I tend to make most of my CTA money from creating custom characters for other people.
I don't get many "animation" projects, though i wish i did, that use CTA.
I also do training, teaching others to animate or create multimedia.
In terms of actual cartoons and animation, I get a lot of projects that are not intended for TV or entertainment. I do a lot of courtroom stuff like reenactments and such, industrial and work training videos.
A few folks here like Toons Unlimted and Gary Pye make money from publishing to the reallusion content store (they are pretty prolific in what they do). requires a good deal of self motivation and consistency.
The market place is pretty saturated, especially now that the tools are more accessible to everyone. With CTA in particularly, every one is now an instant animator. Which changes things a bit. The appeal is more for the person who wants to do it themselves so there's more of a market for people wanting to animate their own work and need help getting there, than there is for people who just want it done.
CTA hasn't yet gained the respect of the professional world just yet so its still looked at as a thing for hobbists. The few studios and pro organizations that do use it, well the tool is simple enough that they already have staff on hand to handle it so
they do it all in-house. and if they reach out it's often just for supplementary support like character rigging etc. Best clients for freelance animation is the independent producers, someone who has an idea and a little money to invest in their own idea but doesn't want to do it themselves.
Most of my students do make money from CTA, buts it's kind of an indirect way, its more of a as a result of them knowing how to use it and applying the skills at the work they already have. They tend to be doctors, teachers, college professors, general office workers and other animators. So they already have jobs. I teach them to animate and now they create their own presentations and marketing materials. So to them its more of gaining a new skill for a job they already have, like learning power-point, or how to operate the copy machine.
If you want the easy answer, it's this. If you are a self starter and are motivated. Anyone can do what Gary does. There is a great need for content developers so there's no reason why you cant spend 8 hours a day creating assets to sell on the market place and make a decent buck doing it. There's literally no competition and a huge demand for that service. Totally unsaturated marketplace.
If you want to do toons and freelance projects, best way is to market yourself. register a domain name, get a website, publish your demos and start telling people about yourselves.
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.