Graphic Designer & Character Animator for Children’s Brand

I'm building a new children’s entertainment and family leisure brand centred around an original cast of characters and their rainforest world.

I’m looking for a talented character illustrator and/or animator who wants to become part of the project over the long term.

This is not a one off illustration job. The ambition is to build a recognisable children’s brand spanning physical venues, social media, animation, stories, books, merchandise, websites, marketing, packaging and more.

What already exists

The brand direction and two principal characters are established, alongside a developing supporting cast and fictional rainforest world.

I have a detailed brand playbook, character concepts, visual references, colour palettes, environments and substantial concept work.

I need someone who can take what exists, refine it professionally, standardise it and help develop it into a consistent visual IP.

This is NOT an AI generation job

I already use generative AI extensively for ideation, concepts and experimentation. I am not looking for someone simply to type prompts into Midjourney, Firefly, ChatGPT or similar tools. I can already do that myself.

AI can form part of your workflow, but you must bring skills beyond AI generation.

You should be able to genuinely draw, design, illustrate and/or animate, and understand character construction, proportions, expressions, posing, consistency, composition, colour and visual storytelling.

For animation, I need someone who understands movement, acting, timing and character performance, not simply how to make an AI image move.

The work

Projects could include character model sheets and turnarounds, expression and pose libraries, illustrations, social content, short animations, story illustrations, environments, marketing materials, signage, website assets, merchandise and packaging.

The work will vary considerably. One project could be a polished jungle illustration; another a 15 second animation, social assets, new character expressions or merchandise artwork.

Visual standard

The broad visual territory is:

Premium children’s picture book × modern animation × magical rainforest.

The characters are expressive, dimensional and warm, with textured fur, strong silhouettes and expressive eyes. Premium, but not photorealistic.

I don't want stock illustration, generic mascot design, clip art or generic children's jungle artwork.

Some applications will require highly polished hero artwork. Others need simpler, reproducible versions of the characters. Everything still needs to belong to the same visual world.

Character consistency is critical

The characters cannot look different every time they are drawn. Proportions, anatomy, markings, colours and defining features need to remain consistent.

We need proper reference material covering turnarounds, proportions, expressions, poses, movement and silhouettes.

The aim is to turn the existing concepts into professionally designed, reproducible characters rather than a collection of generated images.

Who I'm looking for

Experience in children’s entertainment, character illustration, animation, picture books, games, mascots or entertainment IP would be particularly relevant.

You don't need to do everything. An excellent illustrator who can animate would be ideal, but I'm also interested in exceptional specialists.

You should understand character consistency and visual storytelling, work confidently from an established creative direction, contribute creatively, provide editable/source files and communicate reliably.

Most importantly, I’m looking for someone interested in building something over time, not producing a few illustrations and disappearing.

There is potential for ongoing work across illustration, animation, stories, digital content, marketing, merchandise, print and physical environments.

For the right person, I want this to become a long term creative relationship. Eventually, you should know the characters well enough to recognise when something simply “doesn't look like them”.

When applying

Please don't send a generic copy and paste proposal.

Start your response with “THE CANOPY” so I know you've read the brief.

Show me your strongest relevant character/animation work and explain what you personally created. Tell me what software you use, whether you illustrate from scratch, how you maintain character consistency, your animation capabilities, availability and normal rate.

If AI forms part of your workflow, explain how. I’m interested in what you bring that I cannot get by generating another AI image myself.

Final work must include appropriate editable/source files, with commercial usage and IP arrangements agreed before work begins.

The initial project will use existing visual material. The objective isn't to redesign the characters. It's to demonstrate that you can understand them, reproduce them consistently, refine them professionally and make them feel alive.