3D Animator is needed in Zimbabwe.

Freelance 3D Animator / 3D Generalist – Marley’s Kitchen Prototype 001

Our Ayanda Studios (OAS) is seeking a freelance 3D Animator / 3D Generalist to help produce Marley’s Kitchen – Prototype 001, a 41-second stylised 3D children’s animation.

About the project

Marley’s Kitchen centres around Marley, a joyful seven-year-old pastry chef who combines baking, music and movement.

Prototype 001 is a short proof-of-concept designed to help Our Ayanda Studios test its animation production pipeline, creative quality, contractor collaboration, timing and production costs before progressing into larger projects.

The lead character and overall visual direction have already been established. This is not a character redesign project. We are looking for someone who can work from the existing creative direction and help translate it into polished, production-ready 3D animation.

Project requirements

Depending on the freelancer’s skill set, the work may involve some or all of the following:

• 3D character modelling and refinement
• Character rigging
• Character animation and performance
• Facial animation and lip-sync
• Baking-related character actions
• Dance and movement animation
• Stylised 3D environment work
• Texturing and materials
• Lighting and rendering
• Motion retargeting, mocap clean-up or keyframe animation
• Final animation preparation and delivery

You do not need to be an expert across every area of the production pipeline. We are open to experienced specialists, strong 3D generalists and small independent creative teams.

What we are looking for

The ideal candidate will have:

• a strong portfolio or showreel demonstrating relevant 3D work;
• experience with stylised character animation;
• a good understanding of character performance, posing, timing and movement;
• the ability to work from an established character and visual direction;
• experience with Blender, Maya or comparable 3D software;
• good communication and reliability;
• the ability to work remotely and meet agreed project milestones; and
• availability to take on a short freelance production project.

Experience with children’s animation, expressive character work, facial animation or musical/dance-based animation would be particularly valuable.

Formal qualifications are not required. Selection will be based primarily on portfolio quality, relevant practical experience, communication, reliability, availability and overall suitability for the project.

Engagement

This is a paid, remote, project-based freelance engagement, not a permanent employment position.

We are particularly interested in hearing from Zimbabwe-based creatives, as Our Ayanda Studios is working to build long-term production relationships with Zimbabwean creative talent.

Shortlisted candidates will receive a more detailed production pack containing the character direction, visual references, shot structure and production requirements. They will then be invited to provide a quote based on the detailed scope.

Successful completion of the prototype may lead to opportunities to collaborate with Our Ayanda Studios on future projects, although ongoing work is not guaranteed.

To apply

Please provide:

• a link to your portfolio or showreel;
• a brief description of your strongest 3D skills;
• the software you primarily use;
• your current location;
• your current availability; and
• any relevant experience in character animation, stylised animation or children’s content.

About the client
Our Ayanda Studios is an independent creative studio founded by me, Ayanda, based in Australia. I’m building OAS to create children’s animation and to develop long-term production relationships with Zimbabwean creative talent. We’re currently producing ‘Marley’s Kitchen Prototype 001,’ a forty-one-second stylized 3D children’s animation proof of concept. The character and visual direction are already defined. We need a freelancer who can help turn that existing direction into polished 3D animation. We’re starting with this prototype to test quality, communication, timing, and cost before moving into longer productions.