Animator for Recurring Stick-Figure Style Video Series (Character Design + VO Sync) — Quote Request

I run Building Doors, a gender equity campaign for the voice over industry, and I'm launching a new content series for 2027 called "She's Buying It." The concept: ~1-minute animated mini-dramas showing women navigating retail aisles that were built with men in mind — deodorant, beer, cars, and beyond. Each episode is voiced by real professional VO talent and features a recurring cast of six named characters (Bianca, Brad, Bree, Beau, Blair, Bex). The tone is cheeky, fast-paced, and sharp — think a stick-figure/minimalist animation style similar to creators like Chris Hallbeck (@chrishallbeck on Instagram), polished and elevated. We're planning 30–35 episodes across 2027, so this is a search for an ongoing collaborator, not a one-off. What I need from you: *Original character design for the six recurring characters (simple, clean, reusable — no illustrations will be provided by me, this is fully on you) *A reusable rig/asset system so characters can be animated efficiently across many episodes without rebuilding from scratch each time *Animation synced to a finished voice over track (lip sync doesn't need to be exact/realistic — style-appropriate mouth movement is fine given the stick-figure aesthetic) *Ability to hit a recurring production cadence across the year Where this project stands right now: I do not yet have a finished script or recorded VO track — those come next. Right now I'm gathering quotes to understand what this would cost before committing to the series, so this posting is a first step to find the right collaborator and get real pricing, not an immediate full production job. Budget structure: This is a fixed-price-per-episode project. My target ongoing rate is $30–$50 per finished ~1-minute episode, once character assets and a reusable rig/system exist. The one-time character design and asset-building phase (originating all six recurring characters plus the reusable system) is priced separately — please quote that as its own line item, not folded into the per-episode rate. To apply, please include: Examples of character design and/or simple animated work in a similar style (stick-figure, minimalist, or similar) Your quote for the one-time character design/asset-building phase Whether $30–$50 per episode is workable for you on an ongoing basis once assets exist, and if not, what per-episode rate would be Typical turnaround time per ~1-minute episode once you have a script + VO track Whether you'd be available for a recurring monthly cadence throughout 2027 This is currently a discovery/quote step — I'm evaluating budget feasibility before scripts and VO are finalized, so I want your honest pricing rather than a lowball to win the job.