I used to be an expert 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 few years. As an unbiased 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 often 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 1,000,000 {dollars} and the scholars got here to imagine this was the going charge. 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 possible if the movies he labored on grew to become exceptionally worthwhile, he might need been given royalties and his million could take the remainder of his life to accrue. It made an enormous impression on the scholars by no means the much less so I attempted to reply their query of the best way to get wealthy in animation.
The short, straightforward 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 subject when the sphere was blossoming into what grew to become often called “The Second Golden Age of Animation” and was through the financial growth time of the Nineteen Nineties. Like the nice outdated occasions of the Clinton years, the Animation Business in America is lengthy gone for pen and pencil artists however I did develop a plan to offer the scholars again then that I might nonetheless suggest at this time.
To get wealthy within the subject of Animation one should personal a personality that turns into a “star”. Please discover, I stated “personal” and never “create” since there’s a not too delicate distinction. Many of the well-known and profitable animation legends we bear in mind from our youth didn’t really create their signature characters however employed a designer to do it for them. Does anybody bear in mind who really designed the character of Fred Flintstone for Hanna- Barbera?
First, that you must have a personality with “star” potential which implies a novel 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 take a look at him and you’ll immediately inform he’s a “youngster scientist”. Or one other pupil’s present, The Energy Puff Ladies who’re tremendous heroes which are in Kindergarten. In each of those instances they took a easy character; just a little boy and three little ladies, and gave them “jobs” historically belonging solely to adults; scientist and tremendous heroes. Immediately comprehensible and humorous. Additionally it is extraordinarily vital that these characters are of quite simple graphic design, straightforward to animate, straightforward to acknowledge at a distance and simple to print onto a Completely satisfied Meal cup.
On the 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 proper thought. Extra typically it is the reside motion musicians who get their very own cartoon reveals when become 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 workers working in 9 to 5 jobs to provide you with present concepts, they are not going to purchase one from off the road. The perfect you will get is a present that appears amazingly like yours popping out a 12 months after you pitched it and had been advised, “Thanks, however no thanks.”
So, what do you do? You do what an expert would do should you in truth did have a present. You’ll create merchandise primarily based in your character and promote it as some ways as you might. You would begin by publishing a young children’s e-book starring your character, print up copies and provides these copies away totally free to each daycare heart, pediatrician’s ready room, pediatric dentist’s ready room, grammar faculty library and anyplace younger kids are given books to share. This fashion you “check market” your character and once you then take T shirts, different articles of clothes, toys, lunch bins and no matter different merchandise and merchandise on which you’ll 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. In fact, you’ve got additionally included a web site tackle in all of the books from which the mother and father can purchase extra merchandise straight. With websites like Cafe Press it is not even essential to supply these merchandise your self. It may be achieved 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 must bust your hump distributing your freebies, soliciting distributors and accumulating no matter moneys are owed to you which ones is a couple of 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 Pageant