Here's how you can turn failure into success in your animation career.

Failure is a natural part of the creative process, and it's especially prevalent in the field of animation. However, it's how you respond to these setbacks that can determine your ultimate success. Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity, Develop a Growth Mindset, Build Resilience, Continuously Learn and Improve and Don't Be Afraid to Take Risks; win the goal.

It’s always a process, that’s a part of design to evolve with. Failure is subjective and embrace the process to practice it as the objective. The same thing everyone has to try with a different way. So you have several options to try out. A failure is also a way to learn and evolve. And then there will be creative accomplishment. That might be a success, but for a very small period. Start again…

In the world of animation, just like in life, failure is part of the journey. Remember that speech Rocky Balboa gave to his son? “It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” The same idea applies here. When a project falls apart or an opportunity slips away, it’s easy to feel down, but that’s not what defines you. What matters is looking at what went wrong, figuring out where you need to improve—whether it’s a technical skill or a communication issue with the team—and then pushing forward. The key is to learn from your mistakes, without letting them break your spirit, and keep growing. That’s how you make progress, one step at a time, by not giving up.

Early in my animation journey, I had projects that completely bombed. It felt like the end at first, but over time, I learned to see failure as a teacher. Each setback showed me what didn’t work, helping me refine my skills and approach.

Dans le cadre des reviews internes d’équipe de graphistes, il m’a été conseillé d’inciter les graphistes a partager leur travail dans un canal de discussion d’équipe. Le fait de montrer son travail et de demander des commentaires de ses pairs et chefs est une aide précieuse à plusieurs niveaux. Cela aiguise l’?il des autres graphistes qui se prêtent au jeu, créant aussi un recul sur leurs propres productions, cela libère du temps au manageur qui peut voir si les commentaires répondent ou non aux attentes et recadrer si besoin. Cela pousse aussi chacun à se positionner comme son propre commentateur avant de soumettre son travail. Même le manageur devrait se prêter au jeu. Merci Loris pour ce précieux conseil, et pour le cercle vertueux.

It's important to develop the ability to critique your own work at the right times, to refine that sense of your own taste. And the best way to do that is to invite trusted, honest feedback from others. That can be professors, peers—anyone whose opinion you respect. But here's the key: it's important to let the feedback come without defending or explaining. Just listen. You don't always have to take the feedback, but you have to hear it from different vectors if you want to develop the ability to truly see your own work in progress.

I used to be hesitant about sharing my work, fearing critique. But I soon realized that feedback is gold. Listening to peers, clients, and even critics allowed me to sharpen my animations and push beyond what I thought was possible.

Feedback is a good tool to gauge your level of proficiency but you must always remember one thing, don't take it personal. Constructive feedback especially is welcome during the creation process because it allows you to know whether you are on the right track with the project. If you are working with a client in mind, I make it a point to share my progress with them so that we are to move with the same pace along the way. Remember, you are the expert and you know better but it's important to listen from others to understand their perspective on the same matter

Yo no tomaría la retroalimentación como un fracaso, es más... Es un proceso necesario, nada nace perfecto! Cuando uno anima algo, es como labrar en roca, tiene que ir devastando hasta que aparezca la forma de la roca. Más cuando se trabaja directas con un cliente, "elaboramos un traje a la medida".

Always in a learning phase. If you chose a career in animation, you are curious, you like discoveries. So feed your nature on a daily basis. Whatever it takes. Looking at a flower bloom. Listen to the trickle of a fawcet, imagine how you would animate each drop falling, each petal unfurling.

Specializing is great, but I found that having a variety of animation skills opened more doors. Learning everything from 3D modeling to storyboarding gave me the flexibility to tackle different kinds of projects and collaborate with a wider range of creators.

Eu sempre tive muitas habilidades diferentes, também edito, trabalho bastante com vídeos institucionais, adoro editar entrevistas. Criei um projeto de cria??o coletiva de histórias, chamada Contos Interativos. Agora vou entrar numa nova etapa de anima??o, estou aprendendo o Character Animator, programa fantástico da adobe. Aliás tenho muitos programas deles(sou assinante)

In animation, there are long hours, tough revisions, and rejections. What kept me going was resilience. I’ve had moments where I felt completely drained, but pushing through those lows always led to my biggest growth moments in both skill and confidence.

Acho que precisamos acreditar que as coisas v?o dar certo, mesmo que elas n?o deem. N?o dar certo, faz parte do processo. Uma vez, fui convidada para fazer uma anima??o em tempo recorde, tinha 8 meses pra fazer e conceber rápido o projeto. Tive a idéia de fazer uma colagem, achei que seria possível se a gente já tivesse algumas imagens prontas. Montei uma equipe de 5 animadores e conseguimos concluir o projeto

The animation world is as much about who you know as what you know. I realized that building strong relationships with other animators, clients, and mentors not only opened opportunities but also gave me access to new insights and collaborations that helped elevate my career.

Experiencing an art block? Take a break. Go on a short vacation—sometimes, the more unfamiliar the place, the better. ACG events everywhere nowadays, take your time to build your network. Ideas and network are everywhere; it’s just a matter of how you look for them. Networking with the right people is always key to growing your business, I'm talking in any field. It’s a rule of thumb.

Creative never dies, it only generates more creativity! Whether an idea never made it beyond development or was exhibited to limited fanfare, the relationships, resources, innovation, and most importantly, ideas, will be wells that never run dry in the future.

Sticking to old methods can stagnate your growth. I’ve learned to constantly adapt to new technologies and trends in animation. Innovation often comes from embracing these changes, and in my experience, those who evolve tend to lead the way in the industry.

Failure on one path can be a great opportunity to look in new directions for techniques that may suite your skillset better and can lead to success in unexpected places in your career.

Now, let’s focus on stories. There are countless ways to generate ideas. With modern technology, AI can help streamline the creative process. Don’t like what it suggests? That’s fine. There’s always a better option: look to your roots. Local stories, folklore, legends, and myths are rich sources of inspiration. Worried it’s been overdone? Not a problem—consider sequels, prequels, or even spin-offs. One exercise I do with my students is to start a story with an intro and have them complete it. For instance, I might say, “A boy with a spiral horn is born in the zoo…” and then pass the story from one student to another, blending their unique ideas. It helps spark creativity.