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Hello Fastlaners,
I spent the whole of last year learning how to animate using free software, with the goal of creating a fan animation YouTube channel that produces videos of 8 minutes or longer.NOW HERE WAS MY STRATEGY:
1) Why an animation channel?Animation is a specialized skill.
Animation is difficult to create.
2) What is the channel about?
Fan animations of funny moments from streamers and YouTubers. (I create quirky animations from your favorite internet laughs.)
3) Why fan-made content?
It helps grab attention and leverage it for future business ventures. (Essentially, piggybacking on someone else's "law of affection.")
Please note that I live in South Africa. From my observation, we are not as online as other countries. I might be wrong, but we also earn less from advertisements. My reasoning was: If I can provide funny, relevant, and entertaining moments from streamers, I WIN.
4) Why 8 minutes or longer?
Most fan animation videos are under 1 minute. (Which makes longer videos a great way to stand out in the market.)
Does it make C.E.N.T.S.?
Control = Yes, I have control.Entry = Yes, I have control (Hard to make).
Need = No, but entertainment follows the law of affection.
Time = Yes, I have control.
Scale = Yes.
Magnitude = Yes, I have scale.
HOW THE YEAR WENT:
I spent the first four months learning how to animate. Well, for me, it was actually relearning how to animate revisiting my old work. I already knew how to animate, but not at a high level.Then came the hard part. It took me four months just to find the right free, open-source, or freemium software. Four months! I thought this would be the easiest part find the software, learn it, then find an 8-minute video (or smaller videos that add up to 8 minutes) to animate.
I needed software for:
2D Animation – OpenToonz
3D Modeling – Blender
Sound Design & Music – Ardour 8 + Video Monitor, Audacity
Video Editing – DaVinci Resolve
Scriptwriting – Trelby, LibreOffice
Storyboarding – Storyboarder
Lip Syncing – Papagayo, Papagayo-NG
Reference Gathering – PureRef, MyMind
Notes & Organization – Notion
I eventually found software for each task (or "category," as I’m referring to the different aspects of animation production). But what I didn’t expect was how difficult it would be to find tutorials and resources for these programs. Some software barely had any tutorials because so few people used them. Testing each one and learning new terminologies was incredibly challenging.
Keep in mind, for each category, there were four to five different software options that could do the job. I had to test them all to find the ones I would commit to for the long run.
SIDE NOTE:
Throughout this journey, I discovered some great paid, free, open-source, and freemium software. I wish there had been a list somewhere to help me make a quicker and easier decision (more on this later).Finding the right software was the hardest part. Learning a new program every week, failing repeatedly it takes a toll on you. It would have been much easier if I had found software with ratings and feedback so I could focus on one from the start. But there wasn’t such a resource. I had to do all the research myself, then deep dive into each software to determine if it would work for me.
It got to a point where YouTube and Google Ads were recommending me new animation software every single week.
Once that was done, I needed something to animate. From September to November, I worked on my first animation while testing different software at each step.
I took a problem-by-problem approach to learning:
"How to download a video from YouTube straight to my desktop" – tutorial.
"What to use to edit for free" – tutorial.
"How to export just audio" – tutorial.
"Storyboarding tutorial."
"How to lip-sync" – tutorial.
"How to write dialogue" – tutorial.
You might notice from my list that I needed software that focused on one specific function. My reasoning? If a software claims to do only one thing and gets high praise, it usually does that one thing exceptionally well better than multi-purpose software.
For example, let's talk about Blender:
I know Blender can handle sound design, video editing, and even 2D animation, but most people use it for 3D and VFX.
So, I only use Blender for 3D work and move on to a different program for everything else.
This is similar to how I treat my gym it's a place for working out only. No distractions. I apply the same mindset to my software.
MY RESULTS:
My goal was to upload an 8-minute animation by the end of the year. I failed.I only managed to create a 53-second animation.
I uploaded it, and it got 73 views, which isn’t bad. But the time exchange was brutal one animation took four months. And that’s not even including the time spent learning new software! I’m talking about just the actual production work: character design, storyboarding, and animation.
We all know how it works: Make something hard to create but easy to replicate.
Now, I understand why fan animations on YouTube are usually under 1 minute this is hard and not sustainable. If you don’t find a way to make it efficient, you will burn out sooner or later.
That’s why my original goal was to create 8-minute videos to stand out in the market as an outlier. Unfortunately, the time investment isn’t worth it right now. Even if I got 100,000 views, the money-to-time ratio is just too expensive.
MOVING FORWARD:
It's a new year. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m far ahead of where I started. I learned a lot.Now, I need your help.
Is this idea Fast Lane?
I want to build a website directory for all the apps, software, and links I found on my animation journey.
A website that helps people quickly find the software they need.
A place to discover new software they may have never heard of.
A resource with all the information needed to get started.
I don’t know if it makes C.E.N.T.S. (Control, Entry, Need, Time, Scale).
And no, my monetization strategy isn’t based on affiliate links.
I’ll be providing advertisement space for brands instead.
P.S. If you think this idea is Fastlane, or if you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to let me know. I'm all ears and would love to hear your thoughts!
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