Gift filter - burnt out millennial edition
September 8, 2020 6:12 AM Subscribe
Looking for gift ideas for someone who was really into digital animation (competed in FIRST, was offered but could not accept a Disney animation internship) but is now stuck in a job they hate.
Typical millennial "you can be anything you want/pursue your passion" turned "gotta pay the rent". Quarantine has them overworked and without access to usual hobbies. I'd like to get them something that can help them rediscover this passion. I do not want "how to get into animation as a career" books or the like; they are looking for a hobby.
In US, hoping to spend $20-50.
Typical millennial "you can be anything you want/pursue your passion" turned "gotta pay the rent". Quarantine has them overworked and without access to usual hobbies. I'd like to get them something that can help them rediscover this passion. I do not want "how to get into animation as a career" books or the like; they are looking for a hobby.
In US, hoping to spend $20-50.
100%, or 1000% give them an amazon gift card. They will use your gift card to buy half an instrument they actually want, or a new microphone, or spend it on groceries because they can barely pay their power bill. In my opinion, Amazon gift cards are the best gift cards.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:56 AM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bbqturtle at 6:56 AM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: (They are one of the rare financially secure millennials. Gift cards will be tossed on a pile and forgotten about.)
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 7:21 AM on September 8, 2020
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 7:21 AM on September 8, 2020
Sakura pocket watercolor kit is compact, portable, reasonably good quality.
posted by Cozybee at 7:28 AM on September 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Cozybee at 7:28 AM on September 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Best answer: A cheap but life-changing gift for someone who is into digital art and already has an iPad and stylus is a paper-like screen protecter. If they're financially secure enough that they could afford to forget a gift card, it seems likely they may already have these things? You'd have to find out, of course, and get some specs so you get the right size. The official "Paperlike" brand is $40 but there are plenty of less expensive ones and they really make drawing with a hard stylus like an Apple Pencil more pleasurable.
posted by babelfish at 7:36 AM on September 8, 2020
posted by babelfish at 7:36 AM on September 8, 2020
Some kind of textile crafting? Lots of my millennial friends have gotten into knitting or crocheting.
An approachable cookbook in a style they love?
Alcohol ink painting is easy to get into and can produce nice results without having to put a lot of time into it.
Making bath bombs/salts?
posted by Candleman at 7:58 AM on September 8, 2020
An approachable cookbook in a style they love?
Alcohol ink painting is easy to get into and can produce nice results without having to put a lot of time into it.
Making bath bombs/salts?
posted by Candleman at 7:58 AM on September 8, 2020
Best answer: I thought at first you were saying they're stuck in an animation job they hate after their drive disappeared / it turned into work. But it seems like maybe you're saying they ended up in a different field and you want to help them specifically get back into hobby animation?
Drawing, of course, is adjacent. I know some folks who love Art Snacks or Sketch Box, which are art supplies subscription boxes for drawing.
The other option is techy, something like the tablet cover babelfish suggested, or a license to some sort of professional quality animation software - a lot of people aren't comfortable spending the money on the right tools for their hobbies and try to get by with open source or free versions which are usually not as smooth and easy to use. You would have to talk with them first to figure out what software they are most familiar with and most enjoyed using though.
posted by Lady Li at 8:28 AM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Drawing, of course, is adjacent. I know some folks who love Art Snacks or Sketch Box, which are art supplies subscription boxes for drawing.
The other option is techy, something like the tablet cover babelfish suggested, or a license to some sort of professional quality animation software - a lot of people aren't comfortable spending the money on the right tools for their hobbies and try to get by with open source or free versions which are usually not as smooth and easy to use. You would have to talk with them first to figure out what software they are most familiar with and most enjoyed using though.
posted by Lady Li at 8:28 AM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I thought at first you were saying they're stuck in an animation job they hate after their drive disappeared / it turned into work. But it seems like maybe you're saying they ended up in a different field and you want to help them specifically get back into hobby animation?
Yes, sorry that wasn't clear. They do not work in animation but loved it.
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 8:45 AM on September 8, 2020
Yes, sorry that wasn't clear. They do not work in animation but loved it.
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 8:45 AM on September 8, 2020
Best answer: On the tech side, if they use procreate, a lot of brush packs cost money. Speaking as a procreate user, I am too chicken to spend that money and have been getting by without. But, supposedly, some of those brush packs are worth it.
So you could maybe ask what brush pack they've been thinking about but talking themselves out of buying, and then insisting on buying it for them.
posted by Cozybee at 8:58 AM on September 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
So you could maybe ask what brush pack they've been thinking about but talking themselves out of buying, and then insisting on buying it for them.
posted by Cozybee at 8:58 AM on September 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
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Don't worry if they don't know how to read music, the instructional materials this store sells include music written in what I guess you could call "kalimba staff." Very easy to look at music, look at kalimba, and know which tine to play. Because they're sold already tuned to a key (C, usually) they're also very easy to improvise on because there's no possibility of an out-of-key or sour note.
posted by snerson at 6:28 AM on September 8, 2020