How to Price an Animation Project Members  

Estimating costs for animation projects is similar to estimating costs for illustration projects. The initial step involves gathering information from your client so that you can calculate an accurate fee, determine the client's budget, and decide whether to take the project on. 

However, animation projects are more complex than illustration and often more labour-intensive, so the information you need is more extensive. 

The first step is to find out as much information as possible, break down that information, and consider how it might affect how you go about pricing your animation project. Check our 6 Questions to Ask an Animation Client for a checklist of what you need to know. It is also fine to ask the client if they have a budget in mind - this will help inform your quote.

As you gather information, it?s important to consider if you require the assistance of a larger team, whether that is another animator, a producer or an animation production company. Animation projects can be more complex and labour-intensive and may sometimes exceed what an individual can do solo. In such cases, the support of a producer or a team can enable you to take on more ambitious projects, so it?s worth considering and reaching out to anyone you have worked with in the past to see if they would be interested in working with you on this project and factoring this into your costs from the outset.

As with any process of putting together a quote, it is important to know your worth and set a price that is reflective of the unique skills, technical ability, and rights you are granting the client. 

Different Ways to Approach Pricing

There are different ways to approach pricing; it will often vary depending on your role and the project scale, so it?s important to get clarity from your client about how they would like to work with you so you can better assess the project scale and needs. 

Day Rate

This is typical if you are an animator or another crew member joining a larger team. 

A Lump Fee

This is typical if you are the illust