Hey, guys!
I am teaching myself how to do webflow, it’s fun but confusing haha
I have got a couple of question to you guys!
I do want to put animation on website on webflow, what kind of tool should I learn essentially? Cinema 4D? After effect? Lottie?
To be a freelancing web designer, should I learn coding…? and those tools that I mentioned?
Thank you for all your help in advance 
Here is my site Read-Only: LINK
(how to share your site Read-Only link)
Pick one area you like and get good at it, it will take years to develop real skills in any of those areas. For coding, it can be far more.
For the rest, outsource those features when you need them. I like 3D but I don’t have the time to learn it, and will probably never be exceptional at it. I outsource to my 3D designers.
Same with animation work and lotties, it’s a different mindset that’s part artistic, part storytelling.
My own strenghts are technical and architectural. Building complex features, solving problems, integrations, data modeling, performance, technical SEO…
If we were building a house, I’d be the architect, civil engineer, project manager, and maybe the electrician. It’s taken decades to learn those skills. But don’t ask me to paint it, interior decorate it, landscape it, or market it. I outsource those to get the best results.
Hey, Micheal!
Thank you for your reply:) and sharing your idea! You are amazing…!
So,
It doesn’t need to be that way, even if you’re a freelancer.
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You mean mean I don’t need to do it all even if I am a freelancer? Don’t you ?
Yeah, I saw a video of Ikigai from The Futur on youtube ! Thanks for reminding me of this idea! Should look that into again
Strengths yes, but passions are at least as important. You want to love your work and minimize the parts that are no fun for you. Those are worth outsourcing. I’m very results oriented so data architecture, SEO, conversions, data processing, systems integrations, problem solving, custom components are the fun parts for me. But without designers my sites would taste like dry biscuits.
Designers & agencies hire me because they’re great at the captivate-the-user bit, and often less strong at the make-it-work-right bit. It took me awhile to let go of the idea that I needed to “do it all” so a lot of my work just wasn’t fun. It doesn’t need to be that way, even if you’re a freelancer.
That’s one division but it’s too broad. If you like doing web design and working with Webflow, that’s your foundation. From there, specialize. Even within the category of artistic work I’d narrow in on video work, 3d work, animation work, custom illustrations, etc.
Best advice I have is if you were a kid and just doing this for fun, what would you want to play with most? Start there.
Specializing is important. There’s a reason surgeons charge tens of thousands an hour and a family doctor / GP makes a lot less. Being a generalist has it’s place but it’s not as valuable.
You’ve probably seen the Japanese concept of ikigai before, it applies really well to career development path too. Aim for the center.
Hey, Micheal!
Thank you for your reply:) and sharing your idea! You are amazing…!
So,
It doesn’t need to be that way, even if you’re a freelancer.
[/quote]
You mean mean I don’t need to do it all even if I am a freelancer? Don’t you ?
Yeah, I saw a video of Ikigai from The Futur on youtube ! Thanks for reminding me of this idea! Should look that into again
Hey Lim,
Just adding my 2 cents here
I’m guessing you’re already fairly comfortable with Figma or Adobe XD? For web design those are the tools I’d focus on first.
As 3D is growing so much in popularity and browser support, it’s a super valuable skill, although it has a fairly steep learning curve. Generally speaking, 3D animation is not widely used in web design yet - mostly you’ll just see rotations or simple static animations.
After Effects would allow you to also create Lottie animations (I make mine in After Effects), and at least in my opinion - the learning curve is much less steep than for 3D.
In the long-term, learning both would be very useful, but I’d ask yourself what projects you plan to work on first - if there’s a lot of 3D models you’ll need, or you just love 3D, go for Cinema 4D.
If you think editing and cropping videos, motion graphics, and animated icons would be more useful, I’d go for After Effects.
Personally, in 10 years working in web design and development, I’ve found my own need for 3D to be fairly limited, admiteddly, I am considering learning it now that it’s becoming quite widely supported.
I hope that helps!
Hey. Mat!
Thank you so much for your kind response It’s literally helpful from your 2 cents!
I have got a few of questions for you…!
Yeah, I am familiar with Figma, anything but Adobe XD…
Should I learn how to deal with Adobe XD as well? Even if I am comfortable with Figma?
And as a side note, should I learn how to code…? to be a freelancing web designer or to get a job in web design agency or studio…?
Hey Lim,
I’m happy it was useful!
Different agencies tend to use either Figma or XD, in my experience Figma is growing in popularity. So you’re probably fine to stick with Figma, I also haven’t really used XD much. If you’re familiar already with Figma, I don’t think it’d take long to get comfortable in XD - they’re very similar.
If you’re purely interested in design, you probably don’t need to learn how to code, but I do think at least understanding the basics of html structure can help you be more mindful with your designs. From a job perspective, it’s a question that does come up quite regularly with potential clients so I expect employers do see it as a bonus too.
Hey, Mat!
I am crystal clear
Thank you so so much for all your help!!!
Hope your days is filled with small but certain happiness
Without knowing 3d, how can you know what you want? I’m looking into becoming full time webflow focused, and the courses go over figma c4d AE etc and i don’t want to be less favourable due to not knowing these. Although i probably need to learn some graphic design to even make good looking websites and know what to want.
My experience is, if it interests you, go for it 100%. If it doesn’t, it will be a grind and you’ll likely never develop appreciable skills. Outsource that stuff.
Tech, design, development, they’re massive areas. One of my best friends is an animator who specialized in after effects work. It’s been his whole career, 100%… but he doesn’t touch 3D, video editing, or even photoshop.
If you want to be good at something, specialize.
If you’re not sure, explore it, you’ll know soon enough if it’s a fit.
Hey, nicomallourides
I would like to know which course have you been taking as it sounds interesting!
Hey, nicomallourides
I would like to know which course have you been taking as it sounds interesting!
