Invest
Wisely
Illustrated Talks/ Lectures/ Videos
Animation has evolved to not only be a good skill for the
entertainment industry, but it also a handy tool for professors,
book reviewers, trainers, coaches, mentors, preachers and
anybody who needs to deliver information to an audience.
Technology has made animation so easy and user friendly that
slow learners have less challenges and visual learners are almost
at par with audio learners or readers.
Let’s break it down a little. There are those who understand
concepts as they read text books and essays or any prose writing.
There are those who would really rather listen to an audio or
watch a video with the same content. Then there are those
who read pictures. This meanS, the prose/ text is translated to
pictures and that is what they understand. Then there are those
who learn best by using their physical sense of touch. Take them
to a chemistry lab and the Periodic table makes sense. Tell them
to cram the chemical formulae from a text book and you have
lost them.
The journey to making some extra cash from animation and
eventually build a business out of it
Animations are making lovely teaching aids for many, both at
school and in the office. A look through YouTube will enable you
see this concept at work.
NGOs, civil society and the government have tremendous
budgets set aside for capacity building (aka training aka public
awareness programs). Through the programs, illiterate people
are sensitized towards different matters. Let’s take a common
and simple example. Explaining devolution. A concept that
would not be known if it wasn’t for a new constitution that
advocates for counties to easier govern the masses. Through
illustrations, such can easily be explained.
Requirements
You need to have
• The skill of drawing and an eye for design
• A computer with the appropriate software
• A passion for art and design
• Ideas for the animation
Suggested paths for starters
• Read a short motivational book and illustrate it as a reviewer
• Read a short story book for children and illustrate it as a
reviewer
• Recall and improve on the stories told by grandparents and
teacher e.g about the fox and the crane, the hare and the
tortoise etc
• Read the Bible and lift a story from it that can be illustrated to
pass the message e.g. the story of Noah or Samson
• Take a text book for an MBA class and illustrate a theory that
has sub theories in it
If you begin to put up some of your illustrative videos on the
internet, you are bound to get someone interested.
16 |
Esteemed Magazine July -August 2015
Next level
Once you start to build a following and a portfolio, you can get
in touch with program managers, professors in colleges and
universities and even the clergy. Identify the weakness in the
delivery of their subject matter and offer to help them through
their animations.
In a society where this is still not popular, I would advocate for
this idea while you hold down another job from where you are
getting some revenue and do this with consistency at your free
time e.g. over the weekends.
Know your target and your audience, then maintain
consistency and creativity.
On the medium and large scale:
• Create illustrations that can go viral on the world wide web.
• Start training other passionate individuals, be they students
in primary school or higher levels to do what you are doing.
• Build a network of illustrators with unique abilities so as to
attend to different needs
• Use illustrations to create product/ service campaigns for
different brands and companies
• Use illustrations to consistently review books that are in the
market. Depending on how you place yourself avid readers
will make you the first stop before buying a book.
Sources of revenue
This highly depends on the business model you decide to
adopt. You can
• Offer advertising slots for your videos
• Blow up your illustrations to bigger sizes and sell them to
education institutions
• Sell the concept to teachers, lecturers, professors, peer
educators and have them retain you for the different
assignments they engage in
There are so many other ways that you can build a revenue and
subsequently a lifestyle out of this venture.
Special Note: NB: Publishers Disclaimer: The publisher is not
engaged in the business of rendering financial, legal or other
professional advice. If such advice and or information is required
in relation to the investment idea highlighted herein, the
services of professionals should be sought. No responsibility for
loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from acting
as a result of material in this publication can be accepted.
Join us on our blog Marketplace Influencer for more tips for the
Esteemed Professional @wangarimaina
For more insights to help build the brand called YOU,
we recommend you look through the creative YouTube
Channel RSA Animate https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc