How much would YOU charge to animate some short animations of mine - hypothetically

The oft-quoted range for professional animation is around $10,000 a minute.

That's a sliding-scale amount though, because it can be JUST for animation, or it can encompass animation, layout/prep/builds, colour, editing, sound, etc. to the point of broadcast-ready footage.

Depending on their passion(or desperation), the animator(s)/studio can slide the price down to as low as $1000 a minute ( or perhaps lower). It can slide higher too, depending on the quality.
If the client insists on a certain look, or on changes/revisions, or on keeping things appealing, or on adding more movements, or multiple characters, camera moves, or wants it done to a schedule/deadline etc......it affects the price.

Things like bobs involve several drawings, but how exactly is the character bobbing?? Is it straight up and down, or are there side-to-side bobs? And "simple movements".........often aren't as simple as the layperson thinks. A spin is a "simple movement" in many peoples' eyes, but for an animator it can be tricky to pull off. Arm gestures seem simple, right? But if they are combine with a bobbing body they aren't anymore, because each frame of the bob now has to have a unique arm position attached to it. What one may think is a simple cycling action of a bob now needs to be fully animated to accommodate that requested action.

The qualifiers you are stating:" simple", "nothing fancy" belie the reality that even graphically simple backgrounds and characters often need a considerable amount of management to pull off something effective.
A truly simple background is a plain white background, with a soft smudge of colour in the distance to indicate perhaps a ground-plane. Stick figure characters are simple enough as well, because structurally they are just block shapes and wire limbs.

But I'm guessing you want more meat than that.

Add in any illustrative qualities.......making the setting more like a "real" location ( with perspective or structural forms) means composing the picture to guide the eye and spotlight the character. Also to arrange elements so they don't conflict with the actions of the characters themselves.

And then you say you want dialogue too.

Okay, that's a long-winded, off-the-cuff, tip-of-the-iceberg BASIC breakdown of what you are asking for. And $40..........although it IS an offering, is insultingly low.
As you can probably see by now.

You are likely feeling frustrated right now, perhaps even despondent --and, well........that's life. Animation is expensive.

There's ways around all of the above. If the animation is truly meant to be simple, you CAN do it yourself.
If drawing is a problem for you, then cheat.
Copy some other established character and change parts of it, and structure/build it ( say, in FLASH) so you can move it like a paper-cut-out puppet. Then drawing in and of itself becomes a lesser consideration.
Backgrounds.......same thing.
Cheat, pull them from something established.....a photograph or something.......take your own picture, turn it into a high contrast B&W image, and then give it a simple swath of a simple colour over the whole thing. An instant background, that your ( plain white??) characters will "pop" in front of.
These ARE novice level approaches to your dilemma.

So, yeah........$40-ish is faaaaaar too low to offer ( but honestly it's more than many other folks offer at all), and your requirements are somewhat vague as well.
It all depends upon clarifying what you want and what your are willing to compromise on in terms of your final product.
If YOU can animate at all, you can assemble the visual parts of this to do this by yourself, even with negligible drawing ability.

But understand that you will likely compromise on appeal, it may come across as hopelessly amateur and awkward, and it might even have all kinds of basic timing mistakes--but if you don't mind that sort of thing representing you and your "product"/creation........then fill your boots.

However, if you want something that shows your ideas in the very best light, being as slick and professional as possible.....you are going to have to cough up more bucks.

I'm really enjoying this conversation.

Is the $10,000 a minute a domestic rate or would it be a cheaper overseas? Would a studio even bother to take on a project from a "nobody" who doesn't have the ability to broadcast the work on television?

I'm really enjoying this conversation.

Is the $10,000 a minute a domestic rate or would it be a cheaper overseas? Would a studio even bother to take on a project from a "nobody" who doesn't have the ability to broadcast the work on television?

$10K a minute is mostly a domestic rate (North America) but you'll find overseas studios that will claim they can do it for less.
But what you get for less is...........well, let's not mince words, it is shit.

Without a broadcast order, the work isn't going to go anywhere, but if the "nobody" has the money, the studios will gladly take it.

The thing here is that the costs all amount to making the client look good. ANYONE can animate, the tools and tutorials to do so are all easily available right now.
It's making it look good, and thus making the client look good, that is the hardest part and THAT is what the money pays for.

The problem is that the layperson just doesn't see the nuances, just isn't cognitive of the real differences between sloppy, amateurish animation and good quality animation. They haven't got the concepts in mind or the "vocabulary" to explain the differences, mostly because they just don't know WHAT to look for, or what to call it.
Most non-animators figure that if they can just get the drawings moving, then it's done-----mission accomplished.

Uh-uh......there is much more to it than that.

Again, that is what a professional provides, not just the expertise in drawing the stuff, but in the judgement calls that make the drawings funny, or poignant, or just interesting.
Anyone can animate lines moving.........but to get those lines EMOTING, with genuine feelings associated with them to get a laugh or shed a tear......it takes more than just movement.
A pro will know what adding or removing a single frame can do to the end-result. The novice will not, unless they get very lucky.

Ken, what is your estimate for an action/adventure animated show these days? That's the complete package with voice actors and post-production work thrown in.

Ken, what is your estimate for an action/adventure animated show these days? That's the complete package with voice actors and post-production work thrown in.

Honestly, my estimate would be north of $250,000 to $300,000 per episode, because action adventure shows tend to be cut quicker, and have more animation per scene in the form of effect animations on top of any character animation. That and the technical drawing required is usually more demanding, so securing artists that can do it is harder.

So you'd be looking at about $5-$6 million for a complete season of 22 episodes.

Ken, I also have another burning question: How do creators get paid?

Say I create a series called SpongeBob Roundpants for a network and it becomes a huge success. Would I simply be paid a salary, or would it be a percentage of the combined advertising revenue, merchandising revenue, etc?
Do you know what the rate is?

Have you yourself done any pitches in the past?

Ken, I also have another burning question: How do creators get paid?

Say I create a series called SpongeBob Roundpants for a network and it becomes a huge success. Would I simply be paid a salary, or would it be a percentage of the combined advertising revenue, merchandising revenue, etc?
Do you know what the rate is?

Have you yourself done any pitches in the past?

It would depend on the deal you negotiate. You might get some up-front, maybe a salary to participate as a director or creative consultant and maybe some residuals afterwards. Or the premise could be bought out from you, for a single payment and no participation.
Or they may like the idea, fund it partially and hire you as a producer to scrounge up the rest of the funds yourself, to carry through the production.
I would expect the annual wage for full involvement would be around $100K per season--but again, that would be negotiated.

I have not done any pitches myself, and am currently not interested in doing so.
I do have several colleagues that have done successful pitches that launched animated series, but I am not privy to the details of the deals they struck.

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it!

I know this might sound redundant but what experience qualifies an individual to pitch? I can't imagine that the average Joe can call up the VP at Cartoon Network and say, "Hey, I have an idea for a series and you're going to love it! Let's do lunch." Or can he?

Also, are networks wary about accepting a series they haven't personally had a hand in developing? If I make a web cartoon that has a million hits, for example, would they be interested? Or would they pass over it because it's a finished product?

Hello. As much as I respect Ken for his expertise and his contributions- I think the 250,000 to 300,000 range is a bit too skinny.Those prices were good ten years ago or so.

But I would think the price ranges with inflation would be more. Maybe I missed something here...

Hello. As much as I respect Ken for his expertise and his contributions- I think the 250,000 to 300,000 range is a bit too skinny.Those prices were good ten years ago or so.

But I would think the price ranges with inflation would be more. Maybe I missed something here...

Yeah, I might be under-calling it these days, as I've not been in a studio setting for several years now.
I AM going on past knowledge.

Maybe $300K to even $500K an episode might be more realistic now, but I'd doubt it's higher than that.
I do know that most action-adventure cartoons are much more expensive to produce than comedy or pre-school shows, and consequently seldom go beyond a single season order of 22 eps these days....mostly because of soft ratings not justifying the expense.

Hi Ken,

What's the best way to get in contact with producers in order to pitch an idea?

I was wondering how much is your budget for rendering tasks of this animation?:D

25 cents

A guy walks into a biker bar and asks if anyone has ever built a custom bike before. Nearly every head turns. He then offers seventy dollars to the man who can build him a quick ride in the next two hours. You can add in the punchline if you like.

$40-$50 won't fill up my gas tank, which is to say you're asking for an animator to drop whatever project they're doing to give you a solid 2 minutes of output for less than a tank of gas. And bare in mind, 2 minutes of output takes wayyyy more than 2 minutes of input. And then bare in mind, you, as a client may say, 'well, that's nice and all, but what I really wanted...' several times. Is a contract drawn up? How would the animator get paid? Would you forward him two twenties and a ten in the mail? It's a nutty proposition, if you haven't realized that yourself. The only way you can't realize it is by having the impression that animation is quick and easy breezy for those who do it. BTW, I know you can't hear the tone in my voice as I type, but I assure you it's completely calm, patient and understanding. A lot of people think animation is childs' play and thus, must be as easy as climbing monkey bars. It can be if the animator doesn't really care much for the output- but when your name is behind it and that animation will be out there longer than the internet, I would think you'd want to put your soul into it.

And then, the input vs. output. You want two minutes. This includes background drawings, character drawings, props, audio, lipsync, and compositing. Each one of these project aspects takes time- much more than two minutes.

I've seen your drawings and here's what I would suggest. Work with your strengths. If you can't draw a background, don't. Don't add stuff that will distract from the main idea. You're asking for multiple views- why? Your stuff isn't Disney and shouldn't even try to be. Keep it as simple as possible.

It looks like you're going for simple, flat line work. Look around for inexpensive (even free) software that will do cutout animation with tweening- it won't be pretty but it will get the job done. You'll also need audio software (free is best with your budget, easy to find.) and something for syncing (papagayo - also free). It won't be easy but it can be done. Break your project into steps.
1. Script
2. Character drawings
3. Any backgrounds based on shot lists.
4. Audio (dialogue) recording
5. Compositing dialogue
6. blocking characters against background
7. lip-syncing
8. adding sound fx (if any)

I strongly advise you to do the work all on your own for the first go round, because if you do, you'll have a better understanding of the entire process which gets you closer to being able to have a dialogue with other animators.

Only one thing bothers me about your current effort: the Pokemon character. I don't see why anyone would invite a lawsuit for infringement like that, or even think it's necessary to use someone else's character to tell their story.

<p>I have written a 30-page children's story about the adventures of a young girl and her pet mice. &nbsp;Would anyone have any idea what would be a ballpark fee for animating it? &nbsp;To save money, is it a good idea to look for student animators?</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>thx, Steve</p>

if anyone wants creative animated videos for business and advertisement purpose then let me know.

I am an animator who can create different types of animated videos.

Hello oldmanbeefjerky,

We only charge 1,000 USD per minute for animation (Flash) only,

1,500 USD per minute (BG Layout/ BG Paint) included.

Check our work quality here: 

http://syntaxanimationstudio.blogspot.com/p/demo-reel.html

I've enjoyed this discussion too.

I can't help but realize the irony listening to someone who clearly doesn't understand the amount of hard work it takes to create something that will be marketable.

Another analogy is like someone who has an idea for an invention, then wants to pay someone else 40 bucks to do all the work it takes to make the invention, and then wants to reap the financial rewards indefinitely into the future, while the person who actually made the invention only has the $40 to show for their hard work.

But I see this struggle to understand in other fields like music too. It's actually quite comical sometimes. I have a musician friend who complained because a bar didn't want to pay him and his band the $500 he wanted to charge the venue to play for the night. His logic was if someone calls a plumber crew, then nobody seems to have a problem paying them the $500 it takes for them to come out and perform the work, so why should anyone have a problem paying him and his band $500 for coming out and performing their songs? I just laughed. I didn't dare have the heart to tell him that as shotty as his group sounded, it arguably wasn't worth paying ANY amount of money for! And I'm pretty sure he and his buddies in his band would be playing somewhere that night anyway, regardless of whether or not they got paid, because it's what they enjoyed doing. And I'm also pretty sure most plumbers don't enjoy crawling around under someone's house, or snaking toilets during their leisure time. But who am I to dash someone's desire to make a buck? Then again, it would cost roughly $50,000 for that same bar owner to get an established artist like Willie Nelson to come play their venue. Hmmmm...Obviously, you do get what you pay for.

If I could ask a direct question, though: Is that $10,000/min broken down fractionally for let's say a 15 second video? Iow, would a 15 second video cost $2500, according to this pay rate? I'm guessing maybe it costs more for the first 15 seconds than it does the last 15 seconds, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks in advance!