About This Project

Hello! My name is Jun Sugawara of the Animator Supporters.

This project is aimed to set up more dormitory facilities that animators who are new to the industry can use for 30,000JPY(250USD) per month (including utility expenses).

The animators who get to use the [Starting Out Animators’ Dormitory] will also get chances for social exchanges beyond the boundaries of companies, and also receive technical support for illustrations and drawing.

Currently, we are supporting 6 starting out animators at the dorm. And we are going to expand the dorm facility so that 8 animators can use this dormitory from March 2017.

For this project, we aim to raise part of the money to stably maintain the Animators’ Dormitory for startups, which is approximately 3600000JPY(30,000USD).

But as we are short in managing funds in order to maintain this dormitory, we would like to ask for your kind support.

Animation content has gained worldwide popularity. Also for Japan, it is an industry where the contents can be exported without importing any resources since Japan is a country which lacks in abundant natural resources.

Even now, many animation programs are shown both on TV and in theaters, and there are also many people who say they love watching Anime.

But behind that shiny center stage, the average salary of animators in their 20’s is said to be just around 90,000JPY per month.

**According to the research on the current situation (answered by 728 people) announced by the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) in 2009 states that the average monthly income of animators in their 20’s is a bit more than 90,000JPY(750USD).

Which makes it around 1,100,000JPY(9,000USD) on an yearly basis.

The reason why their salaries are so drastically low despite the hard workload, overtime work, holiday shifts at almost every field of work, is in most cases, animators are hired and paid according to the piece-work system(※2) based on the price per each frame an animator draws, and it takes time to become a skillful animator who can draw quicker and cover more frames within the given time and to have a fair amount of earnings per month.

※2For many cases, animators’ salaries are determined based on the number of the sketches they draw.

For a typical TV anime series, an animator makes ￥200 (About 2 USD) by drawing ONE picture.

If one draws 300 pictures per month,

his monthly salary is only: 300 drawings × ￥200 = ￥60,000($500).

However, drawing 300 sketches is a really challenging task for a startup animator.

In addition, animators generally do not have time to do a part time job, which makes it even harder to make a stable living.

In the hope to solve this problem, the NPO Animator Supporters,  opened the first Animator Dormitory that allow new, young animators to live on ￥30,000($250), including the expenses for water, gas, electricity, AC, and Internet and that encourage them to take lessons on drawing and painting.

Many animation studios are mostly located in Tokyo (especially in the Suginami and Nerima districts), and the high monthly cost for rent in Tokyo becomes a greater burden for startup animators who have moved to Tokyo from other parts of Japan.

Startup animators are in a state where they have to pay high rent in Tokyo to live, despite of their low income.

By establishing a dormitory where new animators can work without worrying about making a stable living, we can provide them with an environment in which they can focus on their work, take lessons and get support.

[NPO Animator Supporters : Achievements]

For the past 5 years, the Animator Supporters has provided the shelters to 12 start-up animators. 

・Any start-up animator who will be working at an animation company/studio is qualified to apply to 【the Grand Prix for starting out animators】. A winner will receive a one-year housing assistance. 

•Animator Dormitory Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/AnimatorDormitory

(Interior of the 1st Dormitory opened on March 2014)

•Anime workshops

http://animator.main.jp/workshop_2015_001.html

We have always wished there was an opportunity where animators and those who want to work in the anime-making field can directly interact and help each other improve skills. However, the reality is, it is generally very difficult because of the demanding work required to organize such a thing.

Now, the Animator Supporters would like to take the "demanding" work to make it happen so that experienced animators can give startups advice and help them improve their drawing skills. We hope to make a place where animators can come and go freely and interact with one other.

*Startups who live in the Animator Dormitory can take the anime workshops for FREE!

[About the Perks]

[Perks for 150USD support]

・[The 1st Starting Out Animators’ Grand Prix / Catalogue] ×1 copy

 (32 pages / Color 2 pages)

・[The 2nd Starting Out Animators’ Grand Prix / Catalogue] ×1 copy

 (32 pages / Color 2 pages)

・[The 3rd Starting Out Animators’ Grand Prix / Catalogue] ×1 copy

 (32 pages / Color 2 pages)

•A mini movie by Kenichi Kutsuna

•A mini movie by Kenichi Kutsuna

A mini movie of explosion: a QT movie of each layer (HD1920×1080), an integrated QT movie for preview (HD 1920×1080), and a flash.

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【Kenichi Kutsuna】 
“Gurren Lagann” Key animation
“Naruto Shippuden” (TV) Key animation (OP 5-6, ED15) 
“Hori-san to Miyamura-kun” (OVA/2012-) Character design, chief animation director 
“A Certain Magical Index Movie: Miracle of Endymion” (2013) Effect animation director
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[Perks for 300USD support]

・150USD worth of exchange coupon plus,

・[The 4th Starting Out Animators’ Grand Prix / Catalogue] ×1 copy

 (32 pages / Color 2 pages)

•Three mini movies and three projects by Kenichi Kutsuna.

A mini movie of explosion etc.- a QT movie of each layer (HD1920×1080), an integrated QT movie for preview (HD 1920×1080), and a flash. 

You’ll receive 3 of these from each.

[Exchange Coupons for 500USD support]

・300USD worth of exchange coupon plus,

•Five mini movies and five projects by Kenichi Kutsuna.

A mini movie of water etc.: a QT movie of each layer (HD1920×1080), an integrated QT movie for preview (HD 1920×1080), and a flash. You’ll receive 5 of these from each.

[Perk for 1,000USD support]

・500USD worth of exchange coupon plus,

A mini movie of smoke etc.: a QT movie of each layer (HD1920×1080), an integrated QT movie for preview (HD 1920×1080), and a flash. You’ll receive 10 of these from each.

・You will also get to talk with Kenichi Kutsuna via Skype!

[Perk for 3,000USD support]

・1000USD worth of exchange coupon plus,

・27 mini movie and a project complete set by Kenichi Kutsuna.