How I Accidentally Taught Over 50,000 People to Be Animators and Ruined My Own Job Market
So here’s a fun little self-inflicted catastrophe: I unknowingly taught over 50,000 people (and counting) how to be animators. At first, that sounds great, right? “Look at me, empowering the next generation, fostering creativity, giving people skills they can use!”
Yeah, well, guess what? I accidentally created an entire army of animators. And the industry cannot support that many people.
And now? I have successfully trained my own replacement. Multiple times over.
Let’s break down how this horrifically non-scalable mistake happened, why the animation industry isn’t ready for this influx of talent, and how I’m basically getting shoved out of my own job by the competition I created.
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1. How I Accidentally Created an Army of Animators
I never set out to become a mass animation educator. I wasn’t like, “You know what the world needs? 50,000 more animators!”
It just… happened.
• Maybe it was some tutorials I shared.
• Maybe it was a breakdown of my own animation process.
• Maybe it was just making animation look fun and accessible.
• Maybe I was just too good at explaining things.
Either way, I somehow lit the spark in thousands of people who went from, “Wow, animation is cool!” to “I’m gonna be an animator!” And once that domino started falling, it never stopped.
Verdict: Unintentional but completely my fault.
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2. The Animation Industry Cannot Absorb 50,000 New People
You know what happens when you flood a job market with way more workers than there are jobs?
• Wages plummet.
• Competition skyrockets.
• Studios get pickier and cheaper.
For years, animation was a specialized craft. You had to train, practice, and get through insane studio gatekeeping just to land a job. Now? People are self-taught, software is getting easier, and AI is creeping in like a home invader.
We are rapidly approaching a crisis where there are WAY more animators than there are jobs.
Verdict: I have unintentionally helped flood an industry that was already struggling to pay its artists. Whoops.
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3. I’m Literally Training My Own Replacement
You know what the real punch in the gut is? I am being replaced by the people I taught.
• Studios don’t need me when they can hire one of my “students” for cheaper.
• Freelancers I inspired are now underbidding me.
• Companies are throwing projects at fresh animators who will work for experience instead of money.
It’s like building a house and then realizing you accidentally left the doors unlocked for every single competitor you trained.
Verdict: The student has become the master, and the master is now broke.
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4. The Brutal Reality of “Making It” in Animation Now
Let me be painfully honest:
• There are more animators than there are jobs.
• Studios don’t need to pay well when there’s an endless supply of desperate talent.
• AI is getting shoved into the pipeline whether we like it or not.
• Freelance rates are collapsing because of oversaturation.
This industry was already cutthroat. Now? It’s a full-blown gladiator pit. And I helped create the competition.
Verdict: I have done more damage to myself than any studio layoff ever could.
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5. Can This Be Fixed? Or Am I Just Screwed?
At this point, there’s no undoing this. But if I had to find a way forward, here’s what I’d do:
1. Stop training more competition. (Oops, too late.)
2. Shift focus to higher-level skills that can’t be easily replicated.
3. Adapt or die—because this industry is moving too fast.
I might be getting pushed out of the job market I helped create, but I’ll be damned if I go down without a fight.
Verdict: Time to evolve. Again.
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Final Thoughts: I Have No One to Blame But Myself
The worst part? I can’t even be mad. I love that people have learned from me. I love that people are animating because of something I said, did, or made accessible.
But… I also love paying my bills.
So now, I get to live with the reality that I accidentally made animation more competitive than ever—and I am one of the people suffering from it.
Now, fight me in the comments. Have you noticed this explosion of animators? How is the industry handling it? And if you love hot takes on animation, unhinged industry rants, and existential crises, check out my YouTube channel before I’m fully replaced by my own army.
