Hire a 2D animator

The path

1. Look at the work. Open the animator browse page and watch the pieces, then read what that person says they do.
2. Decide the fit. The audience, the kind of movement, and whether you already have a script and artwork.
3. Write one brief. Use the brief in the cost guide. The same note goes to each person you contact.
4. Write from a working profile. The contact form on a profile is free. The animator replies to your email, when they reply.
5. Agree and pay them. Scope, revisions, files, and the fee are between you and the animator. Animatorly is not in that payment.

Who is listed

How to read a portfolio

Judge the piece you would actually need. A profile can list several kinds of work. The frames are what you can see.

• Look for the movement: a character acting, limited moves on a design, motion graphics, or a rig someone else can reuse.
• Read the role next to a piece. The picture shows the result. It does not, by itself, say who designed it, who animated it, or who owned the job.
• Prefer a short piece in the style you need over a long reel of unrelated styles.
• Read the availability line on that profile before you write.
• The program is part of how the files are made. 2D work is made in many programs, including Moho, Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Animate, TVPaint, and OpenToonz. The tools directory lists software, plugins, hardware, and AI tools. It is not a list of people, and a program name is not a rating.

Make a shortlist

Write the constraints before you pick favourites. Then you can see who actually fits.

• Audience, and where the film has to run.
• What you will supply: script, brand art, a character, a voice track, or none of these.
• What “done” includes: design, animation, sound, captions, cutdowns, and editable files.
• The date you can hold, and who on your side may approve.

Send that same brief to each person. Replies are easier to compare when the question was the same. Leave the sample profile off the list. When a working profile is published, use the contact form on that page.

Scope, rights, and revisions

Agree these with the animator before either of you treats a number as the price. The cost guide is the longer version, with a comparison list and an approval path. This page does not repeat that guide.

• Stages. Say which of these you need: script, style frames, storyboard, animatic, animation, sound, and the exported files. A title card or a rig can skip some of them. The guide’s approval path is a practical order, not a rule every job follows.
• Revisions. Say how many rounds are included, and what a change costs after you have approved a stage.
• Files. A finished video is different from a project, a rig, or layered art. If someone else must open the files, name the programs they use.
• Usage. Where the film may run, for how long, and in which territories.
• Other people’s material. Ask who clears music, fonts, and stock.

These are points to discuss. They are not a contract, a tax opinion, or legal advice.

Prepare the brief

Fill the brief before the first message, so the animator can see the job. The template lives in the cost guide. You can edit and copy it there, or download the same blank file.

The file stays on your machine. Animatorly does not receive it from this page. Paste it into the contact form, or into your own email, when you write to an animator.

Contact and payment

On a working profile, the contact form asks for your name, your email, what the project is, and optional notes for budget, timing, and anything else. Sending it is free for you. Animatorly emails that animator. They reply to your address. The form needs JavaScript. If JavaScript is off, the profile says so.

A reply is the animator’s to send. Animatorly does not promise a response, a quote, or that they will take the job.

You agree the scope and the fee with them, and you pay them directly. A basic profile is free. Animatorly does not take a commission and does not hold the money. Paid extras are not on sale, and nothing on this page renews or starts a subscription. There is no checkout.

Public job posts are not open. The client list is for news when they open. Joining the list does not post a job and does not ask an animator for a quote.