Indie Animation's Rise to Fame

In recent years we’ve watched as millions of people flocked to streaming services, social media, and other entertainment. One such platform, YouTube, has grown arguably more than the others. Youtube is a platform where content creators post their latest creations, pranks, or even hairstyles, and gain money correlating to how many views their videos get (or more specifically, ad views). One content niche found on the website is animation, which currently rivals the quality of cartoons produced by acclaimed streaming services.

This is where the term “Indie animation” arose. Indie animation is short for “independent animation,” implying that the ones creating the animation did it on their own, with no help from any big corporations. Before the rise of YouTube, there was no way for these animators to earn a proper wage unless a company hired them, but this platform has since created an interface where they could continue doing what they loved while getting paid consistently. By creating cartoons and posting them on the website, they can get millions of views, possibly earning more money than they would have with a dedicated streaming service. One animation that stands out from the bunch is the pilot to the indie animated series The Amazing Digital Circus by Glitch Studios, which reached 100 million views in a month, and currently holds over 340 million views. 

So now you may be asking, creating a cartoon takes a lot of time and energy, so how can one person do it alone? And the answer is, they don’t! Through this platform, creators are able to find other like minded people willing to help them create their visions, design soundtracks for their animations, and voice over their newly designed characters. YouTube is the epitome of the saying “it is what you make of it,” since anything can be done on this platform once you set your mind to it. What started out as people blogging their travels has turned into a way for entire teams to post their creations and earn a living online!

On some rare occasions, YouTube can also serve as a launching pad, meaning that creators are seen and approached by major producing companies after seeing their creations. This was the case for SpindleHorse Toons’ Hazbin Hotel pilot episode, which gained lots of momentum after its release (currently standing at over 100 million views) leading to the studio being approached by Amazon Prime Video. Just a few months ago, the series saw its first full season, released in cooperation with Bento Box Entertainment, on Prime Video’s digital library. 

With all that being said, any animators who are looking for a chance to shine: your opportunity to make a big name for yourself is standing right before your eyes. All it takes is a little confidence to begin, and who knows, one day you could be the animator for an Emmy winning animated series!