The worst part about being a jack-of-all-trades is that you get stuck in that "awkward" middle phase, where you are neither good nor bad for much longer than someone who only focuses on one skill. On the flip side, knowing how other tools work can help you a lot on projects that require many different people and skills, even if you only need to work with one of those tools.

The "not being bored" aspect is one of the biggest perks. I get burnt-out on art projects after a while and like to step away and do something like coding or fool around with micro-controllers for a while.

@Joker-qn1cr

3 жыл бұрын

Same here man. I kinda dislike it. I get bored easily with everything and do something else like try to learn something else like guitar or take apart my phone and put it back together again. But art always bored me very fast unlike other things. But I've always loved it at the same time. Its a love and hate relationship

@YumegakaMurakumo

3 жыл бұрын

Programming is something I want to do. Starting with HTML. I started but I got bored...I hate having ADHD

@Woef718

2 жыл бұрын

@@YumegakaMurakumo Udemy helped me a bit for my adhd problems for studying coding

@thanasmanjunatha

5 ай бұрын

@@Joker-qn1crmaybe try to keep away things which interest u a lot more outside of ur room when ur doing art so u have no choice but to do art or sit and waste ur time

Illustrator, performer, video editor, writer. Got to do it all because no one will do it for me.

I was always the Jack of all trades. I was good at art(obviously), math, science, english, cello, swimming, basketball, etc. But I was master of none. At first I felt nice having people saying "wow you are good at everything". Then when went to engineering school, I quickly found out universities ain't for Jack of all trades. So naturally I quitted being an Engineer and pursued where my jack-o-all-trade-ness is useful and appreciated : Art. Now all the little skills and knowledge I learned over the years are paying off because I spend less time reseaching on the subject or know what to look for.

The full original quote is A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. changes how we have been using and based entire work ethic and philosophy around a literal misquote

@Pongowl

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, hyperspecialization tends to be limiting in many ways. Diversify, do things, gain broader perspectives, and become epic.

@aliquidgaming1068

3 жыл бұрын

Same with the quote "blood is thicker than water" Original quote is "blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb"

@Machodave2020

2 жыл бұрын

The quote makes sense now. "A Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one" because you start out as a master of none, but you'll eventually become a master of some. And some is greater than one.

I heard the original saying is "Jack of all trades master of ONE". Where you are good at a lot of things but one is your bread and butter.

@bezalelsukdulary1511

3 жыл бұрын

Well agree with you

@BlissAnimations

3 жыл бұрын

I think that's the best position to be in if you want to get into the animation industry

@linlearnsart4935

3 жыл бұрын

Love that. The thing is you just need to have competence at all the other things and be really excellent with one thing. People think that you have to be at master level at everything when that's just physically impossible.

@user-gg8wu4ce5e

3 жыл бұрын

Pretty sure it's "a jack of all trades is master of none" so you're not a master of one particular skill but you're decent at slot of different things

@user-ry4eg2mg2y

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-gg8wu4ce5e yep, it's master of none, which refers to how a person dabbles in a lot of things but never learns to master any of them Though in this instance, by being jack of all trades, you CAN be well prepared to move on to being master of one fairly quickly because of all the things you've dabbled in.

I always had the believe that to become a master, fist you need to be a jack. Knowing about many paths can be more useful than just focusing on one thing

There's a great TED talk on this by David Epstein, where he makes the case that a lot of times its better to start out by trying a variety of different disciplines and slowly working your way into a specialization because that way you'll be more likely to find a specialization that suits you. If you try to specialize too early, you may find early success, but might not be in the optimal discipline for you in the long run.

introverts sure love this because they can work by themselves on projects.

@DiegoTellesFazedorDeFilho

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, we also save some money that we could use to pay other person to do the work.

Jack of all trades, master of none, is often times better than a master of one. Is the full saying

@daemonace5910

3 жыл бұрын

It is? It's the first time I encounter it

@PlaidDin

3 жыл бұрын

Ahh, you also listen to Andrew Price podcast! :D

@daximusprime7525

3 жыл бұрын

@@PlaidDin yep... definitely wasn't tiktok............................................ yep

@dnaeripersonal

3 жыл бұрын

This is one of those "you got me in the first part" situations for me, lol.

@daximusprime7525

3 жыл бұрын

@@dnaeripersonal look into the origin of the phrase if you don't believe me

Sometimes I forget that I have many other useful skills and that's why I feel like I'm mediocre at most things because I never focus on one for too long. I forget that I need to focus on one skill and master it before I jump into learning some other skill. I usually drop the skill or hobby whenever I feel I've learned it good enough to be passable in other's eyes. Now when I'm working on something like animating I have a skill level I want to reach so I don't stray off to some other subject if I get discouraged or bored.

Agree, the "jack of all trades" people could apply any different set skills they learned earlier to their new skill or job. As example a Web Designer could perform differently when they know a little bit illustration and animation. They could make the web more interesting, also it's match with current trends that a customer would attracted with animation and Illustration on some app. Imagine only good at web designer, yes, you're good at one thing but other people maybe have BETTER value of final product than you. This actually apply to some many industry, people nowadays tends to hire people with "extra skill" Same with : An engineer that good at caligraphy? Steve Jobs makes Apple that apply some calligraphy stuff. So their UI and UX more convenience for Apple user. A 3D modeller that makes 2D animator? Yes there's Makoto Shinkai that apply 3D pipeline on his works, he was also had a job on 3D industries before making 2D animation. A Business Management Student that makes 2D animation? Yes there's Hayao Miyazaki from Ghibli Studio. He's the founder of those studio, set of management skill that he got from university help him running his studio. You can always got something with a new set skill you learned. Also It's only a matter of time that someone will actually become a master of their new skills. I could say 5 years or 10 years later, then you're perform differently on that new skill before. Note that a human will always grow and learn to seek better performance. So focusing on only 1 skill or doing continuous learning and learning new things is matter of choice. Choose wisely A good book that talks about this : Range by David Epstein, talking about why mastering a lot of skill could benefit you in the world that full of people on focusing on 1 skill. It's good insight for everyone. Alright, it gets too long lmao. I'm sorry. But this is an interesting topic so thank you for discussing this Toniko.

I'm doing literally everything rn. I'm 16 and I'm working on my skills with animation, character design, story writing, comic art, storyboarding, digital concept art, traditional painting. I do a lot. Mostly because my school work requires us to complete every step on our own to create a full product. And we have to do 4 projects at the same time. My projects rn are a 2-3 minute animation, a 5 page comic, fantasy concept art and a surreal photography project. It's kind of ridiculous to have to do all this at my age all at the same time, it's kinda stressful because of limited time but fun too. It's hard not to do a bit of everything though, for my animation I've had to write the script, make a storyboard, draw keyframes and Inbetweens and also colour it all and I'll have to add in music and sound and do some things in after effects and premiere pro At least I'll have lots of work for my portfolio before I go to university

it's funny that you mentioned Alberto Mielgo. He's my absolute go-to when it come to anything next-level, edgy, or outside of the box. A true master in his own rite. As a jack of all trades myself, It's no wonder his work resonates the way it does.

@pinktrash2720

3 жыл бұрын

i stopped being too focused to traditional painting because of alberto mielgo. seriously, he's really great in a lot of different stuff and you can see how passionate he is in his craft

One of the most important things I learned with regard to personal projects - treat them just like any project for a client, which is to say: substantiate your decision-making, don't just go with the flow of how you're feeling. Who is the target audience, why do you use this medium, this style, what is the concept/story/message and how long did it take to finish each stage of the process? Employers want to know they can rely on you for these things.

Thanks for making a video on this topic. I often find myself thinking "I know so many different skills", but then I don't feel I'm ready in any of them to work professionally. Basically not exceling at any. So the advice of giving priority to one or two skillsets is very appreciated. Do you also think being a jack of all trades could also be helpful in team work? for example, expertizing in character design, but also having knowledge on 2D animation will make you better at creating characters that will be animated. And making the animators in the team happy.

"A jack of all trades and a master of none is often times better than the master of one."

Just being an indy animator alone you have to have the skills of most of all the people in end credits short of caterer.

You always seem to post something at the exact time I needed to hear it - thank you for your informative and intriguing videos!

The original is "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one" it was meant as a compliment to people who can do everything because they're more versatile and useful in more situations than someone who is only focused on 1 thing. Keep making cool videos!

great vid. in my 20s i was a jack of all trades working in theatre and people always said “master of none” but then by my 30s id done 10 years of them all and was now a master of several of them and at least pretty good at the others. comes in handy.

Cooll video, I'm a jack of all trades and I got to freelance doing a one man studio work the later year and a half, the last studio I worked gave me a bit of fear of working in environments that people knows I'm one of these. I worked in a game studio, small one, they knew that I know programming and shader programming, oh man, and know that I do motion, montage, write, that I do films, well, burnout, I can't do nothing and concentrate because everyday a new thing popped and it's out of my control, so I can't choose to do or not, it was a terrible experience. But, I still a jack, I can't resist, sometimes it's good, like when I have opportunity to create with friend being a director and producer, sometimes it's bad, when I get he impostor and everything is shifty, not only one skill. Well, life is complicated.

Doing Multiple major trades is surely a good way to keep fresh.

One major problem with being a 'jack of all trades' is that if you're a person who puts their all into everything everytime then you WILL reach a point where you feel like you're stuck. You have too many ideas and not enough time for them all. It happens to me sometimes, coz i like art, music, languages and architecture but one of these is really time consuming😂 so i often feel like I'm not putting growing in the others. Then i get overwhelmed. It's definitely fun to explore and know different things but it also helps to know that sometimes there'll be seasons for them. Maybe in one you'll be doing more of only one, and in the next you may have a sweet spot and so on. This thought helps me calm down.😊 Also definitely helps coz you'll be the local 'handyman/lady'😂😂 i know a friend whose like this

Don't know if I count. I'm a recent game art graduate who upon graduating decided to learn how to code and do 2D animation by starting to work on a hand drawn 2D action platformer. I was then forced to learn game design, UI/graphic design and sound design. I delegated the music to a few musicians since I wanted a specific sound/style that I couldn't achieve without years of practice.

I like to get just good enough at things so that - if I want to do something advanced which IDK off the top of my head, I still _know how to look_ for the answer. Also this applies not just in art, but in science. E.g. knowing where your data came from helps you analyze it. Likewise, knowing the analysis your data will be put through helps you design better experiments (and not give your poor data scientist a sample of n=1 and expect useful stats... *ahem).

Its just better to know and do more, makes life more fun rly. But yeah everyone needs to figure it out for themselves XD

I would add up that being jack-of-all trades is great to help out other people. Probably bc of you skillset you know other people from every area, you can become a mediator and help a super very talented one-skill person to make an integral work.

I pretty much don't have any skills atm -- I have to start from scratch. I have an adventure game (old school 2d point-n-click style) that I'm designing, but whenever it gets to actually starting it, I don't really know where to start, and I end up stopping. But as far as projects you have given me an idea. Games are all about interactivity, however, what used to really excite me was seeing the cut scenes when I solved a particularly difficult puzzle. So maybe I shouldn't worry that I'm only working on animation, and try to create a straight up animated intro for my game (a little movie).

Funny enough, my name actually refers to me being a jack of all trades. Zenzele = self-determination. I didn’t intend for it growing up but guessed it just matched who I was naturally, as I always want to learn things and do stuff even if no one would help me. My parents would always make fun of me and say “yeah she can do everything by herself” and sometimes it was in a good way, sometimes it wasn’t. But overtime I got to realize my dad was especially drawn to the idea that being a jack of all trades meant being a master of none. He never stopped me but for my entire school career (I’ll be going to university in September) it’s almost been imbedded in me that I need to specify and just pick one thing. So thank you for sharing this video. Your message hasn’t quite settled comfortably in my mind that just yet. That it’s okay to be good at lots of things - I have a lot of unlearning to do. But your perspective was definitely something I needed to hear. Thanks for the video!

Alberto Mielgo is my hero

I try to be a jack of all trades in videogame design. The only part im not *decent* at is music-making, which is something I want to get into my toolset. 6:05 I try to have my cake and eat it to in this instance. I choose the discipline of coding in game design, but I seek proficiency in all of the other areas. I hope to be able to make videogames entirely independently, and I have somewhat done that, but I do acknowledge the fact that it probably wont help me get a job in doing that. So I focus on coding, because its my favorite part.

I've heard tech hiring managers say they want a "T shaped" person. Wide jack-of-all-trades interest, plus at least one skill that they've really mastered. Hire them to do the thing they've mastered and feel confident that they have the ability and context to work with everything else going on.

Doing everything is a must as a penniless independent. It takes more time to figure out and get certain things, but, I seem to manage to make things. Especially while trying to make it out on youtube.

This topic is very aligned with what I've been thinking about... Time to make more animated short films so I can figure out which thing I want to specialize in Thank you! :)

Tonikos vid is always helpful

I really wish i knew this at the beginning of art school. By 3rd year i realized i was in the wrong major and it was too late for me.

@Shibbykun

3 жыл бұрын

For context im a visual development grad which focused on everything and was geared more toward film. By the end of my 3rd year i realized i should of gone 2d animation storyboarding focus

@BenjaminRound

3 жыл бұрын

I had a similar problem. I graduated from film school, but I am now more interested in illustration, animation & vfx. I was lucky in that I could introduce some of those things into my film degree. However I think the fact that we have realised what we really want to do, is the most important lesson. Also no knowledge will go to waste. Film school helped me look at a whole bunch of specialisations and realise what area I want to continue on with.

If you happen to be someone who is interested in EVERYTHING, including coding, I recommend making video games. It really is a heck of a lot of fun. (this advice applies mainly to hobbyists)

This is why the generalist job position exists :) it was the savior for me when I graduated college.

Sad past (song) is an oddly fitting track, not by name, but rather how I feel about how I am with skills. I hate, hate, HATE! That I have to, That I am expected to specialize - I love doing everything. Concepting, illustrating, storyboarding, learning animation. I finished business school and can do some programming in multiple programming languages. Having a Jack of all trades soul is such a burden when you want to get your feet wet and get into the industry. Not to constantly worry, that by being a Jack I will always be a master of none. I know that such a skill set would be great to be a director, especially an Art director, for example, it's easier to manage and direct when you actually know and have some experience working as workers under you work. This is harsh. I don't need to strive to learn multiple skills, I can't focus on one or two of skills, watering down my progress. I am proud of the amount of knowledge and skill I acquired, but it leads nowhere. The video brings me some comfort though. It is possible to manage this and I will conquer this. There is no point in giving up half the way up the mountain, is there?

Thank you for doing this video!!!

my hyperfixation be like: nuh uh

The difficult thing is trying to become a "jack of all trades" while a student or in a situation where you just arent very assured of your skill and value, it feels like being spread too thin, especially if you aren't exactly sure about what being industry ready means and whether you are there yet.

thnku so much, i needed it so badly. Its been months and i have been jumping around filmmaking, sequential art, animation etc. I think for next few years i will focus on animation and storytelling. And then maybe push into filmmaking and doing comics etc.

Someone that is actually ''good'' at lots of things is very rare, most people that consider themselves generalists are okayish at a lot of skills, not good.. The problem with tackling a lot of skills instead of just a few means you have to spread out your attention and effort. What is better, spending 1 hour on 10 skills or 10 hours on 1 skill? It's the one skill, spending only an hour on those other ten skills isn't going to amount to anything. One should really specialise themselves in a few skills, don't pick too many. Being a master of all is impossible.

Wow thank you so much for this ! I pursued animation because I didn't want to secialize and I love all aspects of the art of making a full film, and find great joy in doing multiple things, but I have heard for the past years to specialize into one thing. This is an excellent breakdown and very conforting in what my objective is ! I also train in multiple martial arts ^^

Been struggling with deciding if I should stop being a generalist and specialize. Thank you for thia video! What was the animation at the end with the lasers? I would love to see more of that. It looked really cool that clip.

So we need to add to the name of Jack of all trades. If you eventually master the crafts you have, you'll go from a "Jack of all trades master of none" to a "Jack of all trades master of *some* ".

I have this problem too, i'm interested in so many things..i can do storyboard, animation, illustration, background and even editing and sound design, but studios won't hire me because i'm not quite good enough in ONE thing :/ , so thanks for this video it's actually helping :)

" You gotta know terminology and duties to understand job boards. " ...is my understanding of 'jack- of- all- trades' ".

Gosh I just love your videos so much, amazing talk and timelapse as always!

challange to myself: I have to draw 3 frames everytime you say Jack of all trades.

The problem with being a jack of all trades is that you know you cannot dedicate much time to a particular discipline in order to master it, and you feel guilty. The best part though is that you are not easily bored as others.

love the intro!

" Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one"

I love this advice/ video. Thank you. My problem is that I want to do everything and I love learning everything, then feel bad.

I'm an instrumentalist (violinist at heart), composer/producer, Coder, writer, storyboarder, can do public speaking, pre-mathematician/pre-scientist (I'm a highschooler, so there's no such thing as a highschool mathematician or scientist so I just said "pre"), house/yard work, electrical work, comedian, gamer, tech nerd, and I have leadership skills. Would I count as a Jack of all trades? Edit: I can also do a little audio editing, video editing, voice narration, a little acting, and I'm a wannabe psychiatrist.

I was looking for a way to describe that category of people. Btw maybe jack of all trades could be shortened into joat ? i dunno x) I agree very much with all the points you make in this video. I feel there are many of these jack of all trades in indie game development. Many of them are coding, designing the concepts of the game, illustrating/animating, making the music and making the story. I guess I'd fall into that category (even though I'm not very good at any of these things). I think it's easier (more accessible) to be a j.o.a.t because of the internet. Anyone can download a cracked music making software and play around / follow YT tutorials if you know what I mean.

is very cool have a channel that talk about these things your content is Nice!

Jack of all trades. Master of SOME. I've always been in the middle too. Sad to say I envy those who are masters of one single thing, but this is a nice fresh perspective. Thank you! :) Normally my boomer parents uses this term in a negative way! :) Another facet is despite being a storyteller, I get a lot of client jobs that are branding and graphic design.. T. T I'm glad that works, but I really wanna draw already! lol

@jeggzzzz

3 жыл бұрын

--Although! I suppose time is the enemy to master many disciplines compared to one, huh? I'm currently working on focusing on one right now. lol XD

Hey, thank you for the video. It was actually very important to hear in my current state.

I tried to learn many skills at one month and I'm in lost on what I should I learn from those skills, and waisted a lot of energy even now I can't do anything from that horrible choices

I prayed and God answered! Thank you so much !

Coding, music, martial arts, business, those are like my 4 main hobbies, in that order, what are the odds 😂

Jack of all trades master of none, BUT BETTER THAN MASTER ONE

Jack of All Trades, Master of Some

Fun drinking game - take a shot every time he says jack of all trades

@TonikoPantoja

3 жыл бұрын

Don't forget 'tiddy' animation, 'personal projects', and 'basically.'

I been turned down all my life when I grab many interests related, I mostly work as a graphic ui designer im good at it or at least I got told that ( is the first that brings money to the table) been trap under the graphic design tittle for years, but I'm more passionate in illustration, animation, 2d and 3d even done stuff in pixelart, and gamedev using engines acting as a game designer and writer, I started putting in my behance and artstation bio that I'm a generalist but often got told is unprofessional to use this tittle, started to hide unrelated works in my portfolio and socials ( interviewers now check everything)

In a span of 5 years, I'm in that position where I'm unlikely to get a desired job. However, I also have the ability to make and publish games on my own. I both love and hate it haha. For coding, I use a node based 3rd party tool nobody uses, my pixel art is simple, sound design uses a bit generator and music (previously outsourced) is recently getting more attention compared to earlier. This sucks when you're done with school and in a struggle to find a job you desire due to being out-matched by others... Tho I've been very lucky to find temporary positions from time to time, it's not reliable in the long run. That said, It's also just so much fun and addicting to experiment with different things haha, it's quite the dilemma. These days I depend on making enough sales on my game releases, which is not guaranteed. This is not an ideal position to be in, and to prevent it I strongly advice to get skilled with one role before expanding too widely.

I would like to be a jack of all trades, but you see, there’s this little thing called school

What you said about your portfolio being all over the place really hit home when I went to Lightbox Expo and was told the same thing; I do illustration, character design, and 3d modeling. How do you brand yourself online as a jack of all trades? On my website I can make separate categories but I can't do that on social media, or when I approach people in portfolios reviews. What should I do to combat this? Thank you!

The problem right now is that industry expects everyone to be a Jack-of-all-trades. If you work in arts you are expected ot at least know how to use Photoshop, do character design, use blender, know animation , make backgrounds, concept art... what you can't do, if someone else can do it(even if worse than you) guess who gets picked... exactly, definitely not you.

@loydeanimation

3 жыл бұрын

Seen from their point of view, it's just more useful to them if you have multiple skills. Different projects lead to different production processes, so you never know what are you gonna work on next. You won't always do the same thing. So what I say is that you should know at least a little of the other fields.

My problem is that I have so many different ideas that are output in different mediums. Create a cool VFX animation: Photoshop animation I want to create a music video: after effects Oeh I want to create this creepy monster animation crawling trough my window: Maya + video capture etc. I know substance painter, Maya, zbrush, almost all adobe, Tv paint, unreal engine (including blueprinting) and drawing. PROBLEM IS, I am not very good at any of them. I just have so many interests that I create whatever comes up but never really specialize in the skills I want to learn. Master of none is very applicable to me, I just don't know where to focus on and its making me freeze up. Right now I am making a VR experience for my graduation project, but feel like I am making the wrong thing because I want to become a VFX artist. Just so confused by what I want to become... Wish I was more limited.

"jack of all trades" All the dudes named Trades: 😳

Jack of all trades master of none is usually better than the master of one. I’ve heard that’s the original saying.

To be a jack of all trades you need to know your aces and your tens

Nobody: The Bible Game: 🎵It's a jack of all trades it never fails. Forget enlightenment this'll never grow stale.🎵

I disgree a bit, i know art and animation very well, but also know tech/piano/chess/math bit more average, how ever the worst thing bout it is that u get too lazy and give up early, but u can learn fast:/

Im kind of It, but i constantly haver tô fight with the sensation not been good enogh for the tasks

Nice

What the perpose you using Adobe bridge it use your Animation ?

I am a writter, artist, storyboarder, vídeo editor and voice actor, this all unlicessed and I won´t say I am good in any of those

Im jack. I can be just about anything.

I like that I want to be like that

Well i gess that i want to be myself :) 😄 حسنا أعتقد بأنني أريد أن أكون نفسي :)😄

You are cool

I’m a jack of all trades then

Isnt this what school is doing? I thought we didnt like school

I just have ADHD tbh

First