Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
If I had to go back to 2011 and start my journey at Animation Mentor all over again, there are several things I would do differently to streamline the process and grow faster. Whether you are just starting your animation journey or feel like you’ve hit a plateau, this video covers the specific shifts in mindset and workflow that helped me transition from a struggling student to a professional animator.
In this video, I break down the four most important lessons I learned the hard way:
Don't "Bite Off More Than You Can Chew": Why I would force myself to start smaller and stay simple for as long as possible.
Study Movement, Not Just Posing: Why underlying motion is more important for believability than just hitting "perfect" poses.
Experiment with Your Workflow: How I moved away from traditional "stepped" pose-to-pose animation to a layered approach that fits how my brain actually works.
Quantity Over Polishing: Why animating 50 short, 2-second exercises is better for your growth than spending a month polishing one 10-second shot.
🚀 Resources Mentioned:
Animation Exercise List: I highly recommend checking out the list from "Animator Artist Life" mentioned in the video to help you start "flexing your animation muscles" with simple, effective exercises: animatorartistlife.com/resources/over-150-character-animation-exercises-to-boost-your-skills
Social Media 📰
Twitter: twitter.com/markmasters92
Instagram: instagram.com/markmasters92
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-masters-062a89a4
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro
01:41 — Why you need to start smaller.
05:21 — The mistake of over-scoping your shots.
07:13 — Studying movement vs. studying poses.
09:25 — Finding the right workflow for you.
12:01 — The most important tip: Animate more shots.
17:47 — Breaking down the animation exercise list.
If I had to go back to 2011 and start my journey at Animation Mentor all over again, there are several things I would do differently to streamline the process and grow faster. Whether you are just starting your animation journey or feel like you’ve hit a plateau, this video covers the specific shifts in mindset and workflow that helped me transition from a struggling student to a professional animator.
In this video, I break down the four most important lessons I learned the hard way:
Don't "Bite Off More Than You Can Chew": Why I would force myself to start smaller and stay simple for as long as possible.
Study Movement, Not Just Posing: Why underlying motion is more important for believability than just hitting "perfect" poses.
Experiment with Your Workflow: How I moved away from traditional "stepped" pose-to-pose animation to a layered approach that fits how my brain actually works.
Quantity Over Polishing: Why animating 50 short, 2-second exercises is better for your growth than spending a month polishing one 10-second shot.
🚀 Resources Mentioned:
Animation Exercise List: I highly recommend checking out the list from "Animator Artist Life" mentioned in the video to help you start "flexing your animation muscles" with simple, effective exercises: animatorartistlife.com/resources/over-150-character-animation-exercises-to-boost-your-skills
Social Media 📰
Twitter: twitter.com/markmasters92
Instagram: instagram.com/markmasters92
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-masters-062a89a4
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro
01:41 — Why you need to start smaller.
05:21 — The mistake of over-scoping your shots.
07:13 — Studying movement vs. studying poses.
09:25 — Finding the right workflow for you.
12:01 — The most important tip: Animate more shots.
17:47 — Breaking down the animation exercise list.
