I used to be a skilled animator and animation director for tv sequence and main movement footage for thirty years and I used to be the Teacher of Character Animation for the Freshman class of Cal Arts for a couple of years. As an impartial producer of animated movies I adopted my muse and made award profitable* animated music movies. So I’ve some expertise within the Animation Business.
My college students at Cal Arts would sometimes ask how one will get wealthy as an animator. Again within the Second Golden Age of Animation newspapers reported that Disney animator Glen Keane made a million {dollars} and the scholars got here to consider this was the going price. I identified that Glen Keane’s wage made the information as a result of it was the exception, not the rule. Additionally, the papers did not give particulars. The million may have been a potential if the movies he labored on turned exceptionally worthwhile, he may need been given royalties and his million might take the remainder of his life to accrue. It made a massive impression on the scholars by no means the much less so I attempted to reply their query of how to get wealthy in animation.
The fast, simple reply is; you do not. Once more, Glen Keane was an especially uncommon instance and really, only a few people will ever attain his standing. He rose to the highest of his discipline when the sphere was blossoming into what turned identified as “The Second Golden Age of Animation” and was through the financial growth time of the Nineties. Like the great previous instances of the Clinton years, the Animation Business in America is lengthy gone for pen and pencil artists however I did develop a plan to give the scholars again then that I might nonetheless advocate immediately.
To get wealthy within the discipline of Animation one should personal a character that turns into a “star”. Please discover, I mentioned “personal” and never “create” since there’s a not too refined distinction. Many of the well-known and profitable animation legends we keep in mind from our youth didn’t truly create their signature characters however employed a designer to do it for them. Does anybody keep in mind who truly designed the character of Fred Flintstone for Hanna- Barbera?
First, you want to have a character with “star” potential which suggests a distinctive sufficient idea that’s readily identifiable. An instance may be my former Cal Arts pupil’s creation for Nickelodeon Studios, Dexter of Dexter’s Lab. Take one fast have a look at him and you may immediately inform he’s a “baby scientist”. Or one other pupil’s present, The Energy Puff Ladies who’re tremendous heroes which might be in Kindergarten. In each of those circumstances they took a easy character; a little boy and three little women, and gave them “jobs” historically belonging solely to adults; scientist and tremendous heroes. Immediately comprehensible and humorous. It is usually extraordinarily vital that these characters are of quite simple graphic design, simple to animate, simple to acknowledge at a distance and simple to print onto a Completely satisfied Meal cup.
On this planet of animated music video, the studio that created Paula Abdul’s cartoon costar, MC Scat Kat tried to catapult him into his personal cartoon present. The try wasn’t profitable however they’d the suitable concept. Extra typically it is the dwell motion musicians who get their very own cartoon exhibits when became animated characters themselves.
Again to the plan. Secondly, do not even attempt to pitch your new character to animation producers, they pay good cash to have staff working in 9 to 5 jobs to give you present concepts, they don’t seem to be going to purchase one from off the road. The perfect you will get is a present that appears amazingly like yours popping out a yr after you pitched it and had been instructed, “Thanks, however no thanks.”
So, what do you do? You do what a skilled would do in case you in reality did have a present. You’d create merchandise primarily based in your character and promote it as some ways as you would. You would begin by publishing a young children’s e book starring your character, print up copies and provides these copies away at no cost to each daycare heart, pediatrician’s ready room, pediatric dentist’s ready room, grammar college library and wherever younger kids are given books to share. This manner you “take a look at market” your character and while you then take T shirts, different articles of clothes, toys, lunch bins and no matter different merchandise and merchandise on which you’ll be able to print your character’s likeness to the native kids’s clothes boutiques you may declare that each child within the metropolis already is aware of, and hopefully loves, your character. After all, you have additionally included a web site deal with in all of the books from which the dad and mom should buy extra merchandise straight. With websites like Cafe Press it is not even essential to produce these merchandise your self. It may be accomplished on demand with no up entrance prices in any respect.
Positive, beside the expertise wanted to create your star and write and illustrate his adventures you will have to bust your hump distributing your freebies, soliciting distributors and gathering no matter moneys are owed to you which of them is about a half dozen separate full time jobs, however as soon as your character proves his energy as a product spokesman, or spokeswoman, or spokesturtle or spokesrabbit or no matter it’s, tv producers will come to you. Consider a cartoon present as simply one other income stream on your character, and one of many final.
* The Gold Plaque in Music Video from the Chicago Worldwide Movie Competition