A while ago I spent some of my weekend on sawing down a wooden pallet we'd found by the roadside, cutting it down into planks, sanding it and I created a stool. It wasn't fancy at all, I didn't even have a plan going into it, and arguably the result is very standard, but I enjoyed it immensely, and am probably happier with that stool than I am with 75% of the work I put out.

That's obviously not because the quality of that stool is so good, and it's also not because my material was such a pleasure to work with. In case someone reads this and it's not just a note I've written for myself: I have a self-built workbench that's nowhere close to level, a circular saw that's off by a half degree or so, didn't have the right screws for the job, and some chisels that could use some love.

On top of that: no one uses re-purposed pallet wood for projects they care about, and I can see why. It's incredibly soft, riddles with trash, sometimes rotten, and just not that beautiful. However all of that means it also has another thing: a very clear and tangible set of limitations.

With motion graphics, I've always given myself a set of restrictions, clearly defined purposes for making something, styles I wanted to adhere to or explore, skills I wanted to acquire and so on. But I've never restricted myself on what material or tools I was allowed to use, because to some degree that's the promise of digital creation. Anything is possible!

But just like with those other limitations, material restrictions allow you to find explore possibilities elsewhere. Truly exceptional woodworkers often create pieces that work beautifully within those restrictions, working around the limitations where needed, leaning on the strengths that come with the material, and sometimes even bending the rules with complex techniques to create surprise and delight.

Working with that shitty wood makes me want to consider what the restrictions of my material as a motion designer are more thoroughly. I'll continue this soon.