I’ll add one more thing to this, because… hey, I’m here. Might as well. Late last year, I received an email from someone in response to this very thread. This person mentioned to me that “I even thought about giving up after struggling through my first few months of effects because… [of the difficulty they had].”
…
“And it’s not that I don’t wish to learn RTVFX, its just that recreating the simplest of finished, industry level work is not simple.”
(So hold up. I at this point in my knowledge actually disagree with this. But… of course I do, I have gained a glimmer of understanding to the process. It’s simpler to me now, then it was. Yet I also understand WHY this person says as they do).
"There is alot of ‘do this’ and not enough of the WHY we create this node and what exactly that node does so maybe I can use it for something else because I understand the what it does.
( I’ve come to realize now that part of the reason there is so little why in some cases is because that’s part of the job. We Realtime VFX artists come UP with the why through the knowledge of systems and technique. Nothing is set in stone, and each artists “VFX-Why” is there own of that moment. As we make in our focus, we can forget that. You know, “In the zone”. The tricks you’ve developed in your tenure. Thus, it can become confusing to see multiple people make the same thing in different ways if a person is not aware of this nature of the VFX beast.)
But I didn’t have the courage to voice what you did. I’m glad you didn’t give up and you’ve motivated me to try something simpler [VFX wise].
Thank you."
So… all this is to say… I helped. 
They also mentioned ya’ll scary (probably because of the bluntness). In retrospect, I should probably ask about that.
I pointed this potential artist in a direction, where to look, and where to learn. Things that helped me. Hopefully I was able to help again. Hopefully I can make a post that helps again. Something like this.