Freelance 2D Illustrator / Motion Designer – Animated Sticker Pack (EdTech)

We're looking for a 2D Illustrator / Motion Designer to create fun animated sticker packs for our educational platform used by school students (ages 7–17). This is a freelance role with the potential for ongoing collaboration. 1. First task Create a Summer / Summer Holidays sticker pack (up to 10 stickers). Some stickers should be animated, while others can remain static. You'll first create 2–3 character concepts based on our existing platform avatars (reference images will be provided). After approval, you'll illustrate and animate the final sticker pack. 2. What we're looking for You should be able to: - design original characters from scratch (no AI or stock assets); - illustrate in a cute, expressive, mascot/chibi style; - animate your own illustrations (simple looping animations); - optimize files for web use. Important: We're looking for someone who can handle both illustration and animation, not just animate existing artwork. 3. Technical requirements Static stickers - 512×512 px - WebP - Transparent background - Under 1 MB Animated stickers - GIF - Transparent background - 12–15 FPS - Infinite loop - Simple animations (blink, wave, bounce, sparkle, etc.) 4. Expectations We're looking for someone who works efficiently. As a reference, we'd expect an experienced illustrator/animator to complete a pack of 10 stickers (including several simple animations) up to approximately 5 hours. 5. To apply, please include: 1. Portfolio (especially stickers, mascots, characters, game assets, emojis, or educational illustrations). 2. Examples of animated GIF stickers you've created. 3. Do you create illustrations from scratch? 4. Do you both illustrate and animate yourself? 5. Your hourly rate. 6. Your estimated hours for a pack of 10 stickers (2D and animated ones). 7. Your preferred software (Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Procreate, Spine, etc.). Please start your proposal with the word "Summer" so we know you've read the full description.