8 steps to producing a cartoon series

This article describes the process of getting the green light to produce an animated cartoon series from scratch. I leave out the details of fundraising for the project, as it is a complete book in itself, but nonetheless, this should give you a good idea of ​​what it takes to produce a cartoon series.

1. Decide on a theme and basis for your cartoon series.

2. Think about the different characters that would make up your cartoon series.

3. Engage a good cartoon writer to develop a pilot script and set of synopses based on your theme and idea. You will also want me to describe your characters in detail and bring them to life. An experienced writer would know exactly what broadcasters are looking for and offer an ace. I will not advise you to do it yourself unless you are an experienced writer. I also wouldn’t recommend that you hire a screenwriter to write for TV dramas, as the genre is quite different.

4. Get a good design or animation house to design a set of characters for your cartoon series. Make sure these characters are cute, unique, personable, and marketable, which means that people would find them so cute that they would want to turn them into products. Alternatively, you can also go the edgy way, in which case the characters can look so cool that people just want to have them.

5. Compile the pilot script, synopsis, character designs, prop designs, and various illustrations and you have what is called a character bible.

6. With a Character Bible, you can go to an animation house and ask them to produce a preview or pilot episode based on the series. A teaser is a 3-5 minute example of how the cartoon series would likely unfold. A pilot episode is basically a sample episode of the series. For the pilot, never choose the first episode. Choose an episode in between because it will be more representative of how the cartoon series would normally look. It would be best to hire an animation house that has done this before and make sure they explain their procedure to you.

7. From here, you can take two routes. The first route would be to approach a distribution company. The teaser or pilot would allow a distribution company to assess where they could sell their show and how marketable it is. They could measure how confident they are of selling their program and if they want to distribute it. If they decide they want to represent your cartoon, they will provide a layout plan and income projection. You should not sign any contracts at this time because you cannot yet guarantee the production of the show. Instead, you should request a letter of interest from the dealer. With this letter of interest you can approach investors to show them that a distributor would take your show. It would be helpful if the dealer was known and reputable, of course. This is an indication from an industry expert that your program is marketable. With investors on board, you can approach an animation company and ask them to produce your show.

8. The second route you can take is to go to an animation company or television station to ask if they would be interested in producing your show. If your concept is really good and they need a program like yours, they may decide to take your concept and develop it. Then you could negotiate a royalty for the use of your concept, or even be a producer or executive producer on board the production team. All of this is negotiable. It’s also entirely possible for you to approach an animation company or TV station with just your character bible without your teaser, or even without a full bible. It has happened before, but the success rate drops dramatically with the lack of every marketing tool.