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Illustrator or Animator or both? (Advice please)

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Illustrator or Animator or both? (Advice please)

Hi:

I am the founder of a new start up who is quickly trying to get up to speed on all relevant animation topics and to hire some people to help create our products. However, I am confused as to exactly which  set of skills I should be seeking.

We will be creating a library of very simple 2D animations (similar in style to headspace.com) with a family of animals talking to each other. The focus is on the facial expressions and lip synching, as we are mostly helping people with their communcation skills.

I am wondering whether I should be hiring an illustrator to create the family of animals, and then an animator to take them and create our series of animations. Or if there is an expertise in animation for people who are also illustrators.

Any advice is very welcome as is advice on the best free or affordable places to recruit whichever person is right for us is appreciated.

Thanks!

Sam

www.tinythingsilove.com

www.neilzucconi.com

An animator would probably

An animator would probably understand how to design a character better suited for animation, than a illustrator probably would.  If you want facial expressions and li-synch, then having designs that accomodate those shapes will work better than "illustrative" designs that are meant to be static.
Besides, if the animator is any good, they can already illustrate as well.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

Hi Sam,

Hi Sam,

I've been to headspace, but can't see the animation you have referenced.  If you send me this direct link, i'll be able to help you out more clearly. If you're referencing the explainer video on the headspace page, then as a vector based 2D animation, this is something  a mid level animator should be able to design as well as animate. However,  It goes without saying that your costs and approach depend on what budget you have, if you had the budget, i would recommend getting jsut an illustrator to design the characters and the a few keyframes and then pass on to the animator. Like anything, an illustrator who does a lot of character stuff will likely be better than a generalist. 

all this being said I see you are looking to do this in the cheapest way possible, therefore, i would recommend looking at a post from me, looking at online resources:

http://www.produsive.com/video-production-resources

Please let me know if i can assist in any other way, email me through my blog and i can look to put you in touch with some junior animators who may be suitable.

 

thanks