Reflecting
1. Driven by ideas
Once I had an idea, I was driven to bring it to life. It did not matter what techniques I needed to learn.
For example, I wanted to express my love for reading. To make my idea of flipping book come true, I found a tutorial Open Your Book on Youtube and learned how to turn on 3D layer for a 2D object.
Similarly, I wanted to create a cup of pumpkin spice latte. I found a tutorial Flat 2D Smoke Clouds on Youtube and learned how to use slider control and wiggle expression.
The idea-driven approach has kept me motivated and pushed me to discover new techniques.
2. Stay humble
I was optimistically confident about my motion design skill at the beginning of the project. My confidence dropped rapidly as I started exploring After Effects — the huge skill gap made me realize how limited my experience and knowledge in motion design actually was.
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes the cognitive bias in which people of low-ability have illusory superiority and mistakenly assess their ability as greater than it is.
The more I became aware of my own incompetence, the humbler I became.
In order to improve my own craft, I need to stay humble, regardless of how much I thought I already knew.
3. Be the 1%
Before I started the 100-day-project, I spent most of my spare time consuming content: social media, Netflix… Sometimes I might even take an online class or read a book. But all of these things were just input.
In Internet culture, there is a “1% rule” that describes the participation rate of an internet community: only 1% of the participants of a community actively create new content, 9% of the participants edit content, and 90% of the participants only view content.
Since I started the 100-day-project, I became a creator. I started making things I like, learning a new craft, and influencing people around me in a positive way.
I want to belong to the 1% people who creates content — this thought has motivated me to show up every day, especially when it’s hard.
End
Looking back, I’m thankful for people who created tutorials and posted them on Youtube for free. I am deeply motivated by all the creatives out there who are making beautiful things in volume, consistently.
Here are 10 creatives who have kept me inspired throughout the project: