Indie Animation: The Time Cost Struggle
- SpaceJaylee
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Don’t Chase Perfection—Learn to "Survive"
Time can feel like a tricky obstacle for independent animators. Many run into the same dilemma: they want to keep things efficient but worry the quality might suffer or look "cheap." Of course, everyone hopes for a polished result, but tight schedules often mean sacrificing some details. It’s easy to get stuck — feeling exhausted and not seeing much progress. Over time, I’ve realized the key to success in indie animation isn’t about knowing every technical tool inside out; it’s about understanding how to manage your time wisely and making smart decisions about what to focus on. Learning to prioritize and make reasonable trade-offs can help you move forward without burning out "enoughs." You need to know what to learn, how much is "enough," what to let go of, and what you absolutely cannot compromise on.
Time management isn’t just about being busy; it’s about your learning strategy. Without a clear direction, even if you’re born into wealth with all the time in the world, you’ll still get stuck. But if your learning is purposeful—if you know exactly which gap you're filling to push your project forward—even those tiny pockets of "squeezed out" time can lead to real results.
Creating Art Despite Feeling Mentally Exhausted
My background is pretty typical and very grounded. My family used to run a hot pot restaurant. We weren't struggling to eat, but we weren't wealthy either. We lived in a rental with crazy high rent and a serious leaking problem. Eventually, the business became too tough to sustain, and we had to close it down.
During that transition period, my family started an online side business. I spent 3 to 4 hours every day helping out. That experience taught me something: many tasks don't require high brainpower, but they are brutally draining on your spirit and time. For example, subtitling. It’s not "hard," but it eats your patience and strains your eyes. It’s a very physical type of fatigue.
"When you finally sit back down to create, your brain wants to go, but your body tells you: I can't push any further."
