2D or 3D Animator for Cartoon Explainer

A regional economic development nonprofit, needs an experienced animator to produce a 25-30 second narrated cartoon explainer. This is an execution project, not a concept project. The scene, style, story beats, and timing are locked. You bring the animation craft. The film: a single locked-camera shot of a small cartoon rowboat moored in a slip between two docks, tied by four ropes. Three ropes are new, blue with a gold cord, springy and elastic. The fourth is old, grey, ratty, and too short. The tide rises. The boat rises with it until the short rope runs out. That corner is pulled down, water laps over the rim, a small leak gushes up through the floorboards, and the boat settles corner-first until only the tops of the gunwales remain above the calm surface, hanging from four taut lines. Quiet hold, fade to black. The animation is timed to a recorded voiceover we supply. What we provide at kickoff Locked style frames: an approved start frame and end frame defining the exact look, palette, and composition A five-step keyframe sequence showing every story beat A rough animatic (AI-generated) showing intended motion, pacing, and physics as reference only The recorded narration track and transcript that set final timing One point of contact and consolidated feedback in two revision rounds Scope and deliverables One continuous scene, locked camera, 60-90 seconds at final timing against the VO 16:9, 1920x1080 minimum, 24 or 30 fps Believable cartoon water: rising level, ripples, lapping over the rim, a small upward gush, bubbles that rise and pop, settling to calm Rope behavior is the story: three ropes stay slack and springy, the ratty rope pulls bar tight and stays visibly frayed under tension, all four end taut Deliverables: final MP4 (H.264) and a high-quality master (ProRes or equivalent), plus source project files with full rights transfer, work for hire Two revision rounds included after the first full draft Milestones (fixed price) Blocking pass or animatic at final timing, 25 percent Full animation draft, 50 percent Final delivery with revisions and source files, 25 percent Timeline Two to three weeks from kickoff. Tell us your realistic schedule in your proposal. Tooling Your choice. After Effects, Blender, Toon Boom, Moho, or comparable. The result must match the provided style frames closely; whether you achieve that in 2D or 3D is up to you. To apply Link your reel and one or two examples closest to this: cartoon water, boats, rope or cloth physics, or single-scene product explainers Two or three sentences on how you would approach the water and rope animation Your fixed price for the full scope and your start date