Abby B. Searching for some good side hustles for animators? Unsure what you could do with your digital expertise or need to be inspired? Here’s 17 ideas!
As animators, you can either have a lot of work on hand or you don’t. It entirely depends on your projects and if you have a full-time job. Regardless of what season it may be for you, it’s always good to have a side hustle to fall back to!
In this article, I’ll be sharing 17 suitable side hustles for animators and recommendations of what you’ll need to start. At the end of the post, you can find more tailored options for making money online on the side as an animator.
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
17 Best Side Hustles For Animators
1. Sell templates and custom presets for After Effects
Animators spend a chunk of time creating assets they only may need to use once. As a resort, people nowadays would purchase ready elements instead to chase tight project deadlines – especially if they’re not a full-time animator.
You can be the one selling templates and custom presets for software like After Effects!
Creating assets like transitions, overlays, wipes, textures and icons for sale would take time. However, once your product is ready, you can be selling it over and over again without putting any additional work into it.
It’s best to bundle up these templates into different offerings so that you’re able to charge a more reasonable price while also enjoying the sales of multiple products (from just one customer).
Sites you can join to sell presets/templates:
| What do I need to start? | – Preset products you want to sell – Platform to sell your digital products on |
2. Make videos for your own YouTube channel
Instead of making elements and presets for others to use in their videos, you can also be creating videos for your own YouTube channel.
YouTube can be a time-consuming side hustle to get into but as an animator, you’re way ahead than others that are just learning how to create/edit videos.
You can be sharing videos for your personal passion e.g. cooking, travelling or cycling – or you can be making videos to share your journey in the animation industry.
Keep your content educational, informational or entertaining and stay consistent with your uploads to see huge growth within a year or two! Uploading one video a week should be enough given good quality.
If you don’t already know, some common ways to earn with YouTube include advertising income, affiliate income, sponsorships and earnings from selling your own products.
Interesting YouTube channels in the animation niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
3. Build a podcast for the animation niche
Short on time and don’t know how to fit in video-making into your schedule? Consider starting a podcast instead!
Podcasting generally takes less equipment to start compared to vlogging or creating professional videos for YouTube. You would also take less time to edit your audio files and podcasts can be as short as 15 minutes.
You’ll need a good microphone to speak into and to learn how to use an audio editing software. Of course, upgrading your work station should be considered in the future.
I would also suggest video-recording yourself doing the podcast and sharing it on YouTube. A double content creating strategy that allows you to achieve more in the beginning.
Similar to YouTube, podcasting allows you to earn via number of downloads and paid brand deals.
| What do I need to start? | – Good desk microphone – Set of quality earphones – An audio editing software |
Check out: 60 animation podcasts you should listen to
Although animation is a graphic-heavy field and many think it may not work with a blog, there are angles you can take to make it work.
You can write content on how to become a successful animator, provide guides for animation students or discuss about new animation trends. Your content will need a lot of graphics still to ensure best understanding of your readers.
Blogging is a side hustle I highly recommend for introverts as it takes little to no social interaction to make it work. This all depends on your angle!
If you’re unsure what to write about and don’t know how to blog the right way, learn how to with this course right here.
A lot of people don’t know this but blogging allows you to earn from advertising revenue, affiliate income, sponsorships and from selling your own digital products e.g. courses. It works very similar to YouTube and may take some time before you can earn anything from it.
Not planning to buy courses yet? Check out my article for step-by-step guide on how to set up a blog.
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
5. Earn commissions with affiliate products and services
There are various ways you can make money with affiliate marketing. Aside from promoting your affiliate links on YouTube and your blog, you can also be sharing it on your social media accounts.
Some social media platforms work better than others for sharing of links – as not all platforms want their users to step out of the app (and go to a web browser or a different app). The best ones in my personal opinion are Twitter and Pinterest, followed by TikTok and Instagram.
If you love using social media for sharing personal or professional content and have a good number of followers, you can make extra income by just sharing some links!
Popular affiliate sites you can sign up to are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. Register for an account, get an affiliate link for a suitable product/service based on your audience and start promoting.
Compared to normal links, referral or affiliate links contains a unique code or ID to assign the sale commission to a specific account.
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
6. Sell your photos online on stock websites
It may sound simple but you need some skills to take good photos and get them sold. As an animator, you should already know this!
Just like how animators need elements to use within their work, content creators and large websites would purchase stock photos to use within their content.
Having a stock photography side hustle would complement your current profession as your photos may help you create your animation elements in the future (who knows). It all depends on what kind of photos you plan to take and sell!
I personally believe in selling stock photos compared to being paid to photograph an event as it’s a passive side hustle and your pictures can be sold at any time of day.
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera & photography skills – Basic photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
7. Write for other blogs and websites as a freelancer
Don’t mind sharing your knowledge with written content but not looking to start a blog? You can try writing for others as a freelance writer instead!
Just like everything, freelance writing is something you slowly build yourself into. Compared to writing for yourself, you’ll need stronger content writing skills to get paid writing for others.
As writing for the web and search can be a little different than your normal school essays, I suggest you spend some time learning with this beginner freelance writing course.
The course creator teaches you how to pitch topics, write for client’s content websites and even lets you become a writer for her blog (she only hires writers that goes for her training). Win-win!
Freelance writers are paid according to their experience and niche. Earning $100 per article is not impossible and I believe animators are paid higher thanks to their skilled expertise!
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English or language you want to write for – Promote your freelance writing service |
8. Create online courses for animation
If you’re well experienced in your field and a seasoned animator, you’re probably in the position to teach others. While teaching people face-to-face is the regular route, I highly suggest making short online courses instead!
You can be teaching the basics on how to use a program e.g. After Effects, teach others how to create simple popular elements for their animation or the skills needed to become a full-time animator.
Some courses are simpler to make and others more complicated – so decide based on your commitments!
Selling your courses on online learning platforms allow you to reach a wider audience and set a lower price than if you were to just sell to a handful of people. The usual price points for a single payment short online course are $30, $47 and $67 – but you can price however you like based on your offering.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
9. Draw or make animations for others
If you’re more interested in creating animation than teaching others, you can offer services for drawing or animating instead. Fiverr is a popular platform you can sign up to as a seller of one-time services – sample down below.
With a single account, you can switch between being a buyer or a seller on Fiverr. You don’t need different accounts!
Doing animation jobs like these is much more preferred by new animators as they also help build your portfolio. Employers or clients would always want to look at your past work before hiring you.
| What do I need to start? | – A short service you can provide and price for – Platform to sell your service on |
10. Offer professional freelance services online
Looking to build a freelance portfolio but for bigger projects? You can promote your services on sites like Upwork and apply to any jobs that pop up.
Other than just small tasks, you can find jobs that requires about 30 hours per week with a whole project duration of one to three months. Chances are, these clients will have more work for you if you’re good!
Not too confident to be a freelancer? You can offer a cheaper rate and accommodate to clients’ requests better than experienced professionals. Start small!
Ways to promote your services:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Indeed
- TikTok (because anything can go viral here)
- Build your own website
| What do I need to start? | – Skills for a specific task or job – Time to dedicate for long term jobs – Your hourly rate charge or project fee |
11. Create digital products to sell on Etsy
If you love the idea of selling products online but quite unsure on what to sell, I always suggest selling digital products.
Compared to physical products, digital products only need to be created once and be updated from time to time. This means, for every additional sales you get, there is no production cost involved and you can make more than 100% profit margin.
Of course, some of my suggestions above have been touching on digital products. But what most people don’t know, is that you can sell these on Etsy!
Whether you plan to make digital products for purpose of animation or something else, there’s always room to sell them on Etsy. You can check out my comprehensive list of digital products here.
Etsy allows listing of digital products that does not require sellers to ship anything. Once a purchase is made, customers will immediately be able to download the digital file.
| What do I need to start? | – A digital product idea – Tools to create the digital product – Platform to sell on |
12. Learn the art of coffee and become a part-time café barista
Looking for a side hustle that’s not really related to animation? Almost everyone can benefit from a barista side hustle.
By becoming a part-time barista, you’re able to socialize outside of your work hours and not work at the desk all the time. Long hours at the desk is good for no one (I’ve learnt this the hard way)!
Consider going for professional barista classes and pick up the right skills. You’ll be saving a lot of money just by making your own coffee everyday. Your future self will appreciate it!
| What do I need to start? | – Barista training certification – Love for coffee |
Check out: 6 tips and tricks on becoming a barista
13. Start a pet-sitting service in your area
Another side hustle idea that can be therapeutic for some and allows you to make an income while being at home is pet-sitting. It’s an ideal side hustle for those who loves pets and don’t mind taking care of them!
Depending on the service you want to offer, pet sitters can make $15-20 per visit and at least $200 in a single weekend with just 10 visits. If you are able to upskill, you can offer additional services like grooming and even home boarding.
Pet-sitting should be the side hustle you look into if you’re working remotely as an animator at home. As someone who’s working from home, I personally am able to destress better with having pets around.
Services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Socializing to get clients |
14. Become a part-time event caricature artist
If you’re not an introvert and love participating in events, you can make side income as an event caricature artist. You should be able to draw or sketch manually on paper with pencils/pens and finish the drawing under short time.
The length of the queue can be long and people don’t have a lot of time to spend at a single booth!
Aside from large events, you can offer caricature service for small celebrations like birthday parties where you’re paid per event by the host. Alternatively, you can decide whether to be paid by the hour or by the number of drawings to be made.
| What do I need to start? | – Skills to draw manually within short time – Your hourly rate charge or fee per event – Platform to promote your service on |
15. Create your own comics and get paid
Love drawing and story-telling? You can draw your own comics and come up with the story line yourself.
The great thing about working on your own is that the choice is yours! You don’t need to be making animations according to someone else’s story.
Online comic platforms like Webtoon pays a creator using the revenue they get from users that pay a subscription fee to follow the creator’s comic series. So if you’re currently drawing comics on the side, you may want to consider making it a serious side hustle with Webtoon.
Other sites you can join as a comic creator and get paid are Tapas, Netcomics and WebComics.
| What do I need to start? | – Storytelling skills to create comic series – Platform to host your comics |
Check out: Webtoon’s top earning creator makes $9mil in 2021
16. Stream your live drawing session on Twitch
There are numerous ways to make money with sharing videos. One of it is via livestreaming and getting your audience to watch you as you do something e.g. drawing.
As an animator, you can livestream your drawing or animating process and make money on Twitch via these 6 ways. Compared to YouTube where content is usually compiled and edited into one video, Twitch is better known for livestreams and unedited content.
Aside from earning through donations and subscriptions, you can also be selling merchandise of your own animations. People love buying and collecting merchandise from creators as they’re usually made in limited numbers.
There’s certainly a unique preference for livestreams and it’s usually for showing a process of getting something done. I find it fun and exciting!
| What do I need to start? | – Tools to conduct livestreaming – Social media to promote your Twitch channel |
17. Sell your drawings on your own merchandise with print on demand
Have a ready set of animated characters and drawings you can sell? You can get them printed on merchandise through print on demand!
Print on demand is a side hustle I recommend to anyone that’s looking to start their first side business online – here’s seven reasons why POD might be for you.
POD works just like dropshipping where you don’t need to be purchasing inventory or put in any money prior to making a sale. Once a customer purchases your designed merchandise from sites like Etsy, your POD supplier will print the product and ship it directly to the buyer’s address.
You’ll only need to create your designs using easy tools like Canva or Kittl then upload them to merchandise like t-shirts, phone cases and tote bags – more down below. Alternatively, you can purchase ready designs on marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica.
Of course, since drawing is your forte, you can make your designs with other advanced tools!
Two best POD suppliers I recommend to beginners are Printify and Printful – both integrates seamlessly with Etsy.
Always working at your desk? You’ll love designing beautiful desk mats for your work area!
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
13 Online Side Hustles For Animators
Here are 13 online side hustles for animators you can explore:
- Create templates and sell for other animators
- Become a YouTuber sharing insights for animators
- Start a podcast for the digital drawing niche
- Do small animation jobs on Fiverr
- Livestream your animation process on Twitch
- Create comics for Webtoon
- Sell your drawings on merchandise with print on demand
- Share short videos of your animation on TikTok
- Teach others how to animate
- Become an online teacher for school kids
- Create and sell presentation slides template
- Write content for your own blog
- Promote affiliate products or services with social media
9 Free Side Hustles For Animators
Here are 9 free side hustles for animators:
- Become an affiliate marketer on social media
- Offer freelance content writing for art-based blogs
- Sell Canva templates with Etsy
- Design and sell merchandise with print on demand
- Start a personal YouTube channel
- Design logo and animated intros for online businesses
- Reselling stuffs you no longer use for extra cash
- Host drawing classes online or offline
- Sell photos or videos on stock websites
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for animators you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Bottom Line
Not everyone have the skills you have, so don’t be afraid to make money with it!
Most people that wish to start a new side hustle often complicate things by thinking too far. You have to think realistically based on your current commitments and assess tools or skills that are readily available to you.
Whether it’s making money from your animations or selling a course, start with the very basics and fine tune it over time.
I always encourage my readers to build passive income streams outside their full-time job so you’re safe one way or another!
Here are 17 best side hustles for animators:
- Sell templates and custom presets for After Effects
- Make videos for your own YouTube channel
- Build a podcast for the animation niche
- Share your knowledge of animation with a blog
- Earn commissions with affiliate products and services
- Sell your photos online on stock websites
- Write for other blogs and websites as a freelancer
- Create online courses for animation
- Draw or make animations for others
- Offer professional freelance services online
- Create digital products to sell on Etsy
- Learn the art of coffee and become a part-time café barista
- Start a pet-sitting service in your area
- Become a part-time event caricature artist
- Create your own comics and get paid
- Stream your live drawing session on Twitch
- Sell your drawings on your own merchandise with print on demand
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
Photo by MESSALA CIULLA
