LIFE
Everybody Doing Everything
If it’s not a race, why are we on a track?
I’ve recently fallen for a strange feeling like I wasn’t doing enough, although I am doing quite a lot. Later that day, sharing it with my buddy over a cup of mint tea, he reminded me this feeling had a name — The Fear of Missing Out.
I’ve never been concerned about not accomplishing something. Life goes as it goes, and if you are consistent — it pays off eventually. As a rejection letter from one of the publications quoted Stephen King, “By the time I was fourteen, the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.”
I’m more than fine with changing a nail to a spike, and a spike to a spear if the process demands. But I couldn’t help but notice the world around me became a bit more demanding. Ten years ago, you could start a business having an idea. Five years ago — ideas were not enough, you needed a product, a proof of concept. Now, it feels like you need to be everything everywhere all at once.
I push pixels as a hobby, nothing big, just some nice pixel art as a way to take some pressure off my shoulders and put some more pressure on my dear short-sighted eyes. A week ago, one of my clients called and asked when the final version of a short animated gif would appear. Confused on the inside but keeping my smiling professional face, I gently requested a breakdown of a “final version.”
Apparently, I was supposed not only to draw an animated image but also to do sound design and a clean voice-over. I have no problem providing any of those services, but the initial task was only for an image. The client (I must say he turned out to be a nice guy after all) presumed that as a pixel artist, I also should know how editing software works, where to look for sound effects, and possess a solid microphone.
This fast-paced world urges us to adapt, fair enough, but where is the limit of this adaptation? It looks like to prosper nowadays you need to have a serious arsenal of soft skills. Writing a book? Get ready to learn social media marketing. And trust me, you’ve got to know a thing or two about design for that. So, in addition to being a semi-pro market expert, get familiar with Photoshop or similar software. You can, on the other hand, spend some extra money and hire professionals. That solves the problem, but not everyone has extra money.
However, sometimes even a spare hundred won’t save you from this need for side knowledge. I have a friend who teaches biology part-time. Her school specifically requested teachers to prepare presentations and also introduced a slight level of quality control. It is a future we live in, but it comes with conditions.
My take on that might be controversial, but I came to realize it is a natural course of events. The only issue I have with it is that everywhere people say consistency is key, but no one mentions versatility.
Back to the infamous fear of missing out, the mint tea got colder as the conversation heated. We discussed the pace people around us gained getting their dream projects done and reaching the top of the income and influence chain. My idea always could be squeezed into two words — screw that. I will do what I like for as long as it takes because I believe in it, and people smell bull from miles away. But such an attitude gets you only so far. To some extent, adapting can be a very helpful ability.
I told my friend about a little research I’ve been working on. It’s about the impact of Web3 and the crypto world on the animation industry. The whole crypto invasion, although failing to gain enough trust in people for a number of reasons, still possesses an interesting opportunity to attract investments fast, encouraging animators to come up with new projects, thus creating new workspaces. And as the final goal of any project is to see the light of day, investments come in handy.
Regrettably, among many conclusions I came to, one was rather dispiriting. Most investors are interested in the technological part of the project, along with the visual and creative. Thus, the only way to actually secure some capital in this new Web3 is to have some programming skills or be able to gather a solid team of developers. Both are too much to ask from humble creatives who want their project, be it a book or an animated series, to come to life and to raise valuable questions, bring answers, and simple joy.
Yet another door closes for those who have no plans of learning code or getting familiar with what a blockchain is and how it works. Yet another possible market shows its threshold of entrance.
My friend disagreed. This market was too specific to start with, and it’s a valid argument. Still, a lot of people are ready to play by the proposed rules. We might be facing a world where everyone is doing everything. To be creative becomes synonymous with being a one-man Swiss knife — writer, director, editor, composer, actor, designer, marketing specialist, producer, web developer, preferably.
As frustrating as it might sound, I think there’s a solution. It’s always a good idea to follow the most important advice the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy provides — Don’t panic. Although having a couple of soft skills is undeniably useful, I strongly believe there should always be one main thing to concentrate on. Otherwise, you risk ending up with a hundred baskets having only one egg each. Perhaps, this is the way to fight this ridiculous fear of missing something. You are not missing anything if you do what you do best.
Well, at least enjoy.
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