AI-Assisted 2D Animation Editor for Recurring YouTube Finance Characters

We are building a long-form animated personal-finance education channel featuring two recurring characters: DJ and his dog, Penny. This is an educational YouTube channel first. Humor, character interaction and animation are used to make financial lessons clearer, more relatable and more engaging. We need an animator/editor who can maintain consistent character designs across recurring 10–12 minute episodes. Budget: $40–$50 per completed 10–12-minute episode. This is a streamlined, AI-assisted limited-animation workflow—not full frame-by-frame animation. DJ and Penny’s reusable character assets, expressions, backgrounds and animation presets should be reused efficiently across episodes. The channel plans to produce approximately two episodes per week. This could provide consistent ongoing work for the selected freelancer. Please only apply if the ongoing episode budget works for you. REQUIRED ANIMATION SKILLS The selected freelancer must be able to: Build reusable 2D character rigs or reusable character assets for DJ and Penny. Initial character setup: DJ and Penny currently have approved visual references but do not yet have completed animation rigs. Please provide a separate one-time quote for creating the reusable character assets, expressions, mouth shapes and animation presets. The ongoing episode budget remains $40–$50 after those reusable assets are established. Maintain their established appearance across every scene and episode. Animate natural dialogue with accurate lip-sync. Create facial expressions, eye movement, head turns, body gestures and reaction timing. Animate two-character conversations with friendly comedic timing. Use visual demonstrations and motion graphics to clarify financial concepts. Edit complete long-form YouTube episodes with music, sound effects and polished pacing. Deliver editable animation project files and all linked character assets. Preferred software includes Adobe Animate, Toon Boom Harmony, Moho, Adobe Character Animator or another professional 2D character-animation program. Please identify the software you use. AI tools may assist the workflow, but DJ and Penny must not be regenerated with inconsistent appearances in each scene. PROJECT MATERIALS PROVIDED We will provide: Master character references for DJ and Penny. Final script. Separate DJ and Penny voice-over files. Scene and timing references. Branding references. Financial research and educational direction. PAID DEMONSTRATION Finalists will be invited to complete the same paid 20–30 second Scene 01 demonstration. The test will be evaluated for: Character consistency. Dialogue and lip-sync accuracy. Facial expressions and body movement. DJ and Penny’s relationship and personalities. Educational clarity. Comedic and reaction timing. Overall animation and editing quality. Organization and reusability of source files. The editable source file and associated character assets must be included with the paid demonstration. ONGOING WORK The long-term goal is approximately two 10–12 minute episodes per week. Production may begin at a lower volume while the reusable character system is being developed. When applying, please provide: Two or three direct links to your strongest relevant 2D character-animation examples. At least one example containing dialogue, facial acting and accurate lip-sync. An example featuring recurring characters or reusable rigs. A long-form YouTube, educational or storytelling example. Your exact role in each example. The animation software you use. Confirmation that you personally will complete the animation. Confirmation that editable source files and reusable character assets will be included. Your fixed price and turnaround for the 20–30 second paid demonstration. Your estimated fixed price and turnaround for one completed 8–12 minute episode after the character rigs have been established. Please begin your proposal with the words “DJ AND PENNY” so we know you read the complete description. Do not apply if your workflow consists primarily of stock footage, still-image slideshows, AI-generated characters that change between shots, or CapCut template editing. Example of like videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38nAtdHSgyA