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Hiring 3 Anime Character Designers to Test
I quickly found that anime character design gigs on Fiverr cover a wide spectrum. Some include simple black and white illustrations only, while others come with full color and detailed backgrounds. Some also include permission for commercial use or source files that let you make adjustments as necessary. To get a better sense of what to expect from various price points, I hired an inexpensive ($15) designer, a midrange ($50) creator, and an expensive ($100) artist. I asked each to complete the same project: draw an anime-style astronaut in a space suit.I picked Udelart out of the sea of anime illustrators immediately. Their Level Two Seller status indicated that they’d delivered a lot of projects at a high standard over a long period of time, which seemed promising. With over 350 reviews and a 4.9-star rating, it was clear that they’d had a lot of happy clients. Their portfolio included a lot of characters in complicated outfits, so I thought they’d be up to the challenge of drawing a figure in a space suit. I bought their basic ($15) gig, which included a single character. Although most cheaper anime gigs don’t include color, this one did which immediately impressed me. It also came with a five-day deadline and up to three revisions – a generous amount considering the price.
The $50 Anime Character Designer: A Highly Experienced Team
With their Top Rated Seller status, TresKiddos also caught my eye right away. This credential indicates that the seller has generated over $20,000 in sales on Fiverr, so it’s a good indicator of extensive experience. As this seller’s name suggests, it’s actually a team of three artists who design anime characters. Their distressed style looked like it was right out of an action-packed comic book, so I couldn’t wait to see their take on my character. I purchased their basic ($50) gig for a black and white figure with no background. It came with a seven-day deadline, one revision, and a commercial license, an extra that I really appreciated for the cost.The $100 Anime Character Designer: A Top Rated Creator
Another Top Rated Seller, CarlosBobadilla stood out thanks to their exclusive Fiverr status and their five-star rating. Although their profile included over a dozen excellent examples of their work, I appreciated that they also linked to their portfolio, where I found hundreds more eye-catching work samples. I ordered their basic ($100) gig, which came with a black and white character but no background. However, this creator added more value by including a source file, a commercial license, and fast two-day turnaround. This gig didn’t include revisions, so I hoped we could get it right on the first attempt. While I appreciate the extras thrown in, knowing that there’s no scope for revisions made it a riskier option.My Experience Working With These Fiverr Freelancers
Before purchasing the gigs, I messaged each seller about the project. They all responded within an hour so they’re neck and neck at this point:- The least expensive ($15) artist, UdelArt, let me know that they had a long queue, and we negotiated a deadline. Then they sent me a custom offer with the terms we’d discussed. They had the simplest requirements of the three, as they only asked for a reference image to work from.
- The midrange ($50) freelancer, TresKiddos, confirmed what the basic package included to make sure it would fit my needs. Then they invited me to book the basic gig. This seller had the longest list of requirements of the three, as they asked about the orientation, dimensions, and purpose of the artwork. It’s good to iron out these details early on rather than establish a problem at the end so I was impressed with their thoroughness.
- The priciest ($100) creator, Carlosbobadilla, asked a few questions to make sure they were envisioning the character I wanted. What should the astronaut be doing? Could they deviate from the reference photo? Did I need a background? Then they encouraged me to proceed with the order. After the initial questions, their onboarding process was simple, as they only asked about the size I needed for the final version.
Comparing the Final Results
From the cheapest gig to the most expensive anime character, I was truly impressed by all the results. However, one design stood out as my favorite.The $15 Anime Character
Because I was at the end of this designer’s queue, I didn’t expect to hear from them very quickly. But right away, Udelart confirmed that they had what they needed for the project, and about four days later I received an update. Although they hadn’t promised a draft, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a sketch of the character and a request for input at this early stage. They then sent the final version with color less than 12 hours later. It just shows that checking in and keeping up the communication leads to a much smoother process. Altogether, this anime illustration took just under five days to complete and was finished before the deadline, so that’s a gold star in my books. While the wait time was on the longer side (but not by much), the full-color design and affordable price added to the overall value. I’d happily hire this artist again, especially if I were working with a small budget. It’s also worth noting that out of the three designers I hired, Udelart was the only one who provided a color design. If I’d wanted a color finish from the medium and premium designers, I’d be looking at spending big bucks.The $50 Anime Character
Similar to the $15 creator, the $50 freelancer sent an order confirmation right away and provided a sketch about three days later. The draft followed the reference image almost exactly, including cropping part of the astronaut’s helmet out of the frame. As one of my revisions, I asked them to include the entire helmet in the illustration. TresKiddos delivered the final version a few days later, and I was happy to see that they’d incorporated my revision request. I received the final anime character design about 12 hours before the deadline, so this project took just under seven days to complete. This was the lengthiest timeline, but I think it was worth the wait. I loved the style of this design – the type of sketching they’ve used makes it look like it’s been etched on newspaper. It’s different and I’m all for that. The artist’s unique style and attention to detail increase the value, and I’d readily work with this creative team again if I had the budget.The $100 Anime Character
Less than 24 hours after I placed the order, CarlosBobadilla sent a sketch of the character. They asked a few specific questions: did I want to show the astronaut’s hair, and should she be tethered to a spacecraft? I appreciated the creator’s attention to detail, as it helped set them apart from the two other freelancers and get the illustration just right. They submitted the final version of the illustration about 24 hours later, well in advance of the two-day deadline. This was the fastest project to complete, which is impressive given the creator’s high level of detail and shows that a bigger investment can speed up the process and get you a professional result. Although it was also the most expensive design, this is my favorite design. Plus it’s a high quality, full-body artwork, with some serious attention to detail and a fast turnaround (along with those extras that were included in the price). For those reasons, it should be the winner here… But that’s my subjective opinion, so let’s look at this objectively. As you have now seen, you can get an excellent piece of anime artwork for a low price too. In fact, Udelart provided the best value for money of the three, since their package included an anime-style character in full color for just $15. If I’d purchased a color version from the most expensive creator, I would have had to pay $420 – a massive increase over Udelart’s budget-friendly prices! To put that into perspective, you could commission Udelart a staggering 28 times for the price of one full color piece of artwork by Carlosbobadilla. If you can afford a bigger budget, then I’d recommend considering a creator with a standout style or a short deadline but remember to look around at what else is out there.In a hurry?
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Hiring a Freelancer for Anime Character Design on Fiverr
I’ve found that using the Fiverr marketplace provides me with several nice perks. There’s a reason it’s one of the top freelance platforms and why it scored 4.9* out of 5 in our Fiverr review:- It works for a wide range of budgets. Many Fiverr gigs cost just $5, $10, or $15, so they can easily fit a small budget. If you can afford to spend more, you can browse gigs from Verified Pro sellers. They often include more complex deliverables or higher-quality results, and they may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
- It makes searching for freelancers easy. Whether your primary focus is on price, style, ratings, or other factors, Fiverr’s advanced search options allow you to locate the ideal freelancer. You can input a budget range, apply filters based on seller credentials, and subsequently browse through the gigs to evaluate the portfolios and reviews of creators.
- It offers custom quotes. With the abundance of available gigs on Fiverr, a quick search often leads you to find precisely what you’re looking for. However, if you desire an additional feature or expedited delivery of your order, you can request a custom offer from any seller to tailor it to your specific requirements.
*Our Score reflects our own in-depth review of this product or service