Hand-Drawn Kids Character Design

I’m preparing to launch a YouTube channel for children aged 3-7 and I need a talented illustrator who can create completely original, hand-drawn characters—no AI outputs, no homages to existing shows, just fresh designs that belong only to us.

Scope of work
Your first task will be to develop a small cast of original characters and supply a full production-ready package for each one. I’ll need:

• Turnarounds – front, ¾, side, back, and top views, all on-model
• Expression sheets – a full range of emotions, from quiet curiosity to big belly laughs
• Pose sheet – walking, waving, sitting, eating, pointing, jumping, plus a few extra action poses we’ll discuss together
• Full character scenes – the character interacting naturally within a simple background so I can gauge scale and personality
• Separated layers – head, eyes, mouth, arms, legs, and body delivered as individual pieces (PSD or layered PNG preferred) for easy rigging in animation software
• Outfit variants – at minimum pajamas and school clothes; more outfits later as the series grows

Acceptance criteria
A design is approved when the turnaround holds model consistency across views, the expression sheet captures the requested emotional range, every listed pose is readable in silhouette, and the layered file imports cleanly into Adobe Animate without re-alignment.

Creative notes
Keep shapes simple and appealing for preschoolers, use bright but harmonious palettes, and ensure the designs are easy to animate in limited frame cartoons. I’m open to pencil-and-paper scans cleaned in Photoshop, Procreate files, or a fully digital workflow—as long as the final artwork is unmistakably hand-drawn.

If this excites you, share a link to previous original character work (please, no fan art) and tell me a bit about your process for keeping designs consistent across assets. I’m ready to start as soon as I find the right fit.