Cartoon Puppet Rigging & Animation
Budget: $8 – $15 USD
I have a steady flow of 2-D character artwork coming from our illustration team and now need those drawings turned into fully rigged, cartoon-style puppets that can perform intermediate-level actions—think walks, turns, lip-sync, gesture cycles and simple prop handling, but nothing as intricate as multi-character fight choreography.
Your task begins with breaking the supplied PSDs (or equivalent layered files) into the right hierarchy, adding deformers and bone structures, and setting up clean control handles so the characters stay perfectly on-model. From there, I’ll rely on you to animate brief scenes and loops that match our storyboards, always keeping the motion playful and exaggerated in that classic Saturday-morning-cartoon feel.
We’re working primarily in Reallusion’s Cartoon Animator, so familiarity with its rigging pipeline and timeline is a plus, but I’m open to Toon Boom Harmony, Moho, or Adobe tools if you can maintain file compatibility. I’ll review rough passes frequently; quick turnaround on notes from the director and producer is essential.
Collaboration is important: you’ll check in with our illustrators to ensure color styling and line weight stay consistent, and you’re welcome to pitch creative ideas during our weekly brainstorming call. Multiple shorts run in parallel, so solid file-naming discipline and reliable scheduling will make this partnership smooth.
Deliverables for each assignment
• Fully rigged puppet file with organized layers and controls
• Final animation clips rendered in PNG sequence or MOV (alpha) plus the editable project file
• A short written rundown of any custom rigs or expressions added
If you’re ready to breathe lively, cartoonish motion into our characters while juggling several deadlines at once, I’d love to see samples of similar rigs and animations you’ve produced.
Your task begins with breaking the supplied PSDs (or equivalent layered files) into the right hierarchy, adding deformers and bone structures, and setting up clean control handles so the characters stay perfectly on-model. From there, I’ll rely on you to animate brief scenes and loops that match our storyboards, always keeping the motion playful and exaggerated in that classic Saturday-morning-cartoon feel.
We’re working primarily in Reallusion’s Cartoon Animator, so familiarity with its rigging pipeline and timeline is a plus, but I’m open to Toon Boom Harmony, Moho, or Adobe tools if you can maintain file compatibility. I’ll review rough passes frequently; quick turnaround on notes from the director and producer is essential.
Collaboration is important: you’ll check in with our illustrators to ensure color styling and line weight stay consistent, and you’re welcome to pitch creative ideas during our weekly brainstorming call. Multiple shorts run in parallel, so solid file-naming discipline and reliable scheduling will make this partnership smooth.
Deliverables for each assignment
• Fully rigged puppet file with organized layers and controls
• Final animation clips rendered in PNG sequence or MOV (alpha) plus the editable project file
• A short written rundown of any custom rigs or expressions added
If you’re ready to breathe lively, cartoonish motion into our characters while juggling several deadlines at once, I’d love to see samples of similar rigs and animations you’ve produced.