From: "David Torno" <AE-List@media-motion.tv>
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Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2019 13:24:46 -0700
Subject: Re: [AE] getting out of a rut
Message-Id: <BD562B03-F2AE-42C1-8B44-8B5E13B6F5CD@sydefxink.com>
References: <list-7449186@media-motion.tv>
In-Reply-To: <list-7449186@media-motion.tv>
To: After Effects Mail List <AE-List@media-motion.tv>

One thing I=E2=80=99ve learned nearly seven years ago about myself and my AE=
 work (that being my 14th AE year of the now nearly 20) is that I was hittin=
g AE boundaries everyday and it was holding me back. I had a well refined sy=
stem of solutions and efficiency. Nothing wrong with that, but it gets old, b=
oring, and repetitive fast. You can show work today up against ten years ago=
 and not tell which is newer.

Getting stuck in this cycle does not challenge you to think differently nor m=
otivate any personal progression or learning. You become a simple manufactur=
er. For a creative mind this can be death itself.

If you want to improve and/or change your work, you must first change your m=
ind, your tools, and goals. Doing this will allow you to start failing again=
 and therefore learning new ways to think and open up your mind to other pos=
sible interests or skills you didn=E2=80=99t realize you had. It=E2=80=99s a=
 leap of faith and scary as hell trying something new, but pushes you in fin=
ding that next step to better work or life.

For me, it was learning Cinema4D, Turbulencefd, X-Particles, Houdini, and ot=
her 3D software. All this over the last six years or so. It allowed me to mo=
ve forward and get closer to creative visions I was never going to accomplis=
h with AE solely.

And if leaping out of AE completely is not your desire then there are a numb=
er of third party tools that keep appearing each month that can give you dif=
ferent styles and looks.

I find following some science and tech profiles on Twitter and YouTube  insp=
irational visually, and mentally. They show a lot of things most people don=E2=
=80=99t think about daily that can help drive design, VFX, and just gets you=
 thinking outside the box sometimes.

YouTube:
Two Minute Papers
Smarter Everyday
The Slow Mo Guys
Physics Girl

Twitter:
@8infinite8 [Infinite Realities]
@mxsage [Articulation Copy (2)]
@fyfluiddynamics [Fuck Yeah Fluid Dynamics]


David Torno
818.391.6060
--------------------
https://vimeo.com/davidtorno (experiments & breakdowns)
https://gumroad.com/davidtorno (products for sale)
http://provideocoalition.com/author/dtorno (tutorials)

"The most useless day is that in which we do not laugh"
-Charles Field

> On Oct 14, 2019, at 10:08 AM, Cary Spenser <AE-List@media-motion.tv> wrote=
:
>=20
> All -
>=20
> Been creating AE since v3. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my wor=
k is looking repetitive after 23 years. Pretty embarrassed about it after do=
ing a retrospective of the last 5 years. IT ALL LOOKS THE SAME!  ;-)
>=20
> What to other do to get a fresh breath of creative juice, to break out of t=
he old patterns?
>=20
> Thanks.
>=20
> Cary