How to Showcase and Attract Animation Work Members  

An illustrator can play various roles in the world of animation. Maybe you're interested in learning the craft to see what kind of fresh spin animation could bring to your work. Perhaps you prefer the idea of other people animating your work so you can offer that as an option to your clients. Maybe you aspire to be able to work both as an illustrator and animator, so you can potentially be available for a wider range of jobs. Here you'll find some essential tips for how to showcase and attract more work in all these scenarios.

Is your style animation friendly?

One aspect to consider when starting to incorporate animation into your work is how compatible your illustration or design style is with the different animation techniques available.

As a rule of thumb, simpler and more minimal styles tend to be more animation-friendly and commercially viable. You can think about it in a similar way you would approach an illustration request. An illustration of a single, simplified character would take a certain amount of time. An intricate illustration with 10 different highly detailed characters, background elements and complex perspective and shading would take considerably longer. 

Animating more intricate styles is of course very doable, but they often require a few compromises: sometimes the range and complexity of movement will have to be more limited to make the project feasible. Detailed styles often demand more time, more technical knowledge and overall bigger budgets and teams to accomplish.

With the above being said, it's important to note that many innovative animation studios and individuals will often prioritize the design aspect of a project, focusing on finding first the right design approach that answers the brief, aiming for a style that feels fresh and unique. They would then later figure out the practicalities and adaptations needed to make that certain style more animatable.

Where do I start?

A new client will often contact you after seeing something in your portfolio that they really like - and probably because they want to commission something along those same lines. It's very rare that a new client would blindly take a leap of faith and hire you for an ask that your portfolio doesn't showcase, solely trusting your potential. 

So, in order to attract animation work it's highly advisable that you find ways to start including some relevant work in your portfolio. Here are a couple of ideas on how to do that.

Teaming up with an Animator

Not all illustrators need to learn how to animate themselves in order to start working in the industry. Collaborating with a freelance animator can be a great way to learn more about the process, explore the potential of injecting movement into your work and open yourself up to new opportunities without having to invest time and resources into learning a whole new skill set.

See our resource How to Work Together with an Animator for guidance on how and whe