The Animator Dormitory Project 2023

According to a 2015 study conducted by the Japanese Animation Creators’ Association (JAnicA), the average Japanese animator makes just under 10 thousand dollars per year.

That works out to about $830 per month.

This is an average, however, and not even close to the worst-case scenario. New animators (animators with 3 or fewer years of work experience) can make less than 250 dollars per month.

Because animators (and new animators in particular) have such a hard making ends meet, we opened the Animator Dormitory, a dormitory where animators can live for less than $250 per month including rent, utilities, and internet. At the dormitory, we also offer art workshops taught by veteran animators where our residents can network with and gain knowledge from individuals outside their place of work!

Also, as of 2020, we've been creating well-paying jobs through the production of original, in-house anime music videos.

Our goal with these music videos is to create a working environment for our animators that enables them through ample funding and a good work environment.

These jobs allow us to support our animators in a more substantial way, providing them with experience and ethical payment in additional to the housing support options we offer.

• All dormitory residents are free to participate in or leave our in-house productions at any time.
• For our first music video (called 'Back to You'), we were able to pay our double the industry standard on average, ranging up to QUADRUPLE the industry standard on some occasions.

We're already starting work on our second music video, (called 'Blue Sky'), wh in collaboration with iconic industry voice actress Aya Hirano. Stay tuned for more on that!

Our first music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1MI8F_97pg

Music for our second music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qF1gBjYBcs

The New Animator Dormitory has been in operation for over 10 years since 2014 with the goal of providing new animators with a better standard of living.

To date, we've supporting over 60 new animators through our housing programs.

Some of our past housing support recipients include:

■ Shingo Tamagawa:
Director of PUPARIA,
Animation Director on Gundam Reconguista in G,
and Animation Director on Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash.

■ Tatsuro Kawano:
Director of BURN THE WITCH (Movie, 2020),
and opening animation director for BORUTO -NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS- (TV, 2017).

■ Moeka Kuga:
Character animation director for DARLING in the FRANXX (TV/2018).
Storyboard artist, director, animator, color artist, animation inspector, clean-up artist, and environmental artist Chainsaw Man ED 2 (TV/2022).

And some of our previous dormitory residents include:

■ Masaaki Tanaka, one of our first term residents and
the animation director of Attack on Titan Season 3.

■ Hitomi Kariya, one of our fourth term residents and
the opening title director, key animator, and character designer for the NHK Morning Drama, Natsuzora.

■ Madoka Ogawa, one of our fourth term residents and
an animation director for Inazuma Eleven: Mark of Orion,
as well as an episode director for Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

And many more.

We hope to secure enough funds through this campaign to keep the Animator Dormitory running through 2023.

Thank you very much for your consideration!

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History of the Animator Dormitory

• March 2014: Our first dormitory (capable of housing two people) opens in Asagaya, Suginami.
• March 2015: Our second dormitory (capable of housing two people) opens in Ogikubo, Suginami
• March 2016: We expand our Asagaya location (now capable of housing 4 people)!
• March 2017: Our third dormitory (women only, capable of housing 2 people) opens in Narita Higashi, Suginami.
• In light of COVID-19, we rebooted our housing stipends program alongside dormitory operations for safety.
• Housing stipends award $6,000 in annual housing support for grand prize recipients in our art and animation contest, the New Animator Grand Prix.

New Animators Earn Less Than $800 Dollars a Month on Average...

The Japanese anime industry is valued at over 20 billion dollars and produces a substantial amount of the world’s animation. Yet the animators responsible for this success work in awful conditions where low wages, exorbitant work hours, and corrupt contracting agreements run rampant.

The situation is extremely dire.

According to a study published by the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAnicA) in 2015, the average animator in their 20s earns roughly 9,700 dollars a year.

That’s just over 800 dollars per month.

As mentioned earlier, some animators can even make as little as $250 per month.

Animators’ incredibly low wages are the result of a myriad of complex factors, but perhaps most prevalent is the low going-rate of in-between animation.

Most animators are hired under piece-rate contracts, meaning they are paid per “frame” of animation they draw. Animators have to draw an unimaginable amount of frames to earn even a meager living, and it takes time for them to get good enough to pull that off.

For an TV anime series, 1 frame of in-between animation is valued at about $1.80.

If an animator draws 300 frames in one month, then their income would come out to 300 x $1.80, or $540 for that month.

Drawing 300 frames a a single month is a daunting task though, especially for new animators.

Also, because of their long work hours, animators can't realistically work other jobs to supplement their income.

All of this coupled with the fact that most anime studios are based in Tokyo, which has some of the highest real estate costs in the world, most animators can't even afford a 1-bedroom apartment with an attached bathroom.

Observing this, we set out to create a space where animators can live, seek mentorship, gain experience, and network with other animators. That place is the Animator Dormitory.

Every donations goes straight to the Animator Dormitory!

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Budget Breakdown:

◇ Maintenance costs for a single dormitory capable of housing 4 residents at one time: $25,000

◇ Money used for the production of backer rewards: $3,600

◇ Processing & platform fees: $2,400

We need to raise $30,000 in total to obtain the $25,000 necessary to operate the Animator Dormitory after deductions for backer rewards and fees.

Any excess proceeds we raise will go straight towards operations for next year (2024).

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About the Animator Dormitory

◇Youtube

Animator Dormitory Channel

◇Twitter

@animatorsupport

◇Facebook

Animator Dormitory

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Backer Rewards

$30

1) Thank You!

◆ Digital illustration (1280x720 resolution).

◆ Sent via email.

※ The following image is a sample. Final product may vary.

$50

2) Let the Art Flow!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) a copy of the 1st Annual New Animator Dormitory Grand Prix Artbook!

$150

2) Purveyor of Art!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) a copy of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Annual New Animator Dormitory Grand Prix Artbooks!

$300

3) We Love Anime!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) a Ryoko t-shirt (Type A),

※ The following image is a sample. Final product may vary.

(2) and your choice of any one of the following rewards:

(A) Touring the dorm digitally via Zoom (for 15 minutes); or

(B) a Ryoko artbook (30 pages).

※ The following image is a sample. Final product may vary.

$500

4) The Animator Supporter!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) The 4th Annual New Animator Dormitory Grand Prix Artbook,

(2) a personalized illustration by one of our animators, (You can request any drawing you like!)

(3) a Ryoko t-shirt (Type B),

(4) and your choice of any one of the following rewards:

(A) Touring the dorm digitally via Zoom (for 30 minutes), or

(B) a Ryoko artbook (30 pages).

$1000

5) Anime Be Eternal!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) a copy of the 5th Annual New Animator Grand Prix Artbook,

(2) a Ryoko t-shirt (Type C),

(3) and your choice of any one of the following rewards:

(A) Touring the dorm digitally via Zoom (for 60 minutes), or

(B) a Ryoko artbook (30 pages).

$3000

6) The Collector!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) a copy of the 6th Annual New Animator Grand Prix Artbook,

(2) a Ryoko t-shirt (Type D),

(3) and your choice of any one of the following rewards:

(A) Touring the dorm digitally via Zoom (for 90 minutes), or

(B) a Ryoko artbook (30 pages).

$5000

7) The Otaku King!

In addition to the previous tiers' rewards, you get:

(1) A copy of the 7th Annual New Animator Grand Prix Artbook,

(2) a Ryoko t-shirt (Type E),

(3) and your choice of any one of the following rewards:

(A) the dorm digitally via Zoom (for 120 minutes), or

(B) a Ryoko artbook (30 pages).