflynn8878]

​@@TonikoPantoja I think often about your pitch animations when I'm working on my own stuff: "Whoa, Pantoja did that. I can definitely do this lesser project." Thank you for sharing your work and advice!

[@painandmisery8971]

Wow, just finished watching your perspective series. How did you get here? I mean KZbin is KZbin but i've never thought of seeing you here in the animator's corner.

[@kaelstefan2682]

@@painandmisery8971 True, but I guess artist's can jump from one medium to another.

[@highdefinition450]

Pitching sounds so exhausting and scary

[@mrpizzacat8273]

“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”

[@Smoses_senpai]

Yep my brain is too smart for its own good😅

[@yellow_jacket3260]

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.

[@vivvy_0]

trauma, anxiety, depression team up👀

[@screwselfrestraint]

Honestly same. It’s the “invisible” things that tend to have the biggest impact over time. Gotta clear out all life’s icky energies every now and again or the well gets tainted.

[@golfwang8084]

T H I S. With the pandemic and having to be isolated so much, my mental and physical health has gotten so much worse. I was diagnosed with (pretty severe) ocd, anxiety, and depression. I barely have motivation to shower or brush my teeth (tmi), and no matter how much I sleep I am always fatigued. It’s just so hard to do things, and not sit on my ass and play animal crossing all day. I wonder if getting therapy and a gym membership would be a good thing to look into, bc like you said there’s definitely something going on that needs to be fixed and I think it’s my mental/physical health ://

[@alice_tea]

@@golfwang8084 hi, it's been about a year since you posted this comment but I just wanted to ask if you're feeling better now. Physically and mentally. I really hope you got to see a therapist or a sophrologist and you got motivation back in your life. I totally understand you because I also feel a lot overwhelmed and unmotivated and tend to be really anxious. Anyways, I hope you're doing great right now. Wish you a good day!

[@foxylovelace2679]

I feel the same. I call them barriers. Maybe it's an unrealistic self expectation. Or anxiety over something. Or ignoring when my body or mind is tired. Dealing with those has made a huge difference.

[@Pengicitis]

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

[@chomeo6797]

Hey it's Pengicitis!!!! Hello man

[@BlissAnimations]

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.

[@jacktaktical]

same

[@Creed329]

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

[@Al-bt1pr]

From experience I’ve realized this is true.

[@Smoses_senpai]

I like the way you think 😄

[@golfwang8084]

Yup, pretty much

[@ComicalRealm]

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

[@milddiffuse]

I think most of the time there's quite a bit of boring things you have to push through to get to the really good stuff.

[@ItsJJOLO]

What I do to overcome that is do a few warm ups or a quick small doodle

[@milddiffuse]

@Ali Abedalrazek [._.] There's a wikihow for this I'm sure. "How to fun"

[@thenewgamer64]

whelp that'll be my struggle then. how to make art not boring anymore

[@ADeeSHUPA]

@Ali Abedalrazek [._.] uP

[@ezequielcunha2803]

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.

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

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.

[@SideBurns]

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.

[@moss5356]

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

[@Yeet-dl7tv]

Bruh I’m currently animating 🤣and I gave up

[@bluebeeboo]

Same here, I got like 3 animatics I started at the same time, and not even one got finished 😰

[@julhizantwo2277]

Really, i doing animation before new year and after that not even single frame

[@acidset]

Everyone, at least beginners, is constantly struggling with this or wondering about it, that's why it's always one of the most common question with art/skill related channels

[@leonardoromero2000]

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?

[@zigzaq]

what a helpful tip! thanks!

[@darienb1127]

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.

[@khaossecond]

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

[@FoxerZ]

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

[@kotlolish]

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

[@jessica2980]

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.

[@hinamatsuro1908]

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

[@EvyDevy]

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

[@awaitingthetrumpetcall4529]

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.

[@geebsawn1605]

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 :)

[@PixelatedEclipse21]

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.

[@cant_help_myself]

This is both relatable and helpful, thank you🤜🤛

[@critter_core]

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

[@MidnightThunderKid]

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

[@imbob5106]

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.

[@aaronpayne6486]

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

[@areakastudios6704]

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.

[@avatar1867]

Motivation is emotional momentum. A rolling rock, takes the most energy to start rolling, but less energy to keep rolling. Physics. People are the same. Momentum is easyer to keep, harder to start. Both emotionally and physically. So the trick is to get good at the hard part. Dont think about it, just start it. Do without doing. An then sustaining it will be easyer. Also true, learn to make things feel good.

[@DanielRamirez-ko2gg]

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

[@trustlesseyes]

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!

[@dwabees]

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 💕

[@GigaFullsMash]

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

[@billfisher3054]

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!

[@ItzMisterBlitzer]

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

[@xeraph02]

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.

[@sergioguzman4550]

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

[@marianaavilal]

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👏

[@daywalkernightstalker3828]

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

[@BitchspotBlog]

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.

[@ZuillVT]

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

[@BuizelCream]

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.

[@llynhunter]

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).

[@renarddubois940]

love how you tease your oncoming projects at the end

[@blue4669]

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.

[@InternetBINNY]

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.

[@dreampiper]

Dude you just saved my life.

[@isalinguica1353]

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! :)

[@harperiitmf]

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.

[@xix8165]

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

[@silvawolfe9496]

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!

[@inbetweenpalette5397]

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

[@beeeean]

scheduling and routines. Also set up a good working environment

[@Cakelovergirls]

Thank you for your time and work ❤️

[@rabsrabble5415]

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.

[@nekurokitsuraage3984]

Tbh i get motivation in 3am, once i start, i draw until i black out

[@weenfle102]

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

[@TangsTails]

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! 🧐

[@thatoneyounganimator6745]

0:12 is beautiful.

[@skullknight4579]

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

[@heimskr2881]

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.

[@LunaArtGallery]

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.

[@ZappFoxDog1402]

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.

[@Impulseka]

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.

[@robertpoole9707]

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~

[@eddyalienstudio7227]

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.

[@ranaaidarianto667]

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).

[@BlueBolt295]

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

[@cloudshifter]

I had motivation from other sources and on other projects motivation by fear. The first was always happening when I was working on other projects that I had no time to stop. The second one was even worse, I felt numb, like I didn't cared at all even at dire situations where the consequences where many.

[@grakxo2d]

Good job bro, greetings from México 💓💓💓💓💓💓I love your work

[@johnsoncensored9925]

quite interesting how philosophical this almost becomes

[@anacatarinasilva6421]

you are a true inspiration thank u

[@12DAMDO]

this is too relatable

[@wadalapichu4873]

the last one was the reason why i was able to finish my school animation project last semester. Im pretty sure that if i would have not being able to be in a call with my friends i would have gone crazy And i know this is corny but i hope everyone reading this would be able to accomplish anything u want, love u

[@eloylie]

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.

[@2DI0pictures]

I really needed this I've been loosing motivation to animate for a while now and this really helped

[@BlenderGuy1]

I was sitting here, and 10 minutes ago I was completely motivated to do this project but after five minutes BLAM!! I'm unmotivated, so I go to KZbin and guess what I find? EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!!

[@tomascoppinger8537]

Brilliant...thank you

[@beautifulspacesllc]

This was so helpful thank you so much

[@kio4173]

I can't even make a reference drawing without wanting to give up halfway through and wanting to cry myself to sleep.

[@fotisanimation8424]

I am from greece and i am really into animation and i do it all the time. But unfortunately here there arent so many people that i can surround myself with that are really into animation as well so i basically just move on and do my animations by motivating myself and not by others

[@imsatoboi]

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?

[@Teddeggs]

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

[@galacticdragon45]

*sonic starts dancing* Me: "no- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-" "...I found my new favorite channel"

[@marcinkarolewski3623]

I needed this video...!

[@fikamonster2564]

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.

[@veo2999]

My motivation is envy

[@are3168]

Your videos really add value in my life thaks

[@LeBongFairy]

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

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

2020 was so demotivational to me as many were. Between covid and the political messes. I can't enjoy the pleasures of animating when I'm stressed out of my mind. And now, knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train. I've been busy making assets and characters for my next animated short in Blender. And it feels good to create again.

[@jordandavis258]

i was about to give up on animating and now i might give it a second chance

[@dwabees]

Here cuz I struggle with this too, even right now T^T;

[@KaxenArt]

I really needed this right now

[@scardelapena]

9:37 i like this wolf character

[@iultimatecartoon]

motivation can work in different ways but don't get me wrong some motivation can keep you behind most of the time

[@Yipper64]

7:25 intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. The ones you just described are mostly extrinsic, which creates a risk of something called the "overjustification effect" which can make it harder to be motivated, making people feel like they need to cheat and stuff like that to get to their goals. So obviously intrinsic motivation is better. I think a big problem is when it comes to this, the way the education system is set up drills into everyone an extrinsic motivation of grades, all throughout childhood. And so I think most people are almost stuck to that kind of motivation afterwards.

[@acacklinghyena7494]

"How I stay motivated" The will to eat and live within 4 walls and a roof is my motivation lmao

[@IfigeneiaLogotheti]

Great great video. Definitely one to revisit again and again. Thank you Toniko Pantoja!

[@sethperez1718]

Just what i need dude, thanks

[@entertainmenthub812]

Damn, maybe I too should stay motivated

[@BouArts]

please do not remove automatically generated subtitles! I'm from Argentina and I'm not good at English and thanks to them I can understand your videos better