You may not have gotten the rewards you were looking for from your pitches, but I'm so impressed by your willingness to pursue your own thing. You're an inspiration to many of us!

Motivation from within list: 1.) Self Challenge 2.) Self Incentives 3.) Finding Solutions 4.) Find the Fun in It!

“If I finish this sketch I can watch an episode of (insert good show)!” *my brain being too good at worming out of stuff* “or you could watch it now” “..... you know what you give a compelling argument”

I'm motivated by the project itself. All I want in life is to get my stories out there, I don't care if nobody sees it.

I think to be actually motivated, from my own experience, is that there is probably a thing in your life that is bogging you down. It is always worth it to ask yourself “What are the problems in my life that’s making me not do things?” I would then say contribute time to manage and solve those problems. Personally I am a lot more motivated because the problems that I have with myself are solved.

so motivation by fear is like using the dark side of the force, short and effective, but physically and mentally taxing

just what i needed rn, i was super motivated this past week but the past 2 days been a struggle. thx for the reminder 💙

I swear, whenever I’m in need of something art related or to clear some doubts you upload the video that contains those answers XD what a nice coincidence ✨✨

You don't need motivation because motivation is CRAP. Motivation LEAVES YOU. You have to be DRIVEN in order to see the end product of a project you're doing. When you're driven, whatever is standing in your way will be DESTROYED. I learned this from David Goggins and take it to heart.

I don't remember the exact quote, but it's similar to: ''When not doing it is harder than doing it, you don't need motivation''. I guess it applies more to personal projects.

As animator I always felt moltivated animation was everything in my life until i suffered from depression. It took a long time to get motivated again.

From what I gather you’re saying external motivation can be good but often be either fleeting, fickle or disloyal, but in the long run internal motivations can set you up on a path to be more disciplined.

Something that really helps me as someone with depression is having a "schedule" which is a loose term in the way I am using it here. It can mean different things to different people, but essentially it is accepting that I have a disconnect in my mind because it is elsewhere, and doing things anyway. How does one just do things anyway? It's not always an option, but what is possible is to motivate yourself by only one core issue that isn't specific to "doing tasks." What I do is I take my depression and make it the single motivator in my life. I am going to get up and do things I used to care about, not with pressure to care about them suddenly, but because I care about MYSELF and my wellbeing. It is just a thing I have to do, like brushing my teeth. It can start small, but making things a part of your day will eventually help you to remember how you might feel about them. If I cannot care about my life first, I'm not healthy enough to draw. And often it is the first step to movement when in depression is to get your core self to be self considerate. To work yourself out of the worst of it and get help where you need to, use coping mechanisms, and then you will start to move again. When I start drawing, I do it with no motivation, inspiration, almost no memory of why I wanted anything in my life or cared about doing things. And that's okay because I do it anyway and it is what teaches me the opposite. It shows me simple things, and grand concepts, and the way stories have changed me, and that monotony exists even in things we care about, and that it is okay because it is worth it. I compare it to my depression. It's okay to have that monotonous depression because I am worth it. I do this because I am worth it. That is how it becomes a core part of me despite those feelings, because it is something I've been working on. Life isn't all drawing, life isn't only about the one thing that "gives you purpose." The point of your life is more than that thing, and isn't easily defined or even definable. You are enough. And you are more than enough. And you will be more than this.

The way I motivate myself is picturing me in the next day and trying to see how I spent the day before (today). Would I feel good if I use this time that will never come again, for something productive or un-productive?

Starting to think this guy can read minds. Was just thinking about this

Another secret is to not get bored. If it's fun, you'll stay motivated

This comes up all the time in all creative fields, not just animation or art. I'm an author and I've been giving people this advice for many years and it's amazing how many people are vehemently opposed to it. They think that they need to be constantly motivated from the outside, they need to constantly be told how wonderful they are and it's why they never get anything done. You need to work because you want to get it done. Everything comes from within. You have to be able to hold yourself accountable. Fantastic video. I might send people your way the next time someone whines that they're not motivated.

It's like I'm having a therapy session every time I watched your vids and this helped me a lot :') Love from PH.

Thank you very much ! This really helped alot :)

Just as I was questioning why I'm not being productive, thanks mate!

"In a way you just can't get out of work mode" THAT. I need to take a deep breath.

Usually, to incentive my self I create a list with checks to check when I finish a especific part of the project (like characters desing ofthe project, background, storyboard and etc...). And everytime that I check a item of the list I feel so happy

Motivation by fear has led me to stop working on personal projects and work to the point that I want to do something else , like customer service or something. Hopefully I will manage to get out of this loop. Thanks for this video.

THIS doesn;'t just apply to animation! This is how I do things as an editor too.

I looked at this because if I substituted the topic of "art" with "school," I have the exact video I want! So thank you

Hi, really appreciate to see this video because recently I'm super struggled with my personal short and it caused procrastination. Thanks for your inspiration.

Most of the times I don't feel motivation until I actually start drawing

you did it again, you uploaded it at the perfect time! I've been working from home since october and my mental state got worse with every week so my motivation for work projects and personal ones left me completely. thank you for this video!

This was surprisingly helpful! I find that a lot of these videos tend to just be some jaded person who just goes "Motivation is bullshit! you just do it." without really giving any answers or solutions. This video has some really good ideas that i want to try. It's especially hard to focus with my Autism and ADHD, but it's something i know i have to overcome.

Thanks for making these videos! Ever since I watched your video about how to stay productive and started using the tomato timer, I've been able to make so much more progress on my personal projects! That little break really does help a lot! I really appreciate you taking the time to give free advice to budding artists, it leaves a really good mark on the world! :)

I have found great results with a giving myself a reward at the end of certain milestones, and by challenging myself with each project,fantastic video by the way

The cute opening music, puppy, and harmless voice makes my heart soft

love how you tease your oncoming projects at the end

Gosh i needed this so much, I constantly get stuck in this rut where if every single external factor isn’t exactly right i won’t be able to work at all and that, coupled with a few mental health issues is a challenge to say the least. How true this video was!! Thank you for the reality check👏

This video was extremely inciteful and something I didnt know I needed to hear. Thank you so much for making it!

Thanks for the motivation advice. I too have gotten lots of work done while feeling very unmotivated, but animating helps me feel better. It's kinda relaxing when you're stressed out.

This is really well articulated and relevant. Thank you for taking the time to make this.

That is so insightful. Motivation is fickle. A mood can change like the weather. I know from experience that I'll never be in the mood to do something I don't 'want' to do. The completed project will be exciting. Keeping that picture in my mind will help me finish.

I remember that during cheer season, our coach would have us run laps and I was *so* motivated by the fact that I could be the best on my squad. Competition. It was my motivation.

My mentor suggest me to watch some of your videos. I'm mostly watched about like these rather from the tutorials for the animation (might be because I want to set on my mindset into the good ones first before watching the tutorials). These type of videos really are the ones that I'm curious about, how to have it, and what their different kind mindset because I have the hard time figuring it by myself. You have a new fan and supporter, looking forward to watch your videos.

Thank you for this video, can’t believe I haven’t even thought of some of these things ! I’m about to start work on my own animated short film and I’ve been very anxious about doing it at all but I’m going to go into it keeping all this in mind and also learning to be patient with myself

This is pure truth. Just keep moving forward. 💖🙌

The 'motivation by fear' really hits my junior highschool years. I unintentionally went into this mindset because of all the pressure of having good grades, good performance etc. And I didn't last long. Those days we're really tough for me, the fear that I've built up for myself, so heavy carrying at my back going to school everyday, my mind and soul just wants to blow up. Good thing that I've moved on to that and now I can say that I'm livin a positive life working as a freelance artist at the same time a college student :)

I do have issues with spotty motivation; you''ve helped me realize that other factors besides motivation can be at play to make sure you get what you want done DONE. thank you for sharing.

Excellent! Such a good reminder and summation of all the ways to motivate oneself. Making it fun or relaxing is a huge one for me! 🧐

I never really considered thinking that we should rely on motivation that comes from myself, it really does make sence that that should be the case rather than relying on external motivators. Thanks for that 💕

This came at the right time, thank you Toniko!!!!

This is both relatable and helpful, thank you🤜🤛

Thank you for your time and work ❤️

Hi there, I saw the title on this one and it brought a smile to face. Great vid! I find you very motivating! Love the reward idea. I will use that for some of the non art things in my life ( like house cleaning - that, I need motivation for).

It's great to hear I'm not the one struggling with motivation these strange times we live in. Getting into flow is the hardest, especially when you share living with someone, interrupting your flow with their banalities lol. Being alone is bliss for any artist.

Coming from personal experience as a Freelancer, you have the words of wisdom. I hope many artists will be able to learn the art of moving forward in work despite many challenges through a mixture of these amazing tips (external and internal validation) varying over time.

I have motivation problems I want to animate or draw something but as soon as I start immediately want to do something else this my help me

I'm about to take some college classes for the second and hopefully final time to graduate. My biggest problem (besides adhd) is staying motivated, and with class starting in two days, I was having a touch of panic. This video in my feed was perfect, and I'll definitely be snooping out your other video(s) on it. Thank you man.

True. Motivation isn't motivation if it's fear. It's a bad health mind set I need to get out of.

I really needed this right now

I agree with fear and competition being good motivation tools. I noticed that I’ll wait till the last minute to start a project and then push myself to complete it. Crazy idea flows in at this point. I like the challenge of friendly competition

So I'm an underaged non-professional artist and its extremely hard for me to become motivated and currently my motivation drives my productivity since I'm not forcing myself to draw that much. However, I do have 3 additional tips to how I keep myself motivated! The first might not apply to everybody but me and my mom have maladaptive daydreaming, so because of that I end up drawing scenarios and characters that I randomly come up with😅😅😅 Second is watching other people being productive. I don't know what it is but watching other people being productive in any way at all sets something loose in my head that just gives me an extra push in a way. The last one is mainly for when I've already started something and I cant bring myself to finish it but it can be applied to other scenarios as well. Thinking about how good I can make the final product if I really try to do it well, or just imagining that satisfying moment of when you've just finished a big project or piece.

Great great video. Definitely one to revisit again and again. Thank you Toniko Pantoja!

you are a true inspiration thank u

I really needed this I've been loosing motivation to animate for a while now and this really helped

i kept beating myself for other successes. thank you very much sir for providing these advices.

This was so helpful thank you so much

routine, schedule, and small rewards for accomplishing small goals.

Saw thumbnail and immediately liked. Progress almost has nothing to do with motivation its about dedication homies

I've always had a different idea of motivation on mind. Before I start working on stuff, I feel less motivated, however, once I start working, I eventually get Very focused and more pushed to keep going. It's a weird thing that happens to me, but it works.

You're right motivation is sometimes an excuse But it can help Thanks mr toniko i'm always learning from your videos 💕💕💕

Thank you my dude, this is very helpful

Just what i need dude, thanks

The reward one you mentioned: That one bit me hard. I did a 13 page comic that I was really focused and motivated to complete. I worked on it daily for a year. When it was done, I was expecting some external thing to happen, but it didn’t really change much and it was unrealistic to think that my first comic in years would really change things for me. It really made me bitter for awhile and felt like I was just wasting my time. This video was really nice. Thanks for the tips!

I needed this video...!

Brilliant...thank you

god bless you and your heartwarming videos!

Dude you just saved my life.

You're saying it's better to stay motivated externally, but you are part of what helps me stay motivated haha

Good job bro, greetings from México 💓💓💓💓💓💓I love your work

I think this video will be helpful to me because when you see such a big community such as the youtube animator community, it makes animation look easy, but you know how difficult it can be when you actually try to tackle it, and it can be very demotivating to see great animators, or even just lots of animators doing so many things where you struggle so much :') I mean I'm not even kidding, there are masterpiece animations coming from people who just started, and they make it look so easy xD

Your videos really add value in my life thaks

I was just thinking about this topic. I'm making a fangame and the "find solutions" part is exactly what I'm applying the most. I made a "template game" with an interface, items, enemies' behaviors, bosses' patterns and characters' controls already programmed, so I can reskin it to any set of sprites or world. And since I made this using placeholder art (that's why it's turning into a fangame as well) I just have to change sprites and make new stages to make new games. No work from the blank canvas or programming a billion things from scratch until I lose interest in the game again for a long time for me. And that motivates me as heck, more than anything else! Thank you for the insight, I pretty much agree with everything you said here.

Thanks for this!

I love you, thanks for the video! :)

this video made me feel a lot better thx

my main issue with motivations is, i get hyperfixated on things fast, but they also fade fast, so ill come up with an idea, get hyperfixated on it, but then get hyperfixated on something else, to the point i cant work on it anymore.

I thought the reward of all those shorts was that.... now everybody sees you as the king of Indie Shorts around here, you are like that guy

I actually started recording timelapse videos and while it isn't necessarily something that solves the motivation problem for me, it's really insightful to watch how I did things on an artwork, regardless of quality. It helps inform me what works, what doesn't and what other methods have I not tried yet.

Coincidentally, I really needed this video. I've been really wanting to use my spare time to work on a demo reel for free lance animation projects, but I expect so much from myself and when I look back at my work it usually never gets done because I'm afraid I wont be good enough for hire, or that I dont know where to start. I usually spend like 30 minutes to an hour working a day on a project and it slows down more and more. Hopefully I'll be able to learn something as I watch this vid.

As a recent graphic Designer graduate, I procrastinate a ton and have made a ton of excuses why I don't get my design done. It's time to change that and thank you for your perspective, it really helps!

Awesome advice! Your videos are a godsent to newbie animators, like myself. Recent(ish) grad here, launched my full-time freelance career last year. Right now my biggest struggle is going from, working on my own projects all the time, to having a small amount of time or no time to do so. I suffered crippling burnout at the end of the year, due to poor management of my personal projects, I was working 10+ hours every day with little breaks (in this hellish isolated environment). It wasn't fun.. so I took two months off my personal work to recover, and I have! But my question of how to manage your personal work with full-time freelancing is still haunting me. So far I know there's some animators who strictly work on their personal projects on the weekend, and not straight after work. Which I have been adopting, but sometimes I feel like I should be spending more time. But then I fear that if I do, I'll end up burning out again.

Sort of like what you said about rewarding yourself for a good job, I constantly mark my calendar depending on how productive I was that day. Obviously a red X is for nothing, an orange check is for when I do _something_ at least, a green check is for doing something substantial that I do regularly anyway, and a big, fancy green check for when I do something big and new like animation. Even if it's little, being able to actually see my productivity in front of me helps, and marking that big, fancy check makes being productive more satisfying. The orange check and even a blue check when something extraneous and necessary takes precedent, like school work, both still make the other things I do feel substantial enough. Plus I customized it to have my characters on it so it's just more fun to have anyway~

I just watch amazing animations to stay motivated-sometimes it works and i can do it ^^' I am stuck in a rut mentally but I'll get there

Oh damn, this made me realize that i did the internal motivation you listed with even knowing in the first. Especially on "Finding Solutions" and "Find the Fun in It". Just today, that i have to make a video for an assignment and i thought about what part should i record and how to edit the parts together. Maybe i should pay close attention to the internal motivation and use it to my advantage (even though i tend to be doubtful of myself).

scheduling and routines. Also set up a good working environment

Well this just inspired me... Linxy- (Thank you so much for this video, I really needed this, I've been stuck watching KZfaq so I never got to animation. So thank you!!) ♥😽👍♥

I know it soudns stupid, but my demotivation comes from not being at the level where I can put the crazy shit that's in my mind onto a canvas. I know, I know. It takes time and dedication to get there, but if I was at a certain level I dont think I would run out of motivation that easily anymore even though I know that you always feel to be not good enough.

Very very inyeresting. Thanks for sharing

I agree external factors are not effective compared to the internal factors, especially from my experience. This was a good video! Good Job bro!

Thanks man

This video actually contains some great advice. I'm trying to learn German and Coding by practicing a little everyday, but the motivation to keep going died out really quick. After seeing how other people were motivated, how they were able to get things done (Telepurte), I know that all I have to be is consistent. I don't have to go above and beyond every day, but If I just be consistent then I can accomplish the goals I set out to do.

I'm still struggling with this, so it's really nice to hear your thoughts on this

I can relate to this Ever since I graduated from uni, I found myself a bit lost and really wanted a job in storyboarding to keep me steady But then I came to a revelation. that by setting up my own personal goals and projects, I'm able to keep growing and sleep more soundly