Topic: A mess for me, that is stop-motion
Hi, before I start typing about this topic I want to apologize in case I ramble too much or if I sound like a whiny little "fish". With that said, here we go!
Also, here's a list of points on "why" and "why I don't" want to give up on making brickfilms:
1 - Evolution
2 - Investment
3 - The all mighty 3D
4 - Fun
Number #1
Evolution - I can somewhat learn the basics of animation through the use of minifigures. But at the same time, sticking with minifgures won't get me too far. I was thinking of maybe replacing them with action figures made out of LEGO Bricks, with articulations and everything. This though, leads me to my 2nd point...
Number#2
Investment - It's too expensive for me to keep buying bricks / minifigures / sets / baseplates and let's not forget about storage systems. Not only that, but having to invest in such "domain" is also tiresome for me. I do have sources from where I can aquire bricks / sets etc... but they don't offer me much. I do know that I can go to "Brickowl" and make my shopping there but it's ridiculous how much I have to pay for the shipping. Call me cheap, but I want to spend my money on other things, (or maybe I don't know the value of money?). Given that, if I depend on buying bricks again and again it will get tedious for me to make brickfilms. Meanwhile, there's the alternative that it's called "3DANIMATION".
Number #3
The all mighty 3D - Which is obviously more convenient. For the most part, you need a powerful computer / laptop. I was thinking of becoming familiar with 3D by using Mine-Imator and doing Stop-Motion in Garry's Mod. Then slowly getting myself into Blender / Maya etc. The way I see it, (In Gmod for example) you can start playing on a map that you like, spawn some characters, lights, some props to put in the background and start animating.
Another thing is that I can work with my favorite characters from various franchises. Which are made and look great. Here's an example, if I were to make a brickfilm / stop-motion animation with Sonic, the character itself would be hard for me to acquire (it's either expensive or hard to find). Building a Sonic from bricks? It would be the same thing that I just talked about, the "LEGO MOC - Action Figures". Last but not least, 3D animation is what people want nowadays < Just a quick little side note, I don't want to start making 3D just because it's one of the most wanted form of animation, but because it's more convenient.
Number #4
Fun - This is by far the hardest part that I will have to deal with, in case I give up on brickfilms. When I made stop-motion, I got used to having to move the characters with my own hands. It's such a nice feeling for me and it's faster if I work like that. Another thing, my whole love for animation sparked mostly from all the brickfilms and stop-motion animations that I watched on YouTube, back from when I was a kid.
Now I am in a position where I don't know what to do. Either I go with something that is "comfortable" and familiar to me (stop-motion) or go to the next-level and EVOLVE by doing 3D Animation. I made few and very short animations in Gmod, but I know 3D is not just that and it's more complicated. Meanwhile, I keep thinking about stop-motion and if I have the necessary resources, setup, the ability to accept that stop-motion as a hobby is a bit expensive, patience... and so on... I could be able to work fast and with pleasure... though the way I see it, I don't even know which one will make me feel satisfied.
P.S - Sorry for any grammatical errors and that I whined too much about my problem here on a forum instead of talking to a therapist.