Which path do I take? I studied animation and it used to be my

>>18131114
Art is a tough career and very unstable. Same with actors, musicians, painters, animators, 3d modelers.

Dont put your eggs into one basket. Have a tech career and see if you can manage animation in your freetime. Is this 3d or 2d, btw?

>>18131127
2D. I know! What was I thinking?

There are actually several studios in my country that produce 2D animation, some studios do 3D and 2D, but I haven't applied. My therapist says I have a 'fear of success'.

>>18131143
You need to spark up your creativity for animation and drawing. Do you still watch animation? You need to take depression seriously, so maybe that social work suggested by your therapist is a good start to start healing.

>>18131114

id take a day job while you can and start re-honing your animation skills. do a few independent projects, then start applying for real animation jobs

>>18131114
idk man, i worked as a musician in videogames for a few years until i couldnt get the work anymore

it wasnt really a decision to leave that world it was just what i had to do. it really sucked making the switch to working regular jobs because i had no skills except for music and it was really frustrating to not be able to do that anymore

i ended up taking a big pay cut working the job i have now but the positive thing about it is that its stable, i just feel like im not learning anything at work and its just a way to subsidize what im actually good at doing

what im trying to say i guess is that if you can get away with doing what youre good at it, it can be a great thing, its just not something you can always depend on when its artistic

>>18131114
i studied animation too anon. it's actually one of the thriving industries out there, at least in canada anyways. if you have a decent portfolio, with useful technical skills and an understanding of the programs currently used in the industry, you're a shoe-in. even a crappy artist i know got a job at a big animation company up here.

i disagree with the first anon; drawing takes time and energy. a day job would exhaust you completely and take you a year to make and find time to putting together a portfolio. if your parents are ok with letting you live in for another year, i'd take advantage of this to polish your skills and start applying. between waiting for a response, i would freelance and keep fucking drawing and studying. get a part time job if money is urgent.

but if you're going into animation, you gotta commit to putting both your feet in.

>>18131175

>keep fucking drawing and studying

did you mean fucking as a verb or as a way to put emphasis on drawing?

>>18131181
emphasis, i didn't put a comma in there on purpose lol

>>18131175
>i disagree with the first anon; drawing takes time and energy. a day job would exhaust you completely
Im that first anon and I agree with you. I shouldnt have said that. It's just the thing that OP has depression what made me say it. Still, maybe focus on the getting out of depression bit before pursuing the animation.

>>18131194
imo, if he's still thinking about pursuing animation, he still has hope.

i found in many ways that art was therapeutic and helped me through hard times. the grind to getting better is a productive routine he will eventually learn to feel good about. many artists enjoy the process more than the result of their artwork... that is the mark of an artist that loves art for itself, and they are usually successful. even if it turned out like poop, at least it was fun. then on to the next art project, and this time they'll try to make the next piece even better than the last.

it's basically the same application of people who work out and socialize; health professionals will always encourage people to go outside and to work out and to talk to people. the point they are trying to make, is to flex and challenge your brain activity. helps people out of plenty of shit.

the tech job is one way, sure. anything will work as long as op isn't sitting like a sad sack of potatoes. but i think op should give art another try.

OP here
>>18131156
Yeah, I still love watching animation. Loving Samurai Jack.

My doctor gave me some low level anti-depressants but I was too disorganized to take them regularly. I don't feel worse for having started and stopped them but still wasn't a smart thing to do I'm sure.

My therapist, who I see weekly is adamant I need to leave my comfort zone and start interacting again and is pushing for me to get a job. He says it doesn't need to be permanent, maybe 6 months to a year but it will put money in my pocket and give my day structure.

>>18131175
Good to hear. I feel if I could break into the industry I would be set.

It's just that in the time between graduating and now I've become very self conscious about my art. Applying to studios seems really daunting even though I know the worse that could happen is they say no.

In my idealized future I'd be doing Flash rig animation, which I find fairly easy and is what most of my local studios are doing and then working on artwork in my own time.

I tried freelancing a few times these past years but I found the experiences really stressful and anxiety inducing. I found no satisfaction using my skill to conceive other peoples ideas.

I've been considering trying some small animation projects to remind myself of why i enjoyed creating but my mental health has been holding me back.

>>18131220
Yeah, I used to be well in touch with the zen side of art. Working on a project in my spare time, enjoying the process and once it's complete, standing back, admiring it, noticing the flaws and vowing to do better next time and then beginning the process over again.

I see artist friends of mine posting artwork and how it enriches their life. Of course, seeing their progress tends to send me into a downward spiral too.

I don't post much on social media because I'm embarrassed about having dropped off the face of the earth without explanation.

I have a lot of shame and unhealthy emotions to work through.

>>18131114
never talk to therapists, they always talk you down into doing a simpler career because thats the way they learned it.
if u want a career, dont let any one tell you other wise. just do it.