Despite the fact that I’ve yet to get an industry job in animation, I’ve been producing my own content since 2004 and have had a lot of really fun and interesting experiences through the various works I’ve put online. In the last 4 years in particular, I’ve felt tremendously honored to have met and personally worked with a pretty hefty number of talented artists, animators, actors, writers and just people who have a real passion for this creative medium.

However, IN those 4 years, especially since I entered college in ‘07…I’ve also met a lot of people that have disappointed me. Like the people previously mentioned, they are exceptionally talented at their choice of creative medium, but one thing sets them apart.

They completely let it go to waste.

It’s far beyond the typical “oh I’m just feeling lazy todaaaay” kind of wasting. These are people I would, in some cases, give up a body part or something extreme like that in exchange for their ability. Artists that have a certain level of genius or understanding that simply amazes me…and they do absolutely NOTHING with it.

I’ve seen some cases where they’re artists who are, as my friends and I say, “are on top of their shit” in the sense that they have a perfectly fine life as they are and have reached a pinnacle of sorts, to where they feel no obligation to go any further. Cases like these, are at least mildly understandable; if they’re happy, let ‘em do what they want, right? Right.

But then, ohhh then…there’s the ones who just sit back and let their talents just fester. Miserable people who have so much potential, or even people in the industry who revere them and want to work with them in a professional setting…and their complete and utter lack of confidence in themselves just destroys it.

Now, as artists, we’re all a little socially-awkward. We’re all prone to getting upset over stupid shit from time to time. We all have our moments of self-doubt and questioning of our place in the world and what it is we’re doing, why we’re drawing/animating/writing/acting/whatever…but there’s a line. There’s a fine, fine line between that and just…wasting. From a personal standpoint, I’ve been to that stereotypical dark place of only seeing the bad feedback and not focusing on the overwhelming good feedback. I’ve seen many people get there and eventually, we pull ourselves out of it. BUT. When the only person being hard on you, is YOU, then there’s a problem.

When everyone around you, both people who are from a general audience standpoint who may or may not have a real understanding of what’s of “quality” in art, to people who are firmly-grounded in that knowledge and have a large amount of experience in art…when all of those people thing the world of your talent, and you just sit there and slump in little spiny-chair, clutching yourself like you’re the most useless person on this planet? No. Just…just no. THAT is what makes you useless, if you let your ludicrous inner “demons” get the better of you and just let a giant wall of crap pile up between you and some incredible opportunities.

It’s a shame enough that there are probably hundreds upon thousands of artists, animators, writers and actors that will never get the recognition they deserve for a variety of other circumstances. To everyone who HAS ever been recognized for their talent by just the right people…please, I beg of you. Seriously. DON’T let golden opportunities slip away. Being an artist is one of the hardest things to do; one of the hardest life-styles to live and paths to walk…don’t make it unnecessarily harder for yourself with personal bullshit that does. Not. Need. To be there.