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About Me:

Foreword

October 28, 2008

I wonder if netizens will be shocked by my resume: a graduate of a prestigious medical university who switched to animation; someone who quit a stable job to make short films while barely making ends meet. Am I crazy? Haha, the masses have sharp eyes, they see right through me. Yes, I'm indeed a bit crazy! Let me tell you how, and maybe some fellow animators, especially those just starting out, can find something useful or at least relate to my experience.

I've been lurking in the animation world for over six years without making a splash. It's only recently, with the completion of my short film, that I've finally emerged. Now, a Mars Era editor has caught me and asked me to write about my journey. Honestly, I'm just out of my self-imposed isolation, my work hasn't even been submitted to competitions yet, and my achievements are nothing compared to an art director at any decent company. I'm basically a nobody. What's so interesting about my story? But then I thought, well, I'm about to start promoting my work anyway, so it's fine if nobody reads this. If even one person reads it, it's a win. We're in the entertainment industry, after all, so we need a sense of humor. Even if netizens don't find my experiences and insights valuable, that's okay. I'll try to keep things lighthearted and humorous, so you can just treat it as a comedy. Besides, there are countless others like me struggling in this industry. We're all facing hardship, so let's use our imagination and words to create a little sweetness, a little fun, to warm each other up.

I've been on this CG journey for over six years, ever since I first encountered Maya in 2002. Looking in the mirror recently, I noticed faint V-shaped lines at the corners of my eyes. I can't help but sigh, "I've grown weary for my passion." I even Photoshopped my photo for the Mars Era editor to remove those lines, you know, for future dating prospects.

The greatest pain in life is persisting in what you shouldn't and giving up on what you shouldn't.

Okay, enough rambling, let's get down to business. The most common question I get is: "Why did you give up a promising medical career for this?" To most people, I just say: "Lu Xun gave up medicine to pursue writing, how cool is that? I may not have his literary talent, but I can at least learn a thing or two." It's a self-deprecating response, really, because it's hard to explain to those with conventional mindsets. They'd think I'm from another planet. And let's face it, I'm broke and unknown right now. The reason I'm writing all this is in the hope that I might find some kindred spirits out there.

When I was in kindergarten, my teacher asked me what I wanted to be, and I said, "President!" She replied that I wouldn't even have the chance to wipe the president's butt (her exact words). I was unconvinced then, but now I think she had a point. I probably won't ever get near the president's backside.

In elementary school, I wanted to be a scientist, inspired by Hua Luogeng and Yuan Longping. In middle school, I dreamed of becoming a comic artist, after falling in love with Saint Seiya and Dragon Ball. In high school, when I had to fill out college applications, I finally gave it some serious thought and concluded: "I want to eat!"

My parents worked in a hospital, so I was very familiar with the medical profession. Being a doctor seemed like a secure way to make a living, and I was a good student, so I got into West China University of Medical Sciences, the most prestigious medical school in Sichuan at the time. A doctor from a top university would surely have a bright future. Plus, I'm a practical person at heart. So, I put my youthful dreams aside and stepped into the sacred halls of medicine (which also seemed like a stable career path).

Looking back at my university days, I can't help but believe in fate. Even with a medical degree in hand, I didn't feel secure. Instead, I felt a sense of unease, like something was stirring inside me, a fire burning. It was like a pig sensing an impending earthquake (it doesn't know what's coming, but it just feels off). Over three years, that nameless fire grew stronger, but I couldn't find the fuel to feed it.

In my junior year, in 2002, another "pig" from our pharmacy school (there were only two of us who switched careers) named Huang Lei told me: "Hey, I heard there's a huge pile of treasure behind the restaurant next door... I mean, CG is where the money is!"

That instantly ignited the fire within me. It all made sense. My passion for creating had never died. I'd loved drawing since I was a kid, and my history textbooks covered in doodles were proof of that (because the history teacher was the kindest and easiest to "bully"). I was also considered the best artist among my peers (due to my limited social circle), and their praise fueled my sense of accomplishment and love for art. But we live in the real world, and my family wasn't well-off. Plus, I'm a very risk-averse person. In our society at the time, there were very few people who could make a living from drawing. So, I forcibly suppressed my passion and prepared to be a well-behaved, domesticated pig for the rest of my life. But when I heard there was food outside the pen, and maybe even more food, and that I could make money from my hobby, the embers of my passion reignited.

However, I'm a person who's more rational than emotional. I'm not good at taking reckless risks. I didn't immediately betray pharmacy and pledge my allegiance to CG. This is also my advice to beginners: the greatest pain in life is persisting in what you shouldn't and giving up on what you shouldn't. The key is to distinguish between what you should persist in and what you should give up on. If you ask me what you should persist in and what you should give up on, I'm sorry, I can't answer that, because it's a question comparable to the ultimate questions of humanity like "Who am I? What is life? What is the meaning of life?" If I could answer that, I'd know which stocks to buy and which projects to invest in. You might say, "Aren't you talking nonsense?" Haha, don't worry, I may not have the exact answer, but I can share my experiences and thoughts, hoping to provide some advice to beginners. After all, I was a pig with an iron rice bowl, so I couldn't just leave the pen without careful consideration.

The First Question: Was there really a pile of treasure behind the restaurant?

I didn't blindly believe Huang Lei's rumors. I did some serious digging through other channels, just like doing project research and market surveys before investing. And I found that, wow, there really was a pile of treasure, and it was quite big! Although the CG industry was becoming increasingly competitive in 2002, it was still a relatively emerging industry with high profit margins, at least much higher than the current architectural rendering industry. If there was potential, I should get in quickly!

Hold on, hold on, young pig, learn to be calm.

The Second Question: Could I get a share of the food from that treasure pile?

The CG industry in 2002 was no longer like it was in the 1990s (when most practitioners were technicians with weak artistic foundations). After the early pioneers opened up the market and proved the feasibility of commercializing 3D art, a large number of practitioners with strong artistic backgrounds poured in. Know yourself and your enemy, and you will be victorious in every battle.

I closely watched the works of my competitors on various websites and the level of jobs they could find with their skills. After investigating my opponents, I had to examine myself. How did my work compare to theirs? But at that time, I hadn't learned CG, and I wasn't even proficient with computers, so I didn't have any CG work to show. But how should I put it? The kind of CG work you can produce isn't something you only see after you've learned CG. This is what's called being confident. The bamboo already exists in your heart, maybe you used to draw it with a pencil, a brush, or a pen, but now you just need to switch to a keyboard and mouse. So, for those of you still hesitating about whether to enter the CG world, my advice is: competition is risky, enter at your own discretion, and fully assess your own abilities. Blindly encouraging someone is irresponsible, but if you've chosen a direction after careful consideration, I believe you've also thoroughly considered the potential risks and challenges. In that case, you won't need anyone's encouragement to persevere to the end.

The Third Question: How long would the food from that treasure pile last?

"Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation" are the four necessities of life summarized by the ancients, but we must keep up with the times. Today, we need to add a fifth: "Entertainment." When people have satisfied their basic needs, they start to get bored and empty. They have to find ways to entertain themselves and kill time. People like Shi Yuzhu and Chen Tianqiao are typical examples of making money by helping others kill time. Human enjoyment is achieved by receiving external stimulation to their five senses, and vision accounts for 70% of that stimulation. With the development of the times, the proportion of people's spending on "entertainment" will continue to increase. To put it another way, the CG industry is inseparable from popular entertainment consumption such as film and television, advertising, animation, games, and books. As long as we don't reach the point of starvation, so many roads won't all be blocked. In short: CG has both strong development potential and strong risk resistance.

The Fourth Question... Forget it, three questions are enough for you to show off! Haha, after all, I was young and inexperienced at the time (and still am), and I thought I had thought things through clearly. After a series of analyses and investigations that seemed flawless on the surface but were actually full of romanticism and subjective color, on a dark and windy night, Huang Lei and I snuck out of the pen.

When the instructor heard the sound of the pen wall collapsing and came out to check, the two pigs had disappeared into the vast night. (In reality, it wasn't like this. Our instructor was a very nice person, and she was very supportive and understanding of our choices. I am very grateful to her. I wrote this to create a dramatic atmosphere and entertain everyone.) "Pighead, are you done yet?" the editor is shouting!

Haha, unknowingly, I've said so much before even talking about how I got started. The editor asked me to talk about my journey, but I think the beginning is the hardest part. Why does the Battle of Red Cliffs in Romance of the Three Kingdoms spend 80% of its length talking about the preparations before the battle? Because the outcome of a war is often determined from the very first moment it starts. During the war, neither side has room to retreat; they are only pushed forward by time toward that destined ending. For the veterans in the industry, they have already given sufficient thought to their future, and their persistence or abandonment is not something my words can influence. I think the editor's intention in asking me to write this article is to provide some reference for newcomers in the industry, so they can avoid detours. So, I think the most meaningful thing for this group is to share my views and experiences in their situation, as well as the collision between dreams and reality afterward.

Because learning through entertainment is the best way to learn, and too much at once becomes boring, I think I should stop here.

After I decided to change careers, how did I learn Maya? How did I find a job? Why did I quit my job again to spend three and a half years making See Through? What sparks did my initially flawless theories create when they collided with harsh reality? Did the little pig find the legendary treasure pile...? If you are interested in these bits and pieces, I will come back and chat with you again in the future.

I Had a Flash Marriage with Maya

As the saying goes: If you don't have the skills, don't take on the difficult task. I think the first hurdle for changing careers was learning a 3D software. At that time, the mainstream 3D software on the market included Maya, 3D Max, and Softimage (and they still are). Should I just choose one at random? No, that's not my style. Should I thoroughly understand each one? My access to information was quite limited at the time. And with my limited information at that time, I didn't think choosing any of them would have any impact on future development. After listening to a few people rave about Maya, I had a flash marriage with Maya...

Fortunately, married life is happy.

"Lalala~ In my eyes, there is only Maya, no 3D Max..."

Bang!!!

"Who? Who is so lacking in morality? Who threw this brick?"

Maya: My Wife (and My Weapon)

Maya is indeed difficult to master, but that difficulty lies in its vast functionality and the high degree of freedom in adjusting effects. It wasn't until I was working on See Through that I truly realized that these two seemingly off-putting barriers are precisely what make it so captivating. Thanks to its comprehensive functions, See Through used almost no plugins throughout the entire production process (except for RealFlow). This saved me the trouble of finding and learning plugins during the three-and-a-half-year production cycle, even though Maya was upgraded four times. It also ensured that all my original files were consistently compatible from beginning to end. Thanks to its high degree of freedom, I was able to flexibly combine multiple functions, even with my limited programming skills, and complete the final effect in an unconventional way.

So, Maya may take up more of your time at first, but it will provide you with many conveniences and save you a lot of time in the long run. With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for! As the saying goes: "Behind every successful animator, there is a powerful software!"

My praise for Maya is very subjective and may be biased, but it's understandable for a lover to see the best in their partner. She has been with me for more than six years and helped me complete See Through. If I don't praise her, who else will?

It's important to acknowledge that 3D Max is also very powerful and should not be underestimated. But if you are a newcomer who aspires to develop in the field of film and television animation, I can responsibly recommend Maya to you. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, we can also see some clues from Autodesk's actions. And the most, most, most, most, most, most, most, most crucial point is:

It will be easier for you to cooperate with Jiao Keli in the future! Wahahahaha!

On the other hand, objectively speaking, learning Maya is really hard. Looking back, my decision to abandon medicine and learn Maya was like burning my boats and fighting a desperate battle. I would either succeed or fail. If I couldn't learn it well, I would be ashamed of my parents' understanding, my instructor's support, and my classmates' help (I skipped classes to learn Maya in the dormitory, and my classmates helped me sign in for classes). I would also be letting down Yue Fei's loyalty to the country, Wen Tianxiang's sacrifice for righteousness, and Qin Shi Huang's ambition to unify China... With all these national and personal responsibilities on my shoulders, I studied hard day and night (although this description is a bit exaggerated, the exaggeration is within the international standard of no more than 20%).

Today's beginners are much happier than we were because there are so many textbooks and teachers to choose from. When I first learned Maya, both textbooks and teachers were scarce (but it was better than when Wang Qi learned 3D, I also started by watching his Martian Maya video tutorials, so I must be grateful to him). There were few beginner textbooks, and advanced textbooks were even rarer. Most of the knowledge had to be summarized through practice.

Therefore, my conclusion is:

Your success depends on your self-learning ability. The professional books and knowledge you can find online and in bookstores are endless, and you can't finish learning them even in ten lifetimes. The role of a teacher is to systematically guide you and use their experience to help you avoid detours. More importantly, they will establish professional ethics and industry standards in your heart, and also provide you with many convenient channels to enter society after you have completed your studies.

I like to watch Win in China on CCTV. During the viewing process, I discovered an interesting phenomenon: most of the successful entrepreneurs, including the contestants and judges, come from poor families. If you know anything about entrepreneurship, then you must know that the hardship and pain of starting a business is not something everyone can bear. It is an overload of mental and physical training that will make a person have the mind of a 30-year-old at the age of 20, and feel the vicissitudes of life at the age of 30 as if they were 50. People who have been wealthy since childhood and have no worries about food and clothing rarely take the initiative to taste this kind of pain.

Learning CG is actually the same. In my observation, those who study diligently and well are not from well-off families.

They have a stronger sense of crisis and are closer to a desperate situation. Moreover, because of poverty, their lives are simpler and purer, and their work will not be burdened by life.

There is a saying that goes: Your greatest enemy is yourself! I would like to add: In this battle, poverty is your closest ally!

Loneliness Gives You Time to Think, Pain Makes You Grow Faster

Let me add some more digressions: Play less games! Shop less! Hang out with friends less! Date less...

—Bang!!!

"Haha, you threw this brick in vain, I've already put on my helmet!" Some netizens say: Is your life for work or work for life?

Haha, I'm not a person without taste in life. I also like to live a relaxed and comfortable life, I like to play games, I enjoy the beautiful time with friends, and I like the romantic atmosphere of being in love. But the key is that the balance point in the middle needs to be grasped by you. This balance point will vary greatly depending on each person's tolerance. Yu Qiuyu once said: "Almost all great works are created in loneliness." Loneliness gives you time to think, and pain makes you grow faster.

Therefore, I personally believe that being able to resign for a decent salary to make short films; being able to enjoy loneliness in seclusion for three and a half years (and also spending money on socializing); and being able to endure until the age of 28 without falling in love (a chorus of vomiting) despite having decent looks and other conditions, I really feel proud of myself! Wahahahahaha!!! (Netizens, please allow me to be a little bit of an Ah Q for the sake of my suffering for so many years.) In short, life is a rope woven from intertwined strands of bitterness and joy. Don't expect to have only joy and no bitterness. Moreover, this is a world full of fierce competition. If you don't advance, you will retreat. A. Bitter first, then sweet, B. Sweet first, then bitter, two choices are placed in front of you, you can decide for yourself.

A major feature of the CG industry: We are all naked runners without any cover.

After learning Maya for more than six months, I collected various learning materials and roughly went through the major modules of Maya. During the winter vacation of my senior year, I made a short film to apply the scattered knowledge points to practice and organize them. At the same time, it was also for the convenience of finding a job. This can also be said to be a major feature of our CG industry: we are all naked runners without any cover.

Haha, this is a metaphor, describing that the technical strength of each person in our industry is exposed, allowing the audience to evaluate and criticize without any cover. Our works are our faces, and whether we are experts or newbies is written on our foreheads. This feature is a good opportunity and a blessing for those who are down-to-earth and have real skills, but it is a nightmare and a catastrophe for those who want to muddle through. This is another reason why I dared to resolutely leave the pen, because in most other industries, it is difficult to see a person's ability at a glance. For example, in my old profession of pharmacy, if I want to prove my ability, it is even harder than proving that I am a virgin. Therefore, we need transcripts, diplomas, and degree certificates, which are basically not very convincing, to show the hiring unit to prove ourselves. But I am not saying that these documents are meaningless. In the absence of a more effective evaluation mechanism, they are always better than nothing.

To find a job in the CG industry, you don't rely on diplomas, degrees, or qualifications, but on your works. Works can explain more than 90% of the things, so I put all my chips for finding a job on my works.

The School of Hard Knocks at an Animation Studio: Skill Isn't Learned, It's Earned, It's Endured

My initial theories from my "pigpen days" held up surprisingly well in practice. I landed a job at a small 3D animation studio in Chengdu. Its small size turned out to be a blessing, as I got to oversee the entire process, from creative design to post-production. This was an invaluable training ground, transitioning me from pure personal passion to commercial creation. I learned to view my work through the eyes of the audience. During this year-plus, I also had the opportunity to fully hone my animation skills and artistry. I deeply felt the importance of experience. True "skill" (and here I mean artistic skill) isn't learned, it's earned, it's endured, it's accumulated.

There's no shortcut here. You have to eliminate impatience, invest real time and energy, drawing frame by frame, adjusting frame by frame. Like an athlete practicing the same move hundreds of times, you need to turn those artistic thoughts into instinctive reactions. Even if you suffer amnesia and forget who you are, you'll still remember your language, your artistic thinking. "Skill" takes the most time and energy, but believe me, it's worth it. Society changes, the industry changes, software changes, but if you put enough effort into cultivating it, it will become your constant reliance, your most powerful core competency. Just like the classic line from the movie The Top Knot:

"The braid is gone, but the skill remains!" For someone as risk-averse as I am, it's more reliable than any pension.

Finally, the Climax: I Quit My Job to Make My Own Short Film

I must be crazy, right? A pig sees a pile of garbage and backs away?

I'm going to tell you a huge secret, but you have to swear to me beforehand: you can't tell a third pig!

Okay, I trust you. Let me whisper it to you: I did poke around that garbage pile a little. My sensitive nose detected that it wasn't just ordinary leftovers like boiled cabbage and stir-fried cucumber. It distinctly smelled of a Manchu Han Imperial Feast (maybe there was a big banquet there before), but it was buried too deep to easily dig out. So, I backed away not because I wasn't going to dig, but because I needed to take a running start and gather momentum. You have to pull your fist back to deliver a punch, that's the principle.

The editor is roaring again: "What nonsense are you talking about?" "Ignore him. The editor's IQ isn't as high as ours. Let's continue." In the CG industry, you rely on two things: skill and connections.

In the CG industry, you rely on two things: skill and connections. Some might say you also rely on good service attitude, but I include that within skill. If you firmly grasp one of these, you'll have a chance. I'm just an ordinary guy, I have no connections. My choice is no choice: I can only rely on my skills. And I don't tend to choose connections, because connections can change, and even with connections, without good skills, you won't be able to seize opportunities (although there are cases where you first have connections as a resource and then attract talented people with skills, but this is a publicly published article, I have to appear righteous, so everyone will think highly of me, right? Besides, if we can't eat grapes, aren't we allowed to say they're sour?).

How is skill demonstrated? We've come full circle back to those two words: works!

I made a piece before I looked for a job, but my skills were very immature at that time, and I didn't put enough effort into it, so it couldn't represent my true production capabilities. And the animated ads I made at the advertising company were limited by client requirements, project timelines, and labor costs. If I continued to develop like this, my room for improvement wouldn't be very big, but to create truly satisfying work, it would take a lot of time and energy. Later, the reality proved that even if I put everything aside and devoted myself wholeheartedly, it still took me three and a half years. If I had worked while using my spare time, I don't know how long it would have taken. Some people might ask: "Couldn't you make it shorter?" Haha, I didn't have any experience at the beginning, and the story I wanted to tell became complicated. When I got halfway through, I found that I couldn't stop it. I didn't care about anything else. My creative desire had been suppressed for many years. Damn it, I'm going all out and enjoying myself!

And so, I enjoyed myself for three and a half years. My savings from working for over a year were quickly used up. There was no way around it; I had to use my parents' retirement savings to continue enjoying myself. Finally, when I was almost exhausted from enjoying myself, See Through was finally "enjoyed" into existence.

During those three and a half years, my life was like living on a space station, a three-point line.

Back to a more serious tone. Even though I keep saying "enjoyed," my fellow animators should be able to see the joy and suffering within.

During those three and a half years, my life was like living on a space station, a three-point line: living room, bedroom, toilet (I exaggerated by 15% again; actually, I occasionally went out to exercise or take a walk, otherwise I would have gone crazy).

My father passed away just after I started working. My mother retired with a monthly pension of 1,000 yuan. She lived with me, and we were as frugal as possible in our spending. We basically didn't buy new clothes. For food, thanks to my mother's management, she often went to the supermarket to find special offers, and we mainly ate vegetarian food, which was healthy and economical. For housing, we relied on my parents' savings to buy a second-hand apartment in Chengdu, which was a mortgage. The monthly mortgage payment of more than 700 yuan accounted for half of our expenses. Travel was something for rich people. It was a fantasy for me. During these three and a half years, I didn't leave my home for more than 40 kilometers. Entertainment was still necessary. I listened to storytelling, music, watched movies and anime, and occasionally played games. All of them were the cheapest forms of entertainment. But I didn't play online games. They took up too much time and money. We didn't even have an internet connection at home. If I needed to go online, I would go to a friend's house. This reduced entertainment time, reduced the influence of social distractions, and also ensured the stability of the computer system used for animation production. And this was also the industry I was in. While I was entertaining myself, I was also constantly learning and accumulating experience.

Finally, I want to end with gratitude. Although I used to think this was very clichéd, I now realize that this is an essential part that cannot be omitted. There has been too much help, too much care, and too much love supporting us on our journey. Without them, we could not have come this far. But when we climb to new heights and look back, they are still standing in the distance, smiling at us and continuing to encourage us to move forward, but we have nothing to repay them with. So, I must thank them all here to make up for the guilt in my heart.

First of all, I want to thank my parents, because they are the best parents in the world. Without their open-mindedness, I could not have easily changed careers. Without their selfless support, I could not have given up my dream and bowed to the five pecks of rice. Without my mother's meticulous care in life, I could not have devoted myself wholeheartedly to the production of the short film.

I also want to thank my group of friends. Some of them helped and encouraged me during the production process, and some helped me promote my work after it was completed. Without them, I would have felt very lonely in the solo battle, it would have been more difficult to move forward in the arduous journey, and it would have been even more difficult to recover when I was exhausted.

I also want to thank Chengdu, the city where I live. Its profound historical heritage provides me with an artistic atmosphere, its beautiful natural environment ensures my clear creative thinking, its leisurely atmosphere shields me from the impetuous style blowing from all directions, and its relatively low cost of living allows me to temporarily forget the temptation of money.

I also want to thank those pioneers who have achieved success by making personal short films for three or four years. You have opened up new channels in the vast ocean. You are the lighthouse of my spiritual world. Compared with the pain you endured while exploring the way, the difficulties I encountered along the way are not worth mentioning.

I also want to thank the software developers. Without their efforts, before computer animation technology matured, it would have been an impossible dream for one person to complete an animation on their own.

I also want to thank the development of the internet. Without its development, as a drop of water in the vast ocean, I could not have made my voice heard. It makes the world a place where everything is possible.

I also want to thank the readers for listening to my ramblings.