What is Deadlight Animation?

Deadlight aims to be a small team of artists and writers who produce animated shorts of a similar quality to those found on large networks and streaming services. Artists starting out in their careers will have the opportunity to add their names to professional level projects, expand their portfolio, and gain the experience required to put their foot in the door of the animation industry. Deadlight will not claim the copyright of the original content, so team members will be able to share any work they create for the project such as character sheets, storyboard clips, and animation sequences.

Advantages

As an independent studio, Deadlight will be free from the corporate restrictions given to other animation outlets like Cartoon Network or Disney Channel, meaning artists will be given far more freedom to tell the stories they want to tell. Deadlight will also be free from hard set deadlines, giving artists a chance to fully develop their work without experiencing pressure or crunch time. Team members working on the current project will be able to conveniently communicate and send files over Discord and will be compensated for their work through Wise or Zelle. Deadlight will not require artists to have professionally compiled portfolios or previous studio experience so long as they can provide links to relevant work.

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, Deadlight will have limited funds starting out and will need to rely on crowdfunding for the foreseeable future. Money earned from Kickstarter, Patreon, and Youtube ad revenue will always go towards the current project, whether it’s used to pay artists for their work or to buy tools and software.

Requirements

Artists interested in joining a project will not need to have an extensive portfolio or years of experience, but they will need to be able to provide examples of high quality work related to the position they would like. For example, a prospective storyboard artist should be able to link to at least one finished storyboard they have worked on either in full or in part. Artists linking group projects should also be specific about which part of the project is theirs. The provided works should also be recent in order to most accurately assess the artist’s skills.

Rules

Artists are expected to communicate in a professional manner, as well as present quality and consistent work. No form of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, or hate speech will be accepted at any time and any team members who display these behaviors will no longer be allowed to work for the studio. Artists are also expected to finish their work in a timely manner, and to inform the studio if they are unable to complete their work or need to tend to an emergency.