How do you develop your own style and voice as a motion designer?

First design in image, then design in movement. The foundations of an appealing piece of animation should be always focused on design. If you wanna say something, sketch it out first. Try to imagine the look-and-feel of your design, and only then jump onto your Adobe preferred tool.

Selecting your software and knowing details (features, limitations, etc) about the software is important. For these, you can experiment with different tools(like- you can try Blender, After Effects, Cinema 4D, Autodesk Maya, etc). You can finalize one or multiple Software which you are comfortable working with.

There is an interesting Venn diagram that makes up a motion designer. They understand design principles (color, typography, and visual hierarchies), visual storytelling principles (narrative devices, story structures) and filmmaking techniques (frame rate, aspect ratio, visual effects, sound design, etc.). Additionally, motion designers must combine the logical, technical brain with the creative, free-flowing brain because of the technology involved in being creative in this field.

Motionographer, Behance, Dribbble, and Art of the Title are fantastic rabbit holes to fall down for motion design inspiration. On YouTube, Ben Marriott, Jake in Motion, and School of Motion are great channels to follow for tutorials and inspiration as well.

Your voice develops out of being exposed to many types of content and finding the kind of style that moves you emotionally. Finding styles and artists that you **LOVE** will keep your fire lit. That fire will feed you as you devour the technical knowledge to achieve that voice. It's important to remember that everything has been done already; what makes anything unique is your personal contribution to that style.

Style and voice are such subjective things and personally, I don’t think it has to be set in stone. I think both will keep developing as you grow and it grows through curiosity and asking “what if?” Or saying yes to a shower thought (this happens to me a lot). Sometimes overexposure to other artists and creators can make the journey even more difficult and you could end up in a fog just trying to adapt someone else’s “voice” and “style”. I’d say keep creating and learning but pick these sources carefully in the beginning. Take the time to figure out what you enjoy and why you enjoy it and maybe create around those things. Best of luck ??

Luckily, LinekdIn is full of generous and talented motion designers that can be a testing audience for your work. Don't be afraid to post something and ask for feedback on this platform, it helps all of us get better and exposes everyone to new ideas and talent.

Use technology as the means to arrive at the creative end. In this way you will always be able to adapt and change styles because your talent does not depend on the tech, it depends on the tools in your toolbelt, the crayons in your box. At the same time, it's impossible to be a master of it all, you'll just become mediocre. There is value in being a specialist, don't be afraid to stick in a lane that lights you up, burnout will be less of an issue. Clients/employers will appreciate you being clear about your limitations instead of saying yes to it all and trying to be everything to everyone.

Voice is overrated. Yes, you should have distinguishing characteristics in your work, but a lot of the work you'll do is work for brands. If your voice is too prominent, they may not be able to picture how your work fits in with their brand guidelines. Have distinct characteristics in your work, but demonstrate that you're flexible enough to fit different brands' needs.

Motion designers aren't solo artists. A 'unique voice' will serve mostly to pigeon hole you and you'll get stuck in a niche. The industry moves fast, and your voice needs to sing what your clients want to hear if you want to stay relevant.

Imagine this: You're out for a stroll and stumble upon a captivating motion graphics video. Inspired, you decide to recreate the magic at home. As you delve into the creative process, you notice a specific object in the source material was originally red, but in your version, it takes on a bold shade of blue. Even though your initial intention was to replicate it precisely, that unexpected twist? It's the unique touch of your personal style making its presence felt. It unfolds naturally, like a creative surprise, as you navigate the path of experimentation and artistic exploration. So, no need to stress; let your distinctive style organically evolve as you enjoy the creative ride!

Learn to collaborate Collaboration opens your work up to new opportunities and opinions in ways a crit session won’t. You can actively learn from your collab partner whilst lifting the quality of your work. In my 12 years of being in the design space I’ve found it’s hard to create your best work in a vacuum. You’ll get to where you want to be a lot faster if you develop your ability to collaborate and open up your work and design process to other people. With the right partners the visual quality of your work will be higher and exhibit much more depth in concept.