Quote template for animators
Animation quotes should lean heavily on stages. Script, storyboard, animatic, animation, clean-up and colour, compositing. The animatic is the most important one: once timing is approved there, animation can go ahead without guessing. Changing timing after animation is the most expensive kind of change there is.
Price the length honestly and say what the per-second rate covers. A talking head with lip sync and a crowd scene are not the same per second, so either quote scenes separately or set a rate for each level of complexity.
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The example lines and prices are illustrations. Replace them with your own.
What a animator's quote should spell out
- Total duration and the number of characters and scenes.
- Style: 2D frame-by-frame, 2D rigged, 3D, and frame rate.
- Who provides character designs and backgrounds.
- Storyboard and animatic sign-off before animation starts.
- Revision rounds at the animation stage, and what counts as one.
- Delivery format, and whether sound is included or supplied by the client.
Quoting character animation by the second
Per-second pricing works once the style is fixed. Quote by complexity: background characters and simple loops at one rate, dialogue with lip sync at a higher one, crowd and effects shots separately.
Say how many characters are on screen and whether their rigs exist. A 10-second shot with four rigged characters talking is a different job from a 10-second walk cycle, and the quote should make that visible.
Questions animators ask
How long does it take to animate one minute?
It varies widely with style. Rigged 2D is faster than frame-by-frame, and simple motion is faster than acting with dialogue. Quote from your own past jobs, not from what others charge, and add the setup stages separately.
Should I include sound design in an animation quote?
Only if you do it or can subcontract it. Say clearly whether the client provides voice, music and effects. If they provide voice late, the quote should say the schedule moves.
What is a storyboard sign-off and why does it matter?
It is the client's written approval of the shot plan before animation starts. Without it, a client can ask for a new scene order after you have animated, and you have no clear point to say that this is a change.
Quote it, then invoice it, without retyping
In OIO a proposal belongs to its client and project. When it's accepted it becomes an invoice draft with the same lines, and the money view shows what is outstanding and what is paid. Free plan, no card.
Start freeAlso for animators: invoice template and contract template. Quote templates for related trades: motion designers, 3D artists, illustrators, game developers. Or browse all quote templates.