News

Animator Dorms Crowdfunding Campaign Meets Goal

Animators Naoyuki Asano (The Tatami Galaxy) and Shingo Yamashita (Gatchaman Crowds) and NPO Animator Supporters founder Jun Sugawara reached their US$10,000 crowdfunding goal to establish dormitory housing for low-income animators on Thursday. The IndieGoGo campaign launched on April 24 to ease the financial burden of entry-level animation staff.

"Animator Dormitories For Start-Ups" has raised US$10,117 as of Friday morning. The campaign will close on Monday.

According to the campaign, the average Japanese animator starts at a US$10,000 a year salary compared to the average US$40,000 salary. Animators are usually freelance, work long hours, and are saddled with high-cost of living expenses due the areas where most animation studios are located. The group has successfully funded a single dorm in Tokyo that currently houses two animators and are moving forward with additional dorms to open in 2015 and 2016.

Tenants would also have access to established animators for workshops to improve their abilities.

Support rewards include specially designed thank-you cards, an art book, production materials, and DVD of the "Kimisora" (Kimi ga Sora Koso Kanashi Kere) music video, and supporter portraits drawn by Asano. The music video is a collaboration between the Animator Supporters and Vocaloid composer unit HoneyWorks.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip