Wow. Well there’s a bump I didn’t expect. Alright, well, lets get to this. I’ll start by saying you are not wrong - there is a TON of truth in what you say. Furthermore, this threads topic, per its nature is outdated at this point. A monument to my sins as a ravenous learner who didn’t know what he should have been chewing on, and hurt his teeth in the process. An action made out from growing pains. I talk a little about the results of this progress that I made… BECAUSE OF THIS THREAD… here.
To quote myself: Nuance tends to be lost on beginners.
On that note, let me say again how right you are… and how blind you are (which in a way was one of the points I attempted to propose at that time). What you put here, which is SO TRUE, which I NOW as I write this understand, can come across as if you are saying first you draw a circle, then you draw the rest of the owl. And that… can be so discouraging. It’s not just a beginner thing, it’s a human thing. And I’m not saying this applies to EVERYONE… obviously… but it’s there. How you respond to a cry for help is just as important as the truth you have to give.
Plus, lets be real folks, the internet SUCKS at conveying subtle emotion with words. It just amplifies everything for better or worse. How you read this is based on the mood you are in, the knowledge of the language… so on so on. Am I happy! Am I sad? AM I ANGRY!? AM I a giant goofball?
Yes.
I’ve noticed that a lot of us who make games, not just VFX, can be really honest and really blunt humans, which for some can be… I’ll say surprising. I don’t have an issue with it, as I can very much be that way too, but there are those who take bluntness as a default negative. I’m constantly doing what I can to be mindful of that, just as you should be mindful that it’s not “those days” any more. “Back in my day” is … I won’t say irrelevant, as there is wisdom to be learned from history, but it’s not really a very good argument for anything that touches technology. It’s a blind declarence to a refusal to change; which is madness. I mention as much in my thread link above. Things are changing, as they do, and how we approach and teach that change, both professionally ourselves, and to the the greenhorns yet to realize this is where they want to be, will determine the future result of our notch in the industry.
128x128 Flipbooks are not something that should be explicitly taught. 
(Or whatever is outdated now).
With…all that said, here is how I would improve the truth you have provided. My changes are in BOLD ITALIC.
- Start small, make a damn camp fire. Use things like Alpha Blending, UV Distortions, and LUTs. This is your “hello world”. IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION!
1.a) Tutorial on particle system can help, don’t blind copy them, internalize what they show for how it will help your camp fire. You can do this, for example, by writing down (literally or mentally) what you see and asking questions. On that note… - Ask advice,ask your questions, get reviews and direction. Go back to step 1. You will not always get a response. It sucks, but keep going. Keep making. Keep iterating. Eventually you’ll get a response.
- When you are more confident in your fire and smoke… make a more gameplay like FX like a fireball spell. Forget about the casting or impact parts… just focus on the flying fireball. Being able to figure this out by yourself is important.
- Ask advice, reviews and direction. Go back to step 2. (Edits and all)
- When you think the fireball is cool enough, build an impact FX for it. Maybe even a casting build up if you feel up to it but… Iterate ! make 5 version if you must to have basis of comparison. When you are done you can have all the stages of the effect laid out side by side. While it is nice to see is all in one effect, so that we can see skill in timing all together, if you don’t have that know-how that’s ok for now. Your main focus is VFX. Make VFX. Make VFX. Make VFX.
- Congratulations you have the beginning of a portfolio. Make some more stuff and apply for jobs.
Push. Push. Nudge. Nudge. That’s it. Not holding a hand, just giving something to chew on. Get the fear out of the way so that the beginner can make. Yes, not all of us get that chance, some of us just have to go and BITE the fear. Yet if you have it in your power to make what you suffered through easier for the next generation, why wouldn’t you? If someone had made a post like this for me a year or two ago it would have saved me so. much. time. Your original post would have been useless to me.