Last week I was meeting with a product company I've been working with for over a year. Such a great company, BTW. We were talking through their upcoming product releases and their 3D needs: imagery for marketing, advertising, all of it before the final product is even ready. Great conversation.
After we wrapped up, one of their employees pulled me aside. He'd heard a little about my background in film, games, and product and wanted to pick my brain. He was passionate about getting back into animation, which was something he'd stepped away from, and wanted to know how to start.
My first piece of advice: pick something easy. Get a quick win.
I see this all the time. Someone gets excited, looks at what other people are producing, and immediately tries to replicate it. I get it, that stuff is inspiring. But jumping straight to the complicated work before you've built a solid foundation is a mistake every time. Don't try to animate a complicated monologue before you perfect a simple walk cycle. That path leads to frustration, not growth. Pick something simple, get really good at it, and then move to the next thing. Get a quick win that will give you momentum and push you forward.
Here's what hit me while I was talking to him: product companies do the exact same thing.
They see what a competitor is doing in advertising, or what a big brand is pulling off in 3D, and they want all of it… right now. Reconfigure the whole pipeline. Change every software tool. Make sweeping changes so everything is suddenly efficient and capable. I understand the impulse, but that's not how it works. You don't swallow the whale in one bite.
Just like a new artist learning to paint, you need to do things in order. You crawl before you sprint.
With another current client, we looked at their entire pipeline and found a lot that could be improved. But instead of overhauling everything at once, we focused on the small things causing the most friction: file naming conventions, manual processes that should have been automated, steps that were eating time without adding value. Those things sound unglamorous. That's the point. Fix the small things, systematize them, stop wasting energy on them, and suddenly you have the bandwidth to tackle the harder problems.
That's the meeting we ended up having. Not "let's rebuild everything." Just: where are the small inefficiencies, and how do we start there?
One of my favorite quotes that has really impacted my life, and my thinking is "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Source)
“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”
Whether you're learning animation, building a 3D pipeline, or just trying to make progress on something that matters — it's true.
If you're a product company using 3D and AI to generate imagery for marketing, ecommerce, or retail: start by looking at the small things holding you back. You might be surprised how much unlocks when you actually fix them.
Ready to fix the little things first?
If you would like to talk about your process and find out how your bottlenecks can be opened up through pipeline development and automation, let’s chat!
I love talking in person with individuals at companies who are trying to figure out their 3D/Ai pipelines. If you would like to discuss what you are doing with your product pipeline, and would like to know more about how you can make it more powerful, efficient, faster, and more flexible, set up a quick discovery call with me. I look forward to meeting with you!
About this newsletter: Every week, I share some insights into 3D content creation pipelines - tools, processes, success stories, pipeline mistakes, and more. It’s meant to help those involved in 3D product creation, from artists to managers and leadership, understand what is happening in their world, and how to use the latest technologies to create higher quality with greater efficiency, saving time and money.
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