Animation and Video Life

Z ack in Time is an independent, 2D animated series about a biracial 13-year-old  teen, who has trouble fitting in at his new school, until he finds a time-traveling watch developed by a secret government agency.  Created by Christian Haynes, who I featured in December of 2021 , and produced by Imhapie , the production has now launched a Kickstarter  (which runs until October 25th, 2024) to fund the development of the series pilot episode, as well as a full series, which is ready to produce. Why You Should Support Zack in Time Zack In Time is more than just another 2D animated series hoping to be successful, and is worth your consideration on two levels. Not only does the series hope to tell a fun and authentic story, showcasing unique characters but also, behind the scenes, the producers hope it continues to be a launching pad for young artists' careers.  A Relatable Story that Promotes Diversity and Representation The story of Zack in Time reflects the struggl...

T his post was inspired by an Amateur Animators Facebook Group , public conversation between two professional animators working at entirely different places in their careers but both with at least a decade plus of experience.  Indy Animator Versus Studio Animator The conversation  centered around an original post by an amateur animator asking if USD$115 payment for a four to five minute, frame by frame animation, was a good deal? Anyone who has done even one second of frame by frame animation should at least have some concept of how long it would take to make four to five minutes and know that $115 is definitely not a good deal for most people. However, professional animator one, who I would describe as an independent animator, running a successful content and training business, while not suggesting the deal was good, made the point that there are many factors that go into pricing and that ultimately it is for the individual to set their prices based on what they're happy to ...

T his is the final post in my four part, 2D Animation Side Hustle series on Selling in the Reallusion 2D Marketplace. I'll look at how to package up your content and upload it to the Marketplace, how to optimize your listings, price, and how to sell through your store backend as well as off site through social media and other channels. If you haven't read previous articles in the series click these links for Part 1 - Can You Make Real Money , Part 2 - Finding Niches , and Part 3 - What to Sell . Before getting started you'll need to register as a Content Developer in order to see the backend of your store on the Reallusion Marketplace . Packaging Content and Uploading to the Marketplace Since the release of Cartoon Animator 5 the software has a built in Package Manager that makes it easy to assemble and upload your Content to the Marketplace. Reallusion has a comprehensive, official video (embeded below) that quickly explains the entire process in less than seven minutes. ...

I n part three of my 2D Animation Side Hustle series on selling in the Reallusion 2D Marketplace I look at deciding what to sell, your unique selling proposition (USP), and look at a key strategy to keep people coming back to your store. If you missed part one on  Starting Your Side Hustle  and whether you can earn real money, or part two on  Niches and how to find ones in demand , I highly recommend you read them for a more complete picture of selling in the Reallusion 2D Marketplace. Deciding What To Sell The Reallusion 2D Marketplace is divided into four broad categories; Actors, Scenes, Motions, and Special FX. Each of these are also divided into further sub categories. Interestingly in the Marketplace Menu it lists how many items are available for each category, making it easy to see which may be under served and could present an opportunity. Reallusion 2D Marketplace Category Menu shows how many items are available in each category and could be a clue to what ...

C ontinuing my series on your 2D Animation Side Hustle, Selling in the Reallusion 2D Marketplace , in this article I'm going to take a look at niches and why they're important to becoming a successful seller. I'll also look at some indicators, specific to the Reallusion Marketplace, that can help point you in the right direction of finding niches that are in demand. What is a Niche and Why Are They Important? In marketing terms a niche is kind of like a sub category or a section of a subject that you want to focus on. It's not the big idea with wide appeal that everybody loves, it's a smaller, more specific section of the idea that fewer people really connect with. For example, in the Reallusion 2D Marketplace, Characters are the biggest sellers. Everybody loves and wants to buy characters. They're great! That's all you need to know, characters sell the best, go make some! There are currently 4413 characters for sale in the marketplace. How will people find ...

Have you thought about starting a side hustle selling your original Cartoon Animator assets in the Reallusion 2D/3D Marketplace ? In this article, the first in a series on selling in the marketplace, I'll give you an overview of what's involved, why you should give it some thought, and whether you can earn enough to quit your day job (or at least have a worthwhile side hustle). If you're an artist with any kind of drawing skills, and you're creating your own original characters, props, scenes, and even motion files for your Cartoon Animator projects, then setting up your own store in the Reallusion Marketplace should be a no brainer. You're making content already, it doesn't cost you anything to set up, and Reallusion only takes a 30% commission from each item sold. (If you think that's a lot, I'll address that further down). Don't be put off if you think your art skills aren't up to professional standards. There are plenty of artists with naïve ...

Series Creation Tip: If this is your first attempt at a series start small with two to four main characters and two or three sets that you can reuse each episode. My new series in development, Resident Dragon has four characters and is set in a suburban home. Recently I was asked if a solo animator could make a feature film? The short answer is 'YES'. Logically, with enough time, you can achieve anything. The very next question I was asked is how long do I think it would take and could it be done within a year? My initial answer was, it depends on the skill of the creator, noting that a Disney feature film takes a minimum of (I'm only guesstimating here) three to five years, based on when a movie is announced to when it actually gets released, with thousands of people working on it. Which implies that a single person trying to do the same thing may take the best part of a lifetime to make just one animated feature film. However is this really the case? Let's be clear, ...