Best Character Animators

What a good character animation package includes

Character animation gigs are priced by length, style and complexity. Check that the package states:

• Character design: included or supplied by you.
• Style: 2D or 3D, and level of detail.
• Rigging for reuse.
• Animation length and actions.
• Lip sync to voice-over.
• Backgrounds and scenes.
• Source files and rights.

Ask for a short animation test with the approved character, such as a walk or a wave. It shows the animator's quality and whether the character moves the way you imagined, before the full project starts.

Ask whether the animator works with a storyboard and an animatic, a rough timed version of the video with simple drawings and the audio. Reviewing an animatic shows pacing and camera angles before any detailed animation, which is the stage where most important changes should happen.

How to brief a character animator

1. The story or script, with scenes.
2. Character descriptions or existing designs.
3. Voice-over, final and recorded.
4. Style references.
5. Where it will be used: ads, social, games, education.
6. Formats and length.

Approve work in stages: character design, storyboard, animatic and final animation. Each stage is cheaper to change than the next, so careful approvals early save time and money.

If the character will become a mascot, ask for a model sheet showing the character from different angles and with different expressions. It keeps the character consistent across future videos and designers.

Plan the audio carefully. Dialogue, music and sound effects shape the timing and feeling of animation, and they should be ready before final animation.

What drives the price

• length and complexity of animation
• 2D versus 3D
• character design and rigging
• number of characters and scenes
• lip sync and facial animation
• rights and reuse

Rigged characters cost more upfront but make future animations with the same character faster and cheaper.

Red flags

• No approval stages before final animation.
• Unclear rights to characters.
• Characters that copy well-known designs.
• Music or sound with no license.
• Only final video, no source files.

Check the final animation at full size and on a phone. Small details and facial expressions can be lost at small sizes, especially in social media feeds.

For explainer videos, see our explainer video guide. For voice acting, read our voice over guide, and for character art our illustration guide.

Think about future use of the character. If it might appear in several videos, on social media or as a mascot, plan for a small library of reusable poses and expressions. It makes later content faster to produce and keeps the character consistent wherever it appears.

Quick pre-order checklist

• The character design is approved before animation.
• The voice-over is final.
• Work is approved in stages.
• I have the rights and source files.
• Music and sound are licensed.