Important Details
• Project: Unannounced 2D action-metroidvania (Godot 4.7, PC + console)
• Type: Independent contractor, part-time, ongoing
• Rate: $30–$60/hr or per-animation-set flat rate — negotiable based on experience
• Commitment: ~10–15 hours/week, flexible scheduling
• Location: Fully remote
• Start: Immediate
About the Project
I'm a solo developer building a commercial 2D metroidvania in Godot. The core movement and combat systems are built and playable — double jump, a state-machine-driven traversal kit, hitbox/hurtbox combat, custom shader work. A contracted character artist is already delivering high-resolution frame art.
What I need now is someone who can make that art move like a first-tier action platformer.
The project is pre-reveal, so specifics stay behind an NDA until the trailer. I can share build footage and art with candidates.
What You'll Do
• Punch up existing animations. The current player and enemy animations are functional placeholders and rough passes. I want them reworked for weight, anticipation, follow-through, and readable arcs — the kind of polish that makes a jump feel like it has mass and an attack feel like it lands.
• Create new animation sets going forward. New abilities, enemies, NPCs, and traversal states ship on a rolling basis. Expect to take a character sheet or base pose from concept to a complete, engine-ready set.
• Animate for game feel, not for a reel. Startup, active, and recovery frames need to line up with hitbox timings and cancel windows. Loops need to be seamless. Transitions need to hold up when a player mashes inputs. I'll give you frame-data targets; I need you to hit them without the animation looking mechanical.
• Deliver engine-ready assets. Frame sequences or sprite sheets that drop cleanly into AnimatedSprite2D / SpriteFrames, named and organized to a consistent convention.
Requirements
• A portfolio with shipped or in-development game animation is preferred but not required — Gameplay clips would be amazing, but reels will also be considered
• Strong frame-by-frame 2D animation fundamentals: timing, spacing, squash/stretch, smears, arcs
• Demonstrated understanding of how animation serves responsiveness — you know why a 3-frame startup reads differently from a 6-frame one
• Comfortable working from another artist's character sheets and matching their style
• Raster/frame-based workflow (Aseprite, Photoshop, Procreate, Toon Boom, Krita — your call). Some rigged animation using bones/skeletons may be considered, but only for specific characters.
• Reliable async communication and the ability to self-manage against milestones
• Willing to sign an NDA and a work-for-hire agreement assigning IP to the project
Nice to Have
• Godot experience, especially importing and configuring SpriteFrames yourself
• Familiarity with action-platformer and metroidvania animation conventions (Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Blasphemous, Ori as reference vocabulary)
• Awareness of memory/VRAM constraints on console targets — atlas packing, frame-count discipline, resolution budgeting
• Basic VFX animation (impact flashes, dust, trails) to accompany character actions
Terms
• Independent contractor (1099 for US-based); you invoice, I pay on [Net 15] per milestone
• Work-for-hire — all delivered assets and IP assign to the project on payment
• NDA required before receiving builds or unreleased art
• Portfolio use permitted after public reveal, with credit; the game credits you either way
How to Apply
Email me with the subject line "Character Animator — [Your Name]" and include:
• Portfolio link — timestamp or call out the 2–3 pieces you're proudest of and say why
• Your rate and availability, structured however you prefer to be paid
• Tools you work in and your typical delivery format
• Two or three sentences on an animation in a released game you think is exceptional, and what specifically makes it work
Paid test: Shortlisted candidates get one paid animation set — a single character action, scoped to a few hours — before we commit to ongoing work. I pay for it regardless of the outcome.