How to get rich as a cartoon entertainer

I was a professional animator and director of animation for major television series and movies for thirty years and was a Character Animation Instructor for the Cal Arts freshman class for a couple of years. As an independent animated film producer, I followed my muse and made award-winning * animated music videos. So I have some experience in the animation industry.

My Cal Arts students would occasionally ask how you get rich as an entertainer. In the Second Golden Age of animation, newspapers reported that Disney animator Glen Keane made a million dollars and students came to believe that this was the running rate. I pointed out that Glen Keane’s salary made headlines because it was the exception, not the rule. In addition, the newspapers did not give details. The million could have been a potential if the movies he worked on became exceptionally profitable, he could have received royalties, and his million could take the rest of his life to increase. However, it made a great impression on the students, so I tried to answer their question of how to get rich from animation.

The quick and easy answer is; You do not. Once again, Glen Keane was an extremely rare example and very, very few people will achieve his status. He came to the top of his field when the field was flourishing in what became known as “The Second Golden Age of Animation” and it was during the economic boom era of the 1990s. Just like in the good old days of In the Clinton years, the animation industry in America disappeared a long time ago for pen and pencil artists, but I developed a plan to give to students back then that I would still recommend today.

To get rich in the field of animation, one must possess a character that becomes a “star”. Note that I said “own” and not “create”, as there is not too subtle a difference. Most of the famous and successful animation legends that we remember from our youth did not actually create their signature characters, but instead hired a designer to do it for them. Does anyone remember who designed the Fred Flintstone character for Hanna-Barbera?

First, you need to have a character with potential “star”, which means a concept unique enough that it is easily identifiable. An example might be the creation of my former Cal Arts alumnus for Nickelodeon Studios, Dexter of Dexter’s Lab. Take a quick look at him and you can instantly tell he’s a “scientist kid.” Or another student’s show, The Power Puff Girls, who are superheroes in kindergarten. In both cases they adopted a simple character; a boy and three girls, and gave them “jobs” traditionally owned by adults; scientist and superheroes. Instantly understandable and fun. It is also extremely important that these characters have a very simple graphic design, easy to animate, easy to recognize from a distance, and easy to print on a Happy Meal mug.

In the world of animated music videos, the studio that created Paula Abdul’s cartoon co-star MC Scat Kat tried to catapult him into his own cartoon show. The attempt was unsuccessful, but they had the right idea. More often it’s the live-action musicians who get their own cartoon shows when they turn themselves into animated characters.

Back to plan. Second, don’t even try to introduce your new character to animation producers, they pay good money for employees to work nine or five jobs to come up with ideas for the show, they aren’t going to buy one on the street. The best thing you’ll get is a show that looks amazingly like yours that premieres a year after you launched it and they said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Then what do you do? You do what a professional would do if you had a show. You would create merchandise based on your character and sell it in as many ways as you could. You could start by publishing a little children’s book starring your character, print copies, and give those copies away for free at all daycare centers, the pediatrician’s waiting room, the pediatric dentist’s waiting room, the elementary school library, and in anywhere young children get books to share. In this way, you “market test” your character and when you are wearing T-shirts, other clothing, toys, lunch boxes and any other merchandise and products on which you can print the image of your character in local children’s clothing boutiques, You can say that all the kids in town already know and hopefully love your character. Of course, he has also included a website address in all the books where parents can buy more products directly. With sites like Cafe Press, you don’t even need to produce these products yourself. It can be made to order at no initial cost.

Sure, in addition to the talent needed to create your star and write and illustrate their adventures, you’ll have to bust your hump by distributing your gifts, requesting suppliers, and collecting all the money owed to you, which is roughly half a dozen separate full-time jobs, But once your character proves his power as a product spokesperson, or spokesperson, or turtle or rat, or whatever, the TV producers will come to you. Think of a cartoon show as one more source of income for your character, and one of the last.

* The gold plaque in the Chicago International Film Festival music video