>>20555
This might seem like a tangent (bear with me, seriously.
oh god), but first thing you need is passion for the craft. No matter what you want to do, you need to know yourself well enough to understand why you want to do what you want to do. I know this sounds simple and puerile, but this is really important. Most people have a lot of different passions, many of those can be pursued in life separately. Some "lucky" people have passions that can co-exist in a single profession. Those quotes in the word "lucky" are there because you should leave some things you really, really like as a hobby.
First advice:
"Remember to make a few unrelated hobbies on your way to being a pro in a craft you feel a calling to. You'll need those hobbies later to keep you happy, sane and able to adapt" -An0n
The reason I said YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY you want a specific profession, is because in modern world you are put in to a massive arena of amateurs and professionals at a very young age
Thanks to the Internet and social media. Most young people get their passions and expectations twisted and go to a terrible road leading to depression or not getting the best out of their talents. Most children just want to be famous and be millionaires, thanks to those youtube millionaire corrosive beasts.
Let's say an Anon wants to work at Blizzard as an 3D-modeler (this is like a 500000 people low estimate). The 1.tier goal is to get really good at modeling and learn a little about the related skills like bones and animation. 2.tier is getting good enough to send a resume to a company and get hired. 3.tier is...
get molested. I'm joking. You "rarely" get molested in big companies, it's like 1:10 or so.
Let's say an Anon wants to be a famous animator in a regocnised large company. 1.tier would be to learn the basics. 2.tier would be to promote your work locally and on youtube, youtube being the secondary. There might be easier ways to do that, like having connections: Rich Parents, Family friends in the industry, Friends in the industry (You got from that "unrelated hobbies" part, pay attention faggot). And after all this bullshit, animation could be still be a hobby, that will bloom in to a profession later.
Second advice:
"Knowing what you want and why is crucial to your happiness. Everyone should pursue the goals that are first tier and clear. The second tier goals are easier after you get the first ones. This is the way to happiness and good life. Don't quote me on that though." -An0n
The Actual Advice:
There are a lot of strong forces trying to put people into different boxes, and they want us to fight, while forgetting THEM. They put men and women in to boxes, and gave them different rules. They put skin colors into different boxes and laughed. WE ARE ONE. Do not believe the lies.
The TL;DR answer to
>>20555
Learn the craft you want to be your profession without sacrificing your other passions. Learn enough about yourself to make a tier-list, and go from tier to tier. Leave room for hobbies while focusing on your goal. Don't thank me later, we are all the same. Start small. Start smart. Start slow. Shop S-Mart.
Put your animations on alternative websites like Vimeo. Seriously for monetization purposes. There are a lot of people that are willing to pay 1-5$ for a short animation, I'm one of them, I pay a few dollars for an interesting video. And if it turns out good, I shill it somewhere, not here obviously. This is not a shilling site. Fucking god. Absent destinations.
P.S. AI is going to make me and you shit our pants, big time. I'm at low/high code network design and optimization. I can only imagine what AI will do to your field of work.
See you later, fellow Space Cowbot.