something that struck recently was someone telling me my animation didn't have any reference to life.
It's more: animation about animation, in its own world, and it's missing all the miscellaneous references and things outside my own head that come from drawing references/observations. I think this was part of my frustration with studio painting too, I would get settled in front of the canvas with maybe have the singular "thing" I was painting, but there was never the vitality that I've found in my sketchbooks (because they lend themselves to sporadic sessions; because they lend themselves to being brought in front of a multitude of subjects; because I don't take them so seriously)
helpful external view! gonna print up more references to hang around my studio so I can be less stuck in myself as I make 🌞