I'm looking to build a team of talented animators and content producers to create custom characters and content.

I will train these people for on my techniques and procedures. In turn I'm looking to produce a team of developers that can churn out content both for the Reallusion marketplace as well as for clients. I'm literary booked solid often times up to 3 months in advance just on custom character stuff and quite frankly I'd like to devote my time to other pursuits. 

Preference is given to folks in Houston, TX who can come to the studio and learn and work along side me here at the studio. But I will consider a telecommuting engagement for someone who is dedicated enough to follow-though.


Ibis Fernandez   |   (available for hire)
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Professional Animator, Filmmaker | Creator of the highest quality (modular) G2 rigs for cartoon animator and developer of Toon Titan and Puppet Producer 
Author of Flash Animation and Cartooning: A Creative Guide
>>> be sure to check out http://toontitan.com for professional grade assets, templates, and custom tools for Cartoon Animator and more.

Hi Ibiz,
I hadn't responded to your post because I'm on the east coast, near New York City...certainly nowhere near Texas!  However, I'd certainly be interested in helping out if you need help.  I have a good deal of traditional animation experience and had high hopes for CTA to create some new characters but we all know how difficult CTA is to create anything new.

FYI, I take on freelance work myself from time to time so my availability is somewhat based on external events.  Paying work would take precedence over apprentice-style work but I'm certainly interested in apprenticing if we could find a way to work things out.

Here's a link to my website which includes an animation page with samples of Flash animations I've directed, art directed and animated (though in some cases with help from others):
http://pierrefontaine.webs.com

Good luck with all the work you have planned and please let me know if I can help in any way.
Pierre

I have plenty of paid work coming in, because of how few people there is who cannot only create these characters from scratch, but also do them in a timely fashion, that would make building them for other people a feasible thing, I often end up with clients, waiting in queue 3,4,6 months before I can get to them. And I have had some very understanding and patient clients, that's a good thing but I really feel bad because its not something they deserve, and the reason they are purchasing these things is because they need them ASAP, and not in 6 months etc.

It's one thing for people to learn to make these characters, those people who do. They who do pretty much just do it for themselves because they need them for their own work. They don't attempt to do them for others as a service because of the perceived notion that its so difficult. BUT it really isn't, its actually VERY easy. I have developed tools and techniques that allow me to create highly advanced character in less than a week.  A normal, simple character like Saul, in less than a day.

Anyhee, I doesn't really help me to have all this paid work to offer if your abilities are not up to par for doing the work that's being requested. On average I charge $650 per character, (Im actually gonna go cheaper now that the work is getting even easier).

But think about this, if a character takes a person 100 hours to produce (10 hours per angle) that's basically about $6.50 per hour...you mind as well be working at McDonalds flipping burgers where it actually pays better and the work is less demanding.

So what I'm looking to do is personally train a few people with my tools and techniques so they can produce these characters quickly and efficiently. So that the amount of time it takes them to produce quality work is reasonable. If you can built a character in 24 work hours, which is very feasible then at my current rate your basically earning the equivalent of about $27/ hr.

So the thing is for a person who can learn to do it my way, it a really good thing, the paying work is there. It world certainly help me get rid of my queue and provide my clients a speedier turn around. Cause for me it's not so much the amount of time a character takes, the reason they are taking so long is simple because they are waiting in queue for me to get to them.

But I'm not gonna pay someone to let me teach them how to do it, because that really doesn't benefit me in any way.

So its one of those things where my offer is out there, if someone is really interested in learning and hopefully help me unload some of this work as soon as they are ready, then that's what I want to do. We all win. My clients, the apprentice(s), and me.



Ibis Fernandez   |   (available for hire)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Professional Animator, Filmmaker | Creator of the highest quality (modular) G2 rigs for cartoon animator and developer of Toon Titan and Puppet Producer 
Author of Flash Animation and Cartooning: A Creative Guide
>>> be sure to check out http://toontitan.com for professional grade assets, templates, and custom tools for Cartoon Animator and more.

Hi Ibis,
Thank you for your response.  I'm not certain how to address some of the things you mentioned.  I certainly was not expecting to be paid while training but would certainly be interested in working with you once I was up to speed on your techniques if we could find a way to work out a proper way to train.  I understand if distance is the issue but I'm certainly competent to design and animate characters.  Perhaps my reluctance to design new characters within CTA is due to the somewhat haphazard final result with limbs popping back and forth depending on the animation.

Having said this, I've done a few freelance jobs using CTA2 but using the built-in character elements.  As long as the characters weren't required to do everything under the sun, the results were excellent.  If the characters need to do more than talk, point and walk then the results were usually not entirely up to the quality my clients were looking for which left me scrambling to look for another solution, usually in another piece of software.  I can send you some CTA2 animation samples I've done using built-in assets if you'd like.

Again, I'd love to opportunity to work with you as an apprentice.  If my work does not live up to your requirements, no harm done other than the time put in.  Of course I understand your need to get up and running fast and not necessarily doing lots of hand-holding.

Thanks again,
Pierre