7 ms·

Taking Up Animation as a Hobby

214 points by luu 6y ago

catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
I really like how the article phrases money as options. It’s really like a heart and mind question, and that I think is the biggest chasm to cross. At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts?
- catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
  also shameless plug - I wrote a prose on a similar topic about numbers: https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/ https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/
- pr0j3ctaway 6y ago
  >At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts? Yes. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's conclusion. Money is not the only thing which provides options; time does too. As you age, you tend to have fewer and fewer options. People usually think that freeing up time at the expense of a cushy salary is an enormous opportunity cost. But it is much rarer for us to think of freeing up money at the expense of time as a huge opportunity cost, even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I wonder why. After all, how often do we say things like "time is money" to each other?
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    Continuing the viewpoint of time as options, an epistle from near the BC/AD boundary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 Plant a tree. Have a child. Animate a short?
  - baxtr 6y ago
    "Time is money" is far from the truth. You can get money back, but time can't be replenished. For me at least, time is much more valuable than money. But then again, most middle-aged people have a family that needs to be feed etc. You simply don't have that many options. Best thing that can happen thus is that your passion becomes profitable.
    - chii 6y ago
      > For me at least, time is much more valuable than money yes, but 'for you' being the operative word. Your time is worthless to me. Your time, if you used it to do something _I_ wanted done, would be worth something to me. Therefore, it is true for people to say time is money.
    - tpxl 6y ago
      Time is money, but money isn't time.
  - Tade0 6y ago
    Because we rarely have the option to free up time. Most of us work some form of a full-time 9-5 job, with a specific amount of days off available because that's how employers prefer it. Knowing that the rest of your pre-retirement years will be spent in such a configuration you'd want to spend additional time initially on getting better, advancing your career etc., because if you can't do anything about the amount of your free time, at least you can influence its quality by earning more. I for one would be happy to work part-time, but the lowest engagement I ever managed to negotiate was 90%. Best I've seen was 80%. 50% is only ever available for short-term gigs.
  - dominotw 6y ago
    > even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I think i do make enough money but there is no way to know for sure. There are way too many uncertainties to know for sure. 1. might not have a job soon a) age-ed out of tech job b) offshoring/wfh trend c) automation d) cognitive decline. 2. unknown future health expenses 3. unknown expenditures for kids
- Joeboy 6y ago
  I would love to quit my job and follow my heart, but I also think that would mean I couldn't pay my rent, which would probably not make me happier.
  - polytely 6y ago
    Yeah I'm in the same situation, my dream is to become an independent game developer, but that is super risky and I only have a small buffer. Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. God, I wish basic income was a thing.
    - fennecfoxen 6y ago
      > Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. oh I know that one, it goes like: "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken." — Genesis 3:19 > God, I wish basic income was a thing. I rather don't, and this is why. It's got some merits as an alternative to current bureaucracy, but I fear that all too often it would mean a capable self-sufficient software developer abandoning his responsibilities, and taking others' money, to subsidize a lifestyle in which he may develop indie computer games. If these pet projects are good investments — good risk-adjusted investments, producing measurable returns and not merely misty-eyed wish fulfillment — then risk of the project should be borne by those who wish for the project. For while it is decent and good for us to carry the burdens of those who cannot carry their own, it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support.
      - yazboo 6y ago
        > it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support Righteous and just according to who? I would much rather live in a society that takes money from its wealthiest members (myself included) to make a basic allotment for living expenses so people can do as they wish.
person_of_color 6y ago
No Money? Yossi Kreinin Vice President and General Manager, Platform & Application Software, MobilEye
- ramblerman 6y ago
  Where does he say he has no money? He is expressing he'd like to do more art, but he has to weigh giving up his salary to do that, and weighing the pros and cons.
JKCalhoun 6y ago
Blew past my expectations. Excellent (first) animation.
shp0ngle 6y ago
This is from 2014. I wonder, how much did he move in the last 6 years?
mola 6y ago
Beautiful
jimbob45 6y ago
Yossi’s C++ FQA (rebuttals to each of the C++ FAQ) is worth checking out if you enjoyed this. His Twitter is pretty fun too.
ED_Radish 6y ago
Quarantine Time has really made me value a few extra hours a day more, I never realized how much that affected my average day to day before then.
- Notorious_BLT 6y ago
  I've found during quarantine that the elimination of my commute and the ability to do chores during time I'd otherwise spend on a mid-work mental break has really helped me feel happier with the work I'm doing. Laundry and dishes and home maintenance don't feel like I'm digging into my free time. If I need to get away from my desk, I take my dog on a walk.
chrismorgan 6y ago
(2014)
minerjoe 6y ago
Personal value systems. Today's god money is, in my humble opinion, such a poor substitute for the other wealths of this planet, time being possibly the most valuable thing we have. It is possible, and, for me, completely logical to wish to find some way out of the modern work trap. The HN crowd being startup minded is focused on one way: make a bunch of money in order to trade it for time somewhere down the road. A risky path, to say the least. There is another path -- To figure out a way to provide for your needs without a dependence on state backed currency. This entials an entirely different line of work, but one that can be immensely beneficial, both to sanity and to resilancy. If you had your core needs of housing, food, and transportation met, would you be able to curtail your manufactured "need" for consumerism and enter a life of spending the rest of your life figuring out what to do with your time, hopefully leaving a postive legacy?
CryoLogic 6y ago
If you are interested in learning animation as a hobby, and would like a community to contribute to and learn from - consider joining Anim8 (https://anim8.io https://anim8.io). We are the largest group of hobby animators on the web, and host collaborations, competitions, etc. on an ongoing basis. We use some of our funding to build free educational content as well which can be found at (https://blog.anim8.io https://blog.anim8.io). We also have a great Discord full of beginner animators as well as pros
dcw303 6y ago
I love it. As someone who is putting more and more energy into making music this resonates with me strongly. I need to figure out a way to get to part time work. One piece of advice about creative hobbies - set it up so you have a feedback loop. Maybe I'm just an insecure jerk, but I really found that getting feedback and encouragement motivates me to keep trying. Oh, and try to get that feedback from your peers, not friends and family. They mean well but you'll never get honest criticism.
- dorkwood 6y ago
  I think it depends on your family. Once when I was a child, my father found a stack of my drawings and proceeded to tell me which ones were the weakest and what was wrong with each of them. Another time, I can remember showing my sister a drawing I'd made that I was extremely proud of. Her response? "The arms are too long". Funnily enough, I ended up devoting years of my life to artistic pursuits.
lifeisstillgood 6y ago
I love the animation you used to get in say Mythbusters - where it would explain fairly complex "what's going on" with what looked like quick and simple animation. I don't want to learn that cos it's my love but because it looks a useful tool. But ... what animation tools did they use? How hard is it actually? how does one start at that simple levels?
- dorkwood 6y ago
  The software was most likely Adobe After Effects. Like anything worth learning, it's a little bit challenging. Fortunately, there are many tutorials on YouTube to help you. I'd suggest you start with the basics (moving an object around the screen) and go from there.

214 points by luu 6y ago

I really like how the article phrases money as options. It’s really like a heart and mind question, and that I think is the biggest chasm to cross. At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts?

catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
also shameless plug - I wrote a prose on a similar topic about numbers: https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/ https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/
pr0j3ctaway 6y ago
>At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts? Yes. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's conclusion. Money is not the only thing which provides options; time does too. As you age, you tend to have fewer and fewer options. People usually think that freeing up time at the expense of a cushy salary is an enormous opportunity cost. But it is much rarer for us to think of freeing up money at the expense of time as a huge opportunity cost, even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I wonder why. After all, how often do we say things like "time is money" to each other?
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  Continuing the viewpoint of time as options, an epistle from near the BC/AD boundary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 Plant a tree. Have a child. Animate a short?
- baxtr 6y ago
  "Time is money" is far from the truth. You can get money back, but time can't be replenished. For me at least, time is much more valuable than money. But then again, most middle-aged people have a family that needs to be feed etc. You simply don't have that many options. Best thing that can happen thus is that your passion becomes profitable.
  - chii 6y ago
    > For me at least, time is much more valuable than money yes, but 'for you' being the operative word. Your time is worthless to me. Your time, if you used it to do something _I_ wanted done, would be worth something to me. Therefore, it is true for people to say time is money.
  - tpxl 6y ago
    Time is money, but money isn't time.
- Tade0 6y ago
  Because we rarely have the option to free up time. Most of us work some form of a full-time 9-5 job, with a specific amount of days off available because that's how employers prefer it. Knowing that the rest of your pre-retirement years will be spent in such a configuration you'd want to spend additional time initially on getting better, advancing your career etc., because if you can't do anything about the amount of your free time, at least you can influence its quality by earning more. I for one would be happy to work part-time, but the lowest engagement I ever managed to negotiate was 90%. Best I've seen was 80%. 50% is only ever available for short-term gigs.
- dominotw 6y ago
  > even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I think i do make enough money but there is no way to know for sure. There are way too many uncertainties to know for sure. 1. might not have a job soon a) age-ed out of tech job b) offshoring/wfh trend c) automation d) cognitive decline. 2. unknown future health expenses 3. unknown expenditures for kids
Joeboy 6y ago
I would love to quit my job and follow my heart, but I also think that would mean I couldn't pay my rent, which would probably not make me happier.
- polytely 6y ago
  Yeah I'm in the same situation, my dream is to become an independent game developer, but that is super risky and I only have a small buffer. Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. God, I wish basic income was a thing.
  - fennecfoxen 6y ago
    > Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. oh I know that one, it goes like: "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken." — Genesis 3:19 > God, I wish basic income was a thing. I rather don't, and this is why. It's got some merits as an alternative to current bureaucracy, but I fear that all too often it would mean a capable self-sufficient software developer abandoning his responsibilities, and taking others' money, to subsidize a lifestyle in which he may develop indie computer games. If these pet projects are good investments — good risk-adjusted investments, producing measurable returns and not merely misty-eyed wish fulfillment — then risk of the project should be borne by those who wish for the project. For while it is decent and good for us to carry the burdens of those who cannot carry their own, it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support.
    - yazboo 6y ago
      > it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support Righteous and just according to who? I would much rather live in a society that takes money from its wealthiest members (myself included) to make a basic allotment for living expenses so people can do as they wish.

person_of_color 6y ago

No Money? Yossi Kreinin Vice President and General Manager, Platform & Application Software, MobilEye

ramblerman 6y ago
Where does he say he has no money? He is expressing he'd like to do more art, but he has to weigh giving up his salary to do that, and weighing the pros and cons.

JKCalhoun 6y ago

Blew past my expectations. Excellent (first) animation.

shp0ngle 6y ago

This is from 2014. I wonder, how much did he move in the last 6 years?

mola 6y ago

Beautiful

jimbob45 6y ago

Yossi’s C++ FQA (rebuttals to each of the C++ FAQ) is worth checking out if you enjoyed this. His Twitter is pretty fun too.

ED_Radish 6y ago

Quarantine Time has really made me value a few extra hours a day more, I never realized how much that affected my average day to day before then.

Notorious_BLT 6y ago
I've found during quarantine that the elimination of my commute and the ability to do chores during time I'd otherwise spend on a mid-work mental break has really helped me feel happier with the work I'm doing. Laundry and dishes and home maintenance don't feel like I'm digging into my free time. If I need to get away from my desk, I take my dog on a walk.

chrismorgan 6y ago

(2014)

minerjoe 6y ago

Personal value systems. Today's god money is, in my humble opinion, such a poor substitute for the other wealths of this planet, time being possibly the most valuable thing we have. It is possible, and, for me, completely logical to wish to find some way out of the modern work trap. The HN crowd being startup minded is focused on one way: make a bunch of money in order to trade it for time somewhere down the road. A risky path, to say the least. There is another path -- To figure out a way to provide for your needs without a dependence on state backed currency. This entials an entirely different line of work, but one that can be immensely beneficial, both to sanity and to resilancy. If you had your core needs of housing, food, and transportation met, would you be able to curtail your manufactured "need" for consumerism and enter a life of spending the rest of your life figuring out what to do with your time, hopefully leaving a postive legacy?

CryoLogic 6y ago

If you are interested in learning animation as a hobby, and would like a community to contribute to and learn from - consider joining Anim8 (https://anim8.io https://anim8.io). We are the largest group of hobby animators on the web, and host collaborations, competitions, etc. on an ongoing basis. We use some of our funding to build free educational content as well which can be found at (https://blog.anim8.io https://blog.anim8.io). We also have a great Discord full of beginner animators as well as pros

dcw303 6y ago

I love it. As someone who is putting more and more energy into making music this resonates with me strongly. I need to figure out a way to get to part time work. One piece of advice about creative hobbies - set it up so you have a feedback loop. Maybe I'm just an insecure jerk, but I really found that getting feedback and encouragement motivates me to keep trying. Oh, and try to get that feedback from your peers, not friends and family. They mean well but you'll never get honest criticism.

dorkwood 6y ago
I think it depends on your family. Once when I was a child, my father found a stack of my drawings and proceeded to tell me which ones were the weakest and what was wrong with each of them. Another time, I can remember showing my sister a drawing I'd made that I was extremely proud of. Her response? "The arms are too long". Funnily enough, I ended up devoting years of my life to artistic pursuits.

lifeisstillgood 6y ago

I love the animation you used to get in say Mythbusters - where it would explain fairly complex "what's going on" with what looked like quick and simple animation. I don't want to learn that cos it's my love but because it looks a useful tool. But ... what animation tools did they use? How hard is it actually? how does one start at that simple levels?

dorkwood 6y ago
The software was most likely Adobe After Effects. Like anything worth learning, it's a little bit challenging. Fortunately, there are many tutorials on YouTube to help you. I'd suggest you start with the basics (moving an object around the screen) and go from there.