The animation studio Chicago brands hire when the brief has to clear compliance.
Chicago runs on derivatives, food manufacturing, freight, healthcare and insurance. Four of those five sell something that cannot be filmed, and all five ship their marketing through a legal review first. That is the brief we are built for. Script, design, animation, voiceover and sound design included, with explainer video pricing published upfront.
Explainer pricing published in full. Everything else quoted within 24 hours. No discovery call required to find out whether we are in range. 1,000+ videos delivered, ten years in production.
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beautifully.
All animation. One studio.
beautifully.
All animation. One studio.
Our Work
The work behind the animation studio Chicago brands come back to.
Every frame from this animation studio Chicago teams brief is original. No stock assets, no recycled characters, no template packs that turn up in another company's video. Below is a selection across the industries Chicago runs on. For work produced specifically for the city, see our 2D animation services in Chicago, our Chicago explainer video production page and our Chicago explainer video company page.
Bitzer AG, industrial corporate explainer
Enter Tech, educational series
Bee-Bot, character animation series
Industries We Serve
Chicago does not have one industry, it has five
Derivatives, trading and financial services
Chicago is the home of CME Group, which operates the exchanges and clearing services underpinning global financial derivatives. Around it sits a dense ecosystem of proprietary trading firms, clearing houses, fintech platforms and the professional services firms that support them.
This is the hardest brief any animation studio Chicago firms commission will receive, and the one we are asked for most often. Margin mechanics, settlement, clearing, risk models and order routing are abstract by nature. They cannot be filmed and they resist explanation in text, which is exactly the gap animation closes. Get a detail wrong and a trading desk will spot it in the first ten seconds, so accuracy matters more here than polish.
Food and beverage manufacturing
Chicago is the centre of American food manufacturing. McDonald's moved its global headquarters to Fulton Market in 2018. Mondelez International, the company behind Oreo, Ritz and Cadbury, is headquartered here, as is Conagra Brands at the Merchandise Mart.
Food work splits into three very different jobs. Consumer brand animation needs warmth and character. Supply chain and sourcing material needs clarity and credibility. Food safety and plant training needs precision and repeatability. An animation studio Chicago food brands hire has to treat these as three separate jobs. Produce all three in the same register and you get one video that works and two that do not.
Rail, freight and logistics
Chicago is where the country's rail networks converge, and it has been the junction of American freight since the nineteenth century. United Airlines runs its corporate operation from Willis Tower, O'Hare moves freight continuously, and the logistics technology sector around all of it keeps growing.
Work reaching an animation studio Chicago shippers use is nearly always about movement through a system: a shipment, a routing decision, a yard operation, a software platform tracking thousands of units at once. Animation handles this better than any other medium because it can compress a week of movement into fifteen seconds and show the whole network at once.
Healthcare, pharma and medical devices
The Chicago region holds major hospital networks, research universities and a significant pharmaceutical and device industry in the northern suburbs. An animation studio Chicago healthcare groups hire is writing for clinicians, patients, payers and procurement committees, and almost nothing written for one of them works for another.
Clinician material has to be anatomically exact. Patient material has to be calm and readable at a sixth grade level. Procurement material has to convince a committee that will never see the device in use. We build these as separate pieces from the same asset library, which is cheaper than three unrelated productions and far more effective than one compromise.
Insurance and professional services
Chicago and the surrounding suburbs hold one of the largest concentrations of insurance and risk businesses in the United States, alongside the law firms, consultancies and accounting practices that grew up with them.
The problem in this sector is never a shortage of information. It is that the product is a contract, the benefit is a hypothetical, and the buyer has already decided the category is boring. An animation studio Chicago insurers brief is working in the one format that can make an abstraction feel concrete without overclaiming, which is why claims explanation and policy onboarding are among the most requested briefs we receive from the city.
What We Produce
Five formats, one Chicago animation partner
2D animation
Custom characters, environments and fluid motion, and the format most animation studios in Chicago are asked for first. The most versatile format and the one most briefs sent to animation studios in Chicago end up using, because it carries a story and a product at the same time. Nothing is built from stock libraries. See our 2D animation studio.
Most requestedMotion graphics
Animated icons, kinetic typography, charts and interface walkthroughs. The right choice for trading mechanics, supply chain flow, freight networks and any subject where clarity beats character. It is also the fastest format to produce, which makes it the most cost efficient. More on motion graphics.
Best for dataExplainer video
A complete 60 to 90 second piece built to make a complex product understood in one viewing, and the single most requested deliverable from animation studios in Chicago. Script, voiceover, animation and sound design included, with the price published rather than quoted. See the pricing page for the figures. This is the format most Chicago software and hardware teams arrive at animation studios asking for by name. See explainer video production.
Published pricingAnime animation
Genuine Japanese anime visual language, frame by frame. Dramatic composition, expressive characters, cinematic camera work. We are one of very few studios producing authentic anime style work for commercial clients rather than fan projects. Quoted per finished minute. See our anime animation studio.
Specialist work3D animation
Product visualisation, technical assemblies and photorealistic rendering. This is the format Chicago manufacturers, food producers and medical device companies need most, and the one fewest animation studios in Chicago produce in house, because it shows the inside of things that cannot be filmed. A separate production pipeline, so it is always quoted individually.
Custom quoteWhy Magic Motion Studio
What we do differently from other animation studios
Explainer pricing published, no quote wall
Every plan and every inclusion is listed on the pricing page. You find out whether we are in range before you spend half an hour on a call discovering we are not.
100% original assets, no templates
Every character, environment and prop is built from scratch for your brand, which is not true of every animation studio in Chicago quoting you. Spotting a reused stock character is the fastest way to tell cheap animation studios in Chicago from serious ones.
A specialist team, not one generalist
A strategist writes the script, an art director sets the visual language, animators handle the motion and a sound designer mixes original audio. Few animation studios in Chicago at this price point staff all four. Four disciplines, four people who do only that.
Anime, which nobody local offers
Genuine hand drawn anime production with a dedicated pipeline behind it, not a filter applied to vector artwork. The Chicago market is overwhelmingly corporate and 3D, so this is the one brief that usually has to leave the state.
You own everything on delivery
Full ownership transfers on final payment. No licensing fees, no annual renewal, no restriction on running it as a paid ad or in any territory. Ask for this in writing from anyone you hire, not just us.
Remote, which is the point
Animation is produced on screens, reviewed on screens and delivered as files. Being down the road changes nothing, which is why Chicago companies increasingly look past a downtown address without losing anything.
From brief to broadcast-ready in 5 steps.
Every project follows a structured five-phase workflow developed over ten years of production. Each phase has defined deliverables and a client approval gate, so you are never left waiting or guessing. It is also why working with an animation studio in Chicago remotely feels no different from working with one down the road.
Strategy and Script
We define the messaging first: your audience, the one message that drives action, the tone, and the call to action. Then we write the full production script. A weak script produces a weak video regardless of animation quality.
Art Direction and Storyboard
Our art director sets the visual style guide, then produces a full storyboard showing every scene, camera angle and transition. You approve the visual story before any animation begins, which removes expensive revisions later.
Voiceover Recording
Runs in parallel with art direction, not after it. You choose from three to five professional voice samples matched to your brief. Recorded in a treated studio and delivered as a broadcast-quality WAV that becomes the timing track.
Animation Production
Every scene built from scratch, frame by frame or rigged depending on the style. Lip sync on every speaking character and motion curves adjusted by hand. A senior animator checks each scene against the storyboard.
Sound Design and Final Delivery
Licensed music, sound effects timed to motion, and mastering to broadcast loudness. You receive four cuts on the same day: 16:9 MP4, 16:9 MOV, 1:1 square and 9:16 vertical. Full commercial rights transfer on payment.
Pricing
What animation actually costs in Chicago costs
Most Chicago studios will not give you a number without a discovery call. Asking an animation studio Chicago side what a video costs should not require a meeting. Both explainer video plans are listed in full, factor by factor, on our pricing page, so you can budget before you speak to anyone. Everything else is quoted on the brief and we come back within 24 hours. The same fixed rates apply across the city and the suburbs.
| Plan | What is included |
|---|---|
| Standard | One complete 60 second animated video. Script, storyboard, custom animation, professional voiceover, sound design and revisions, all included. |
| Pro | Everything in Standard, plus 60 to 90 second runtime, five revision rounds, social resizes, cutdowns, animated GIFs, still images and source files. |
| 3D animation | Quoted per project because 3D runs on a separate rendering pipeline with different cost drivers. |
| Series and longer runtimes | Per minute cost falls once characters and environments are built, because those assets carry across every episode. |
Nothing is added later. No licensing fees, no renewal fees, no charge for the files you already paid to have made. Anime work for the city is quoted the same way and covered on our anime animation studio Chicago page. The full factor by factor breakdown is on our explainer video pricing page.
See the full pricing breakdownKnow your number? Get it scoped.
Send us the brief and we come back with a fixed price and a timeline, usually within 24 hours.
Buyer's Guide
Six questions for any animation studio in Chicago, including us
Ask every animation studio Chicago has on your shortlist the same six. Compare the answers, not the showreels. A showreel is selected highlights and tells you almost nothing about what your project will actually be like.
Will you show me the price before a call?
An animation studio Chicago buyers approach that will not state a range until it has qualified your budget is pricing you, not the project. The same sixty second video should not cost two companies two different amounts because one of them looked wealthier on a call.
Red flag
"Contact us for a quote", a wait, a discovery call, then a number that was never in your range.
Where we stand
Both plans published in full. You can budget tonight without speaking to anyone.
Who owns the files when it is finished?
Ask directly, and ask specifically whether editable source files are included. Plenty of studios retain the project files and charge an export fee later if you want the video changed. Others license the video rather than sell it, with a recurring fee or a usage limit you only discover at renewal.
Red flag
Ownership is not mentioned in the proposal, or source files appear as an upsell.
Where we stand
Full ownership on delivery. No licensing or renewal fees. Source files on the Pro plan.
Is voiceover and sound design inside the price?
This is where cheap quotes hide. Professional voiceover casting, direction and recording, plus sound design and an original music mix, commonly runs several hundred dollars as a separate line item. A quote without them is not a cheaper video, it is an incomplete one.
Red flag
Audio listed as "optional" or "client supplied" anywhere in the scope.
Where we stand
Included at both plan levels. Script, voiceover, sound design and music.
How many revision rounds, and what happens after?
Unlimited revisions is either untrue or priced in somewhere you cannot see. A fixed number of rounds at each stage, with a stated rate beyond them, is the honest structure. Ask what specifically triggers a change order, because that definition is where disputes start.
Red flag
"Unlimited revisions" with no definition anywhere of what counts as one.
Where we stand
Fixed rounds at every stage. Scope changes are flagged before they are billed, never after.
Have you worked in my sector before?
This matters more in Chicago than in most cities. Derivatives, food manufacturing, freight, healthcare and insurance each carry their own vocabulary, audience expectations and compliance constraints. An animation studio Chicago side learning your sector on your budget will take longer and get it wrong more often. Ask to see two projects from your own industry, not the general reel. The reel is the best work. You want the typical work.
Red flag
Every example shown is from a different industry to yours.
Where we stand
1,000+ videos across finance, healthcare, logistics, software and manufacturing.
Can I see the script and storyboard before animation?
Any animation studio Chicago companies hire that animates before you approve a storyboard is setting up an expensive argument. Approval gates protect you far more than they protect the studio, because they are the only point in the process where changes are still cheap. Changing words costs nothing. Changing finished frames costs weeks.
Red flag
The first thing you are shown is a near-finished animation.
Where we stand
Script, then storyboard and style frames, both approved before a single frame is animated.
Chicago Animation Heritage
Chicago has been animating characters you already know by heart
1985
Calabash Animation founded in Chicago, and still working today
40
Years of national character animation produced in the city
2002
Academy Award nomination for the short film Stubble Trouble
Characters animated by a Chicago studio
If you grew up anywhere in the United States, you have seen this work without ever learning the studio's name.
The Trix Rabbit
General Mills
Lucky the Leprechaun
General Mills
Charlie the Tuna
StarKist
The Keebler Elves
Keebler
Mr. Clean
Procter & Gamble
The Green Giant
Green Giant
The same studio contributed animation to Space Jam and animated Hamburger Helper. That is a Chicago company, working from Chicago, competing at the level of the major coastal studios. The city's wider production history runs deeper still: the Chicago film industry predates Hollywood, and the crews and craft traditions that grew from it never fully left.
Chicago buyers tend to have a better eye for character work than buyers in cities without that history. Briefs from Chicago are more likely to ask for a character with a personality and a performance, rather than a logo that moves.
Areas We Serve
An animation studio Chicago wide, and across Illinois
Chicago neighbourhoods
Greater Chicago and Illinois
Common Questions
Hiring animation studios in Chicago, answered
Still have a question after this? Email info@magicmotionstudio.com and we reply within 24 hours.
Explainer video pricing is published in full on our pricing page, both plans, factor by factor, so you can budget tonight without a call. Every other format, 2D character work, motion graphics, 3D and anime, is quoted on the brief and we come back within 24 hours. Chicago agencies carrying Loop or Fulton Market office costs typically quote considerably higher for comparable work, because the office is inside the number.
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Animation is produced on screens, reviewed on screens and delivered as files, so for animated work a Chicago address adds rent to your quote without adding anything to the video. We cover 2D animation, motion graphics, 3D, character animation, anime and explainer video for Chicago brands on exactly the same terms as a downtown studio.
Five sectors cover most of our Chicago work: derivatives and financial services, food and beverage manufacturing, rail and logistics, healthcare and medical devices, and insurance and professional services. Each briefs very differently. A CME-adjacent trading platform and a Fulton Market food brand are not the same job and should not arrive looking like the same video.
Usually, because we write expecting one. Chicago's financial and insurance work goes through legal before it ships, and the common failure is a studio writing a strong claim that compliance then strips out, which collapses the whole script. We flag anything that reads as a guarantee, a projection or an implied return while it is still words on a page, when changing it is free.
Yes, and it is the one format no Chicago studio we are aware of offers. We run a dedicated anime pipeline with genuine hand drawn production rather than a filter applied to vector artwork. The Chicago market is overwhelmingly corporate and 3D, so this is the brief that usually has to leave the state.
Three to four weeks from approved brief to final file. That covers discovery, scripting, storyboard and style frames, animation with voiceover and sound design, then revisions and delivery. You approve each stage before the next begins, which is how the price stays fixed.
Yes, in full, on delivery. No licensing fees, no annual renewal, no restriction on running it as a paid ad or in any territory. Editable source files are included on the Pro explainer plan. Ask for this in writing from anyone you hire, not just us.
No. Whether you are in the Loop, Fulton Market, Evanston, Naperville or Rockford, the work costs the same. Location does not change what it takes to produce animation, so it does not change what we charge.
Free quote, no obligation
Ready to brief an animation studio?
If you are comparing an animation studio Chicago side with a remote team, tell us what you are making and this animation studio Chicago brands trust comes back within 24 hours with a scope, a timeline and a fixed price. If we are not the right fit for your project, we will tell you that instead.