What Happens When You Start With Almost Nothing but Don’t Stop?

My Story — From a 1GB Phone to Real Animation Work

My name is Madu Victor, a 200-level Computer Science student at Crawford University.

I am a 2D animator, and I create animated skits.

But my journey didn’t start with a laptop, a tablet, or any professional setup.

It started with curiosity.

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Where It All Began

As a child, I was always interested in drawing and creativity.

Most of my inspiration came from animated cartoons. I would watch them and think:

“What if I could bring my own drawings to life too?”

That thought stayed with me for a long time.

But I also believed something that stopped me from trying:

Animation requires expensive equipment.

So I never really started.

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The Turning Point

In 2021, I saw a creator making animations using just a tablet and their fingers on an app called FlipaClip.

That changed everything for me.

I didn’t have a tablet.

But I had fingers.

And I had a very low-end smartphone — an Itel A36 with 1GB RAM.

That was enough.

So I tried.

I started drawing and animating using just my thumbs on my phone.

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My First Project

By the end of 2021, I completed my first major mini animation project.

I showed it to a few people, and they liked it.

So in January 2022, I decided to post it on TikTok.

Just for fun.

That video ended up getting around:

77.8K views

That moment meant something.

It showed me that what I was doing could actually reach people.

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The Setback Phase

I decided to continue creating and posting animations.

But it wasn’t all smooth.

At some point:

• My phone could no longer run the animation app properly
• The app kept crashing
• I didn’t fully understand content creation
• The TikTok algorithm stopped favoring my content

Everything started working against me at once.

Slowly, I became discouraged.

And eventually, I stopped.

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Starting Again

In mid 2024, I got a new phone.

It could run animation apps much better.

So I started again.

At first, it wasn’t serious.

Just testing things.

But by late 2024 into early 2025, I made a decision:

I was going to take animation seriously.

In January 2025, I saved money and bought my first graphics tablet.

That was a big step.

Then by mid 2025, I got my first laptop.

For the first time, I could use better software.

I was no longer limited to my phone.

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Milestones Along the Way

Things started to change.

• I got my first viral TikTok video in May 2025 — 4.5 million views
• I landed my first animation gig after a startup studio noticed my work
• I grew to 21.7K followers on TikTok

These weren’t overnight results.

They came from restarting when it wasn’t convenient.

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What I’ve Learned So Far

I wouldn’t say I’ve gone far enough to give “big” advice.

But from what I’ve experienced:

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Setbacks Are Part of the Journey

You can’t avoid them.

You can only decide how you respond to them.

What matters is building a system that helps you come back stronger.

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You Don’t Need Perfect Tools to Start

I started with:

• A 1GB RAM phone
• My thumbs
• Free software

That was enough to begin.

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Balancing School and Creativity Is Real

Animation and academics can clash.

Sometimes school work tries to take over your entire day.

I’m still figuring out the perfect system myself.

But one thing I don’t do:

I don’t let my academics suffer because of animation.

Both matter to me.

So I keep working on balancing both.

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Why I Chose Animation

I chose animation because it gives me a way to express ideas visually.

It allows me to turn imagination into something real.

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Still at the Beginning

I still consider myself a beginner.

When I look at others ahead of me in animation, I know I still have a long way to go.

But one thing I’m sure of:

It’s going to be a fun journey.

And I’m going to keep going.