Received an email from CG Boost. Most important sentences from the letter.
What did I learn on this 4 year journey?
First; be organized, then be organized, and finally… be organized.
Having a clear structure to your folders, defined naming convention and actually upholding the rules you set up for yourself is essential when tackling a large-scale project, even if you’re on your own.
Oh, and - not using too many textures above 2K resolution was crucial… unless you feel like frying your computer.
Additionally, you should allocate plenty of time for rendering and overall the final stages, especially if you’re using Cycles.
A rule of thumb: take your rough time estimate and triple it.
Throughout that time, my main driver was definitely my love for the period that I chose to depict, and gradually, even for the stories and characters I populated the world with.
I always recommend choosing a topic you’re absolutely passionate about, otherwise, you may not see it through.
In that same vein; what’s important to realize, is that motivation actually isn’t reliable, and it won’t help you most of the time. Discipline is a better tool. If you want to finish a project, especially if you’re on your own, get into the habit of doing your project tasks consistently, maybe even every day, even if it’s just a small one.
That way, you are always moving forward, no matter how you feel.
There’s much more, but these were essential for me.
Why motivation is crap & Discipline is Your Only Chance at Success