What it is and How Does it Work?
Independent Animation, or more well known as Indie Animation, refers to animated shorts, webseries, and feature films produced outside a major industry, like Disney or Dreamworks. Indie animation goes through the same process as any big industry animation, just at a smaller scale. It goes through the discussion of Concept and Ideation, then a rough draft of the story known as a storyboard. Afterwards, they then do an Animatic, a test or a sequence of shots for the show or movie to determine its effectiveness before being finalized. Next, is the full-scale animation itself once they’re satisfied with the Animatic style. At the end, they go through compositing and VFX, Editing, sound design, and then Exporting and encoding the video. Depending on the complexity and length of the animation, some steps are commonly skipped or combined into one.

The Rise
In the internet’s vast landscape, many independent animations have been posted online on sites like Reddit, Youtube, Newgrounds, Tiktok, and more. Many of these shows have been given huge praise online and have gained quite a sizable fanbase.
Starting in the late 1990s – early 2000s, the first few indie animations would be posted on Youtube and Newgrounds. These places gave animators a way to show their creativity and pitch their projects to a varying audience without having to be involved with a high-end studio. Animations like “Eddsworld” were one of the first indie animations published to the internet, and a large foundation to the style of content we have today. The best part is, upon YouTube introducing AdSense to their platform (monetization), these creators would be able to fully work on their projects and make a profit, even making a living out of it.

Why is it Popular, and What are Some Examples?
Many have wondered at one point, “What the heck do they mean by…Lackadaisy?” Or even “What is indie animation? Why do I keep hearing about it?” Well, Indie animation has many reasons for it being so popular as it is today.
Some people believe that its unique storytelling is what makes it so appealing, others because of the way people can connect to the characters in the show, like their sexuality, culture, struggles, and personality. Recent popular examples like “MurderDrones”, “The Amazing Digital Circus”, and “Hazbin Hotel” are great examples of what indie animation is.
“MurderDrones”, by Liam Vickers is a story about “drones” or better described as robots who were forced into humanities wills, until a catastrophic event erased all of humanity, and left these drones to fend on their own against “Disassembly Drones,” whom hunt these now rogue drones to live. The story consists of relatable characters, and many unserious jokes and dark/edgy humor that many find entertaining.
Another example is “The Amazing Digital Circus”, or TADC for short. TADC is about a bunch of people who were trapped in a virtual reality world, their subconscious stuck in this place where they’re infinitely trapped and have to go on adventures to keep their sanity in check. Upon losing their sanity, they will “abstract” or glitch out, like a video game bug, and be sent away.
Finally, there is “Hazbin Hotel.” Hazbin Hotel, created by VivziePop originally started as a YouTube Pilot, but was eventually picked up By Amazon. The story takes place in hell, where sinners and demons are oppressed by the angels from heaven, and the daughter of Lucifer, Charlie, wants to rehabilitate or reform the sinners to be allowed into heaven, while dealing with constant reminders of the goal being impossible, personal issues, and the daunting annual extermination of a lot of the sinner population conducted by the angels. These plots, and their characters caused people to heavily like or enjoy indie animations, and is why it’s still popular today.

How Do We Positively Impact it?
There are many ways we actually impact indie animation and make it possible. Most popular indie animations were created from kickstarters or the animator’s patron to fund the project. Animations like Hazbin Hotel were funded from Vivzie’s patron account called Lackadaisy, which turned the animations from webcomic to full series due to a kickstarter fund. Another example is Helluva Boss, a story in the same universe of Hazbin Hotel, only being continued because of fan’s support and constant views on youtube, showing people’s interest. The only way indie animations can exist is if we support and want them to happen.