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Simply posting this looking for others to join me in being frustrated. Also, if you have suggestions for getting past this, I'm all freaking ears. Been doing video work for some time, and been doing creative work in the realm of design a little longer. I'm 29 and feel pretty well into my career. But the past 3-5 years have been so. incredibly. frustrating. I remember earlier being so excited to learn new things, try new skills out, see my work grow, etc. But it's been more like treading water. I've learned new things (Cinema 4D being chief among them) and made a living, but my work just sucks by every standard I have. My newest employer is all about professional development, so I'm well-supported now to make room and spend money on training. I'm planning to sign up for Explainer Camp with School of Motion, and besides that have been trying to make more time for learning. And other than that I just work really hard and get projects finished. I'm hoping a combination of all of this can help propel me forward. We'll see. Just sharing this to vent and wonder if anyone else has had this experience in their career. I feel like I look around and don't see anyone else hitting these kinds of walls.

Hi Everyone. I'm fairly new to the field of motion graphics, and I first want to say that this online community is an excellent place for up and coming motion graphics artists like myself to study trends and get a feel for what clients might be looking for. I've been using After Effects for about three years, and Cinema 4d for a year. I am just starting to land some good paid gigs, but at the current time not enough for me to hand pick a great selection for a reel. However I have built up a decent toolset as far as techniques go, from some good online training series, as well as exploring creatively for countless hours. I've also been studying the principles of graphic design, creative direction, and animation for about three years. So I guess what I'm wondering is, when you don't have a large body of work to draw from, where do you get your ideas for personal pieces? Motion graphics is just a complex set of tools for communicating your message in a very creative way, but when your not advertising for a client, what is your message? I guess I'm looking for some real basic ideas to work with, and I'm just curious where and how some of you guys arrive at your messages? It seems useless for me to just make pieces that display techniques, but really don't have a point to them. I'm totally not looking to take any of your ideas and run with them. More looking to find out how your arrived at them, and some good tips for finding my creative motion graphics voice. Thanks to everyone who contributes to these sites regularly, so guys like myself can learn and eventually grow into the next generation of people who can contribute more... and sorry for the vague question.

Hi Everyone. I'm fairly new to the field of motion graphics, and I first want to say that this online community is an excellent place for up and coming motion graphics artists like myself to study trends and get a feel for what clients might be looking for. I've been using After Effects for about three years, and Cinema 4d for a year. I am just starting to land some good paid gigs, but at the current time not enough for me to hand pick a great selection for a reel. However I have built up a decent toolset as far as techniques go, from some good online training series, as well as exploring creatively for countless hours. I've also been studying the principles of graphic design, creative direction, and animation for about three years. So I guess what I'm wondering is, when you don't have a large body of work to draw from, where do you get your ideas for personal pieces? Motion graphics is just a complex set of tools for communicating your message in a very creative way, but when your not advertising for a client, what is your message? I guess I'm looking for some real basic ideas to work with, and I'm just curious where and how some of you guys arrive at your messages? It seems useless for me to just make pieces that display techniques, but really don't have a point to them. I'm totally not looking to take any of your ideas and run with them. More looking to find out how your arrived at them, and some good tips for finding my creative motion graphics voice. Thanks to everyone who contributes to these sites regularly, so guys like myself can learn and eventually grow into the next generation of people who can contribute more... and sorry for the vague question.

Hi all, I have no jobs at the moment and I'd really want (and need) to do some spec work/personal projects to get better and pump my reel. The fact is: my creativity seems to kick in only when it's time to solve some problems, otherwise I feel totally demotivated and stuck. Like blank canvas syndrome I would say. I've been through this forever; I spend my days pumping up my software knowledge (tutorials, etc...) but when it's time to come up with something "mine" I'm stuck and frustrated. Some days I feel so lame and dull, geez... [/EndOfWhining] Any suggestions? Am I crazy talking? Is it common somehow? What's you way around it? Thanks. You could even give me some problems to solve to help me. If you wish. Thanks.