Animation

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!!!

The Geico gecko is a 3d animation which isn't a drawing at all.

If you want a 2d character, how do you want it to look?

I mean, either way, having a reference for what you guys want certainly wouldn't hurt!

If it's just a 2d character, you could provide them drawings, but you'll want to keep things on layers for them. Each part of each limb should be its own layer. So, for example, an arm could be shoulder, bicep, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, five separate fingers (or four or three or however many fingers there are). Now, this depends a lot on what your character looks like. You might just need bicep, forearm, hand, fingers. If it talks, you will also need drawings for the different phonemes. (That is, mouth shapes for sounds. You don't need one for every letter though. For example, B and M are essentially the same mouth shape.) You will also need some different eye shapes/eyebrow positions, etc. for the different emotions. Also, a closed eye drawing so it can blink.

If you want to try some really easy animation yourself, check out Character Animator ​it (comes included with your full CC subscription)​. It makes it really easy to animate your own drawings without keyframes! You just perform in front of a webcam and keyboard! If nothing else, it's a ton of fun! (Plus it can help show a "real" animator what you want. [Although, there is some real, professional work that is on network television being produced with Adobe Character Animator [The Simpsons' live episode and Cartoon Trump on Colbert's show, for some examples].)

It's probably best to discuss this with your animator.  Obviously, the client must approve mascot character before animation work begins.   But the animator will need artwork he/she can work with.

Nancy