Q: How much does traditional animation cost?
A: Traditional animation is one of the most artisanal animation styles in which an artist needs to be a literal master of drawing. To be a master requires near perfect understandings of how characters would move (including muscle, fat, and bone limitations), how objects would interact with realistic physics, how lighting interacts with various types of objects, how to imitate blurs the human eye normally sees in its normal frame rate, and what general rules of limitation imposed by the real world around us as well as how to bend and stretch those rules. A traditional animator does not rely on a computer to limit, complete, or help guide their animation; rather they rely on learned skill and research which often takes years of trial and error. To be a traditional animator is not something learned overnight, usually taking decades to master, and animations of their caliber cannot be replicated by a computer without their constant oversight and correction.
Hence, it can get quite expensive to animate by hand. The project can vary in price depending on the complexity and length of the animation. A 5-second clip of something simple like a complete walk-cycle with a background might be as little as $500. However, please request for a more accurate quote.
Q: How long does it take for traditional animation to be created?
A: Traditionally animated 2D films like Lilo and Stitch and Brother Bear took between 3 to 6 years to complete with a full team of some of the most talented creators on the planet to craft the story, cast actors, create the music for, and animate. It’s an incredibly time-consuming process in which every frame is hand drawn not just once, but multiple times in order to create the final colored and shaded composition. Supposing Disney completes a film within only 3 years, it would take a team of expert animators around a month to do 2.5 minutes of animation.
I am a single animator doing every aspect of animation (and/or storytelling if required). Hence, I will be unable to complete longer projects in a short period of time without external help including but not limited to other animators, coloring artists, background artists, line work artists, or compositors. I can animate, color, and finalize, which includes backgrounds and compositing, around 1 second of incredibly complex animation such as dramatic perspective shifts or unique artistic interpretations of movement in around 4 hours. However, if the animation is less complex, I can animate 1 second in around 1.5-2 hours depending on the subject matter.
Timing also depends on whether or not I am available to work full-time on a project as well.
Q: Do you have any examples of your work that is similar to what I want created?
A: Please reference my ‘works’ page. My best and most relevant works are listed there for your review. If you feel you do not see something similar, you can contact me to discuss if I have ever done that style of work before. However, my overall Works page is pretty faithful to the typical style I do.