Hello everybody I got a problem with something. I have been posting since 2024 and only released 3 stickman videos, and I am getting worried that I am not good enough, entertaining or too bland for this site to get anywhere and it is getting frustrating to animate and I need help.

I got a few questions I want to ask so you all can guide me to be the best I can be so here they are.

1. how do creators who started out (by themselves and no teams) post more videos within a year and how do they get organized with it?
2. why are stick people videos not popular?
3. how do I make my videos and art less bland and interesting for people to see?
4. how can I animate and make videos faster I used a program called adobe animate and it usually take s a long time to animate even if it's a stick figure cartoon and it's frustrating?
5. how long do other animators animate for? I usually animate for two hours take a break and animate another two hours what is their strategy?

that's all I got. thank you for reading this and I hope I do better in producing some more animated content on this website thank you.

I'll only share my thoughts on:

2. why are stick people videos not popular?

The stick man is as bland and as unappealing as design can go.

Regardless of the skill in staging and animation, this nondescript unappealing design can only go so far. No one connects emotionally with a stick figure.

There are some skillfully animated and cleverly produced stick man cartoons. It's fun when you see one of them for the first time. After that, it just becomes repetitive. The novelty wears off within minutes - when you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Drawing stick figures is a professional dead end. It leads you nowhere. You cannot even start developing as a character designer until you abandon the stick figure.

It depends. Many people have projects with scripts they follow and develop, while others do it for fun when they have an idea. Organizing isn't something that would apply here exactly.

Because they're generic. People today like originality. Stickmans are partly our first ways of expressing a person; they're easy and manageable, but without creativity they won't amount to much. These days they're very overused. But it's very common for beginners to start with stick figures, so for now it's fine to use them, but if you want an audience, you need more experience.

Pay close attention to what others are doing and see why people like it. Trying a completely new concept can go very well or very badly, but it all depends. Just experiment.

The amount of time an animation takes you depends on you and how well you use your tools. As you continue using them, you'll find ways to do things faster, learn techniques, develop your skills, and eventually do things up to 10 times faster and with higher quality. But everything takes time.

It depends on what they're doing, who they're doing it with, their technique, and the medium. There are many factors that make a difference. I can't give you a specific strategy because everyone has their own methods; it's up to you to watch videos of animators. Some use storyboards, others scripts... some use techniques like wear frames, others animate by interpolation. Maybe I could do the same thing as you but 100 times faster, but again, it takes time.

Very interesting thought. It also made me think about an animation YouTuber that also uses stick figures his name is Alan Becker and he started off making stick figures animation on this site and he is still making it (from his animator vs animation series of course) and I was wondering how can you make stick figure’s interesting from a story or design perspective. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Well when it comes to character design.

Simply put the difference between an iconic character and a generic one is all about the silhouette ( the combination of shapes you use to form their body) and also their attire.

All iconic characters have features that stand out in a crowd be it Homer Simpson's yellow skin, strangely shaped head, and odd hair style.

To Mario's red hat, overalls, and smiley mustache.

Usually big readable shapes make the most dynamic designs.

Like Jimmy Neutron's massive fudge shaped hair or Sonics meteor shaped head.

Or Mickey Mouse's huge circle shaped ears.

Color also plays a huge role if Clifford the Big Red Dog was normal dog colors and like white , black, or brown he wouldn't seem to be as memorable or unique.

To get started, start with a basic shapes. Just use your paper like a videogame character editor just keep experimenting with different shapes, colors, and clothes.

Keep on making different iterations until something clicks.

Research also helps a lot too look up fashions from different cultures, countries, eras, classes, and movements.

It may seem like a lot of work but it can be very fun and rewarding.

I think if we all stick to it eventually something good could happen :)

1: Posting consistently in any medium can be frustrating. I’m working on a comic with my wife, and best advice I can give you on this? Stagger your releases. Make a couple ahead of time and schedule releases to make it seem like you’re consistently pumping stuff out.

2: I’ve been around here and online for a loooooong time, and I can tell you stick figure stuff just had its moment and left. On here, AlbinoBlackSheep, YouTube, it’s been done all over the place. You’re free to stick (lol) with it, but just know that the audience may not be waiting for you.

3: That’s unfortunately out of our control. Just try new things, break out of your comfort zone, try new styles, even if something looks bad, try to make it work. Hammer it out, put your all into something that may not even be feasible. That’s how innovations come about.

4: I’ve used ClipStudioPro and ToonSquid. Both are great programs, especially if you’re working on a tablet like I am. You just gotta familiarize yourself with the features, and it’ll get easier. I’d recommend CSP over most anything, but the EX version which has all the animation features comes at a pretty hefty price. It’s a one time fee though, so it beats out Adobe imo.

5: I used to animate on my days off when my wife was at work and I had full access to our PC. Now that I have a tablet, I typically work anywhere from four to seven hours a day if it’s something im committed to. It helps to break things into a process; I storyboard, then sketch, then line everything in, then lay down flat colors, then work on the background, then configure camera positioning. It’s work, dude, but it’s super rewarding once you see your finished piece.

I really hope this helps and that you don’t get discouraged anywhere along the way. As artists, sometimes we need to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around us, as unfair as it seems. We need to be okay with failing and creating solely for ourselves, not to impress people or win awards. I wish you nothing but luck on your journey, and don’t be afraid to keep asking questions; ultimately it will help you grow.