Q: It's always possible to be both polite and honest. Choose your words carefully, and stick to the point. Keep in mind that the person is asking you because he or she thinks you will provide a good recommendation. Your refusal may cause hurt and disappointment, but courtesy and kindness may soften the blow. There's no reason to say, "No way, you were a terrible employee, and we all hated you!" Instead you might say, "Based on our past experiences, I can't in good conscience give you the recommendation you seek." Instead of "No way!," say "I can't do that." Outlining your reasons for saying no can help ease the situation. If you are turning down the request because you do not know the person well enough, that's a relatively easy situation to handle. You might say, "Since we haven't worked together long, I don't think I would be able to provide a strong enough reference for you." If you are turning down the request because the person's performance does not merit a recommendation, that's a bit trickier. Ultimately, though, you need to be honest. Perhaps your refusal will prompt them to work harder in the future. You might simply say, "I don't feel comfortable providing a strong reference for you." Lying might resolve the situation temporarily, but it's likely to catch up to you. Ultimately, it does not help you or the person who needs the reference. You don't need to be blunt to the point of rudeness, but you should not invent excuses for turning the person down. You can probably explain yourself in a sentence or two. You don't need to expand on your reasons or lecture the person unnecessarily. Simply say no, state your reason briefly, and consider suggesting someone else.
A: Be polite. Explain that you don't know them well enough. Decline because you can't recommend them. Tell the truth. Keep your conversation concise.

Q: You need to have a clear understanding of the job and its many specialties, so you can make sure you have matching skills. All animators bring characters or images to life on screen by creating a sense of motion, but they work in different fields. Some animators create pictures that are used by motion picture studios and advertising agencies. Others create storyboards that are used by television and movie directors to plan their filming. These storyboards illustrate what will be seen on screen, such as where actors will stand. There are many different roles that people can play in the animation process. Animators create special effects that appear in movies, television shows, and video games. Animators also work as modelers, in computer animation, as painters, as game designers, and as technical directors. Consider freelancing. Sometimes animators freelance on the side in different areas of the field. Employers look for "hard" skills like the ability to use computer programs. They also consider "soft" skills, which are the personality traits that many animators need to have. It can take many weeks to create a 10-second animation. If you don't have the patience for such an endeavor, this might not be the best field for you. Don't expect to learn the skills of animation in a couple of weeks, either. The field requires a great deal of technical training. Animation is fun, and many animators grew up enjoying animated video games or movies. Imagine being asked to create a fight between two Transformers! If you enjoy animation as a consumer of media, this might be a good career field for you. Animators are perceptive and good observers of life and human nature. This is because they will be asked to recreate facial expressions and the way that people move. They need to have the ability to create story lines, not just characters. Animators need to work well with other people. It's rare for an animator's role not to involve teamwork. There are many, many steps in the entire animation process. The animation process can be broken down into different sections. It involves a lot more than simply putting a pen to paper (or finger on a computer mouse). By mastering these stages, you can better choose which role you want to play. Pre-production. In this stage, the animator conceptualizes the final product. An animator might create a storyboard that includes sketches of each frame and helps develop and visualize the storyline. The drawings in a storyboard often contain text describing the movements of the characters. Sometimes animators will shoot reference videos in pre-production. For example, if they are going to create a character throwing a baseball, they might want to shoot and study a video of a person throwing a baseball. Model sheets show characters' facial expressions. These specific drawings allow animators to keep the characters' personalities consistent. Then, the visuals department creates animatics, which are simple mock ups of the visual animation. An animator will also decide on a few key poses, which are the core positions of the character. Production. Layout artists create 3-D versions of the storyboard drawings. Basically, they bring them to life. Some forms of animation use modelers who shape the drawings into life. Textures provide the tiny details that make animation seem real, such as cracks in sidewalks. Rigging means the characters' bones and motion is further defined on screen. Some forms of animation use motion capture, which means an actor or actress' motion is captured and then matched to the animation drawings. Post-production. There are three basic components of post-production: Compositing brings together all of the previous elements in production into one seamless storyline. Sound editing adds sound effects and lip-syncing to the animated drawings. Video editing is a process to create proper flow and storyline by rearranging images if necessary. Most animation is either 2-D or 3-D. To understand the difference, recall that traditional cartoons like Aladdin were 2-D and movies like Toy Story were done in 3-D and show more complex dimensions. To be a 2-D animator, you would draw everything you see frame-by-frame. You draw key poses. Then you draw every movement in between. Artistic ability by hand is important for all animators, but it's more important with 2-D animation. Animation usually uses about 24 frames a second. Slower movements can use 12 frames a second. In stop animation, where characters are still, you don't use many frames. 3-D animators move characters like puppets on the computer. 3-D animators create a model of the character. The animator can grab controls using a computer to create nuanced movement by the character. 3-D animation requires a knowledge of graphs and curves and basic geometry. 3-D animators rarely use stop animation. They have to always keep the character in motion or it will look like a mistake.
A: Study the job descriptions for animators. Learn the personality traits needed by animators. Master the required steps to create animation. Study the differences between animation types.

Q: Use your fingers to hold the orange firmly in place.
A: Place an orange on a cutting board so the two ends are facing out.

Q: For a fan-forced oven, the temperature should be 40C.
A:
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit (79 degrees Celsius).