---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In this era of digital special effects, I…"
description: "\"In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use water and clay, to dry it in the air from the s..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg"
---

#  In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good…

![“In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use water and clay, to dry it in the air from the sun. This brings you back to the element of life.” quote by Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg)

> “In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use water and clay, to dry it in the air from the sun. This brings you back to the element of life.”

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Emphasizes the value of tactile, natural creation to reconnect with life's fundamentals.

**In simple terms:** Hands‑on work restores connection to nature.

Key Takeaway

Engage with physical materials regularly.

Themes

creativity mindfulness nature

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- art workshops
- education
- therapy
- community building

Key Concepts

embodied practice sensory experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you integrate tactile activities into a tech‑heavy routine?
- What natural element inspires you most?

A Different Perspective

May be impractical in highly digital professions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Special effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-effects/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/)

## Related quotes

> [I do an old style. I don't use a hot tub. I don't use water loads. I just do my own something crazy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merab-dvalishvili/i-do-an-old-style-i-don-t-use-a-hot-tub-i-don-t-use-water-loads-i/)

[Merab Dvalishvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merab-dvalishvili/)

> [In a broader sense, the irony in all of this is the single most necessary element for life to exist, in fact, is killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-brockovich/in-a-broader-sense-the-irony-in-all-of-this-is-the-single-most/)

[Erin Brockovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-brockovich/)

> [I like there to be some interest in every element of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waris-ahluwalia/i-like-there-to-be-some-interest-in-every-element-of-my-life/)

[Waris Ahluwalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waris-ahluwalia/)

> [I have been waiting twenty years for someone to say to me: "You have to fight fire with fire" so that I could reply,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gossage/i-have-been-waiting-twenty-years-for-someone-to-say-to-me-you-have-to/)

[Howard Gossage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gossage/)

> [We do have situations where people are being advised not to use their well water. That's a huge problem because you know they're farmers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-brockovich/we-do-have-situations-where-people-are-being-advised-not-to-use-their/)

[Erin Brockovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-brockovich/)

> [Chance is an element of life. What I try to do is study what I call the mechanics of reality as carefully as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/chance-is-an-element-of-life-what-i-try-to-do-is-study-what-i-call/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Choice impacts virtually every element of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-anne-radmacher/choice-impacts-virtually-every-element-of-our-life/)

[Mary Anne Radmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-anne-radmacher/)

> [I live and breathe every element in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-live-and-breathe-every-element-in-life/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> [I can never waste water. If I cannot drink it I will use it to water the plants and I will never waste food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-lynn/i-can-never-waste-water-if-i-cannot-drink-it-i-will-use-it-to-water/)

[Vera Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-lynn/)

> [A victim of the use of water as a beverage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-houston/a-victim-of-the-use-of-water-as-a-beverage/)

[Sam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-houston/)

> [“Hope is the key element of life because what ever move we make begins with hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/hope-is-the-key-element-of-life-because-what-ever-move-we-make-begins/)

[Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/)

> [I think that water is immediately interesting. It's just, as an element, it is full of life. It is associated with origin; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-think-that-water-is-immediately-interesting-it-s-just-as-an-element/)

[Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/)

> [Hmmm! n time zz the most worthfull element in life if know its value!! each thing that v do 2 other leaves its mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-n-time-zz-the-most-worthfull-element-in-life-if-know-its-value/)

[Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/)

> [We have been quick to assume rights to use water but slow to recognize obligations to preserve and protect it... In short, we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-postel/we-have-been-quick-to-assume-rights-to-use-water-but-slow-to/)

[Sandra Postel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-postel/)

> [I want to bring clean water to people who do not have it. What I'm trying to do now is think of ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kamkwamba/i-want-to-bring-clean-water-to-people-who-do-not-have-it-what-i-m-2/)

[William Kamkwamba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kamkwamba/)

## More by Rithy Panh

> [What I like to do with every film is to bring a form, like a cinematographic proposal. If you watch 'S21,' it's a form;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/what-i-like-to-do-with-every-film-is-to-bring-a-form-like-a/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [It's better to live a world where you can hear different languages and sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/it-s-better-to-live-a-world-where-you-can-hear-different-languages/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [Sometimes if you can tell one personal story with a lot of sincerity, it can become a universal story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/sometimes-if-you-can-tell-one-personal-story-with-a-lot-of-sincerity/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [I didn't survive because I was stronger than others. I survived because my family and friends helped me to survive. They took my place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/i-didn-t-survive-because-i-was-stronger-than-others-i-survived/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [We must be capable of writing our own history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-must-be-capable-of-writing-our-own-history/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [Every time you are getting ready to make a shot in a documentary film, you are asking yourself questions about your cinematographic approach. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/every-time-you-are-getting-ready-to-make-a-shot-in-a-documentary-film/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [If you can keep something very personal, like a song, like a color, like a story, deep in your heart, then nobody can destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/if-you-can-keep-something-very-personal-like-a-song-like-a-color-like/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [The most beautiful thing in Cambodia isn't the country - it's the Cambodian people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/the-most-beautiful-thing-in-cambodia-isn-t-the-country-it-s-the/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [Evil has always been there; it's always a part of us. Evil is no big surprise. But what about the people who gave freely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/evil-has-always-been-there-it-s-always-a-part-of-us-evil-is-no-big/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [As children, we did not have toys. We invented characters and animals; we invented stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/as-children-we-did-not-have-toys-we-invented-characters-and-animals/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [Cinema is not truth. Even when you make documentary films, you can choose to show this shot and not the other shot - this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/cinema-is-not-truth-even-when-you-make-documentary-films-you-can/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [“But I’ve never seen a free exchange. A gift is something else. I lived for four years in a society without currency, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/but-i-ve-never-seen-a-free-exchange-a-gift-is-something-else-i-lived/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [I have never been political in a partisan sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/i-have-never-been-political-in-a-partisan-sense/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [In all of my films, there is a desire to testify, to interrogate the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-all-of-my-films-there-is-a-desire-to-testify-to-interrogate-the/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

[Explore all 62 Rithy Panh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

## More Animation quotes

> [If I'm doing a voice-over session, like animation or something, and I'm doing three different voices, you've gotta separate them. You've gotta find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/if-i-m-doing-a-voice-over-session-like-animation-or-something-and-i-m/)

[Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/)

> [I was always into cartoons and animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nonito-donaire/i-was-always-into-cartoons-and-animation/)

[Nonito Donaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nonito-donaire/)

> [What's unique about Disney Animation, many of the films have this perennial quality about them. They don't seem like old films, they still seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/what-s-unique-about-disney-animation-many-of-the-films-have-this/)

[Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/)

> [I was always tinkering around with stuff but nothing serious at the time. I was doing animations and drawing like crazy, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-vangaalen/i-was-always-tinkering-around-with-stuff-but-nothing-serious-at-the/)

Chad VanGaalen

> [In feature animation, cartoony or exaggerated animation is almost taboo. There is this precedent that if you do that kind of stuff people won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genndy-tartakovsky/in-feature-animation-cartoony-or-exaggerated-animation-is-almost/)

[Genndy Tartakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genndy-tartakovsky/)

> [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/)

[Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/)

> [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [I took a lot of influences from Studio Ghibli, which is the Japanese animation studio that made 'Spirited Away' and 'Castle in the Sky.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-took-a-lot-of-influences-from-studio-ghibli-which-is-the-japanese/)

[Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/)

> [I've worked in animation for a long time. I started in Spain and I wanted to make feature films. That desire to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-garcia/i-ve-worked-in-animation-for-a-long-time-i-started-in-spain-and-i/)

[Raul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-garcia/)

> [If you were to look at an old 'Betty Boop' cartoon or an 'Out of the Ink Well' animation, there are many things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-seibert/if-you-were-to-look-at-an-old-betty-boop-cartoon-or-an-out-of-the-ink/)

[Fred Seibert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-seibert/)

> [Animation has always been about technology. You can't have animation without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wedge/animation-has-always-been-about-technology-you-can-t-have-animation/)

[Chris Wedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wedge/)

> [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/)

[Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/)

> [Tigress is my alternate personality, especially with children. I love animation because you get to do things you don't normally get to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/tigress-is-my-alternate-personality-especially-with-children-i-love/)

[Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/)

> [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

[Browse all 837 Animation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use water and clay, to dry it in the air from the sun. This brings you back to the element of life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rithy Panh"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i-think-it-s-good-to-work-with/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i-think-it-s-good-to-work-with/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/rithy-panh-11040_animation_in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i_193057.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In this era of digital special effects, I think it's good to work with our hands and our hearts, to use…” — Rithy Panh",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Rithy Panh",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In this era of digital special...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i-think-it-s-good-to-work-with/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/in-this-era-of-digital-special-effects-i-think-it-s-good-to-work-with/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
