How to Ask Fans to Fund Your Animation Software License

A wishlist for an animation software license is a funding goal — set up with FanBell's Wishlist / Project Support — where fans contribute cash toward a specific tool cost, such as an After Effects or Toon Boom Harmony subscription, tracked on a visible progress bar instead of asked for in one lump sum.

Professional animation tools are sold as subscriptions, not one-time purchases, so they recur every month or year rather than clearing once. Adobe lists the After Effects Single App plan at US$22.99 per month on the annual, billed-monthly plan on its own plans page. Toon Boom's own store lists Harmony Essentials at USD $30.00 per month or USD $252.00 per year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that special effects artists and animators held about 51,900 jobs in 2025 and lists self-employed workers as 63% of that occupation — the single largest employer category, ahead of motion picture and video industries at 10%. A field where 63% of workers are self-employed is a field where the person paying the license bill is usually the animator, not an employer.

How is a software goal different from a tip jar?

The same progress-bar structure works for other named tool costs — comic creators run the same format for funding printing and publishing runs. A tip jar collects undirected, one-off support with no target attached. A Wishlist / Project Support goal names a specific cost — "Toon Boom Harmony Essentials renewal, $252 a year" — and shows a running total climbing toward that number. Neither format is a purchase, and neither promises a deliverable back to the fan who pays.

Both formats send money directly to the creator through Wishlist / Project Support or Tips. The difference is framing: a tip jar says "support me if you want," while a software goal says "here is exactly what your contribution buys, and here is how close we are." Because Toon Boom publishes the $252 annual Harmony Essentials price on its own store, a fan can check the target against the vendor's page before contributing — which is the practical reason a named goal is easier to say yes to than an open-ended ask.

Deadlines are checkable too. Live2D's comparison page advertises a 42-day trial of Cubism, so a VTuber rigger who says "my trial ends on the 14th" is quoting a real, published clock rather than manufacturing urgency.

What does animation software actually cost?

Licensed 2D and rigging software runs from roughly US$13 to US$77 per month at list price, with a free option available for 3D work — pixel artists funding a similar tool-and-hardware goal face a different price range, covered in pixel art software and monitor costs. Toon Boom's own store lists Harmony Essentials at USD $252.00 per year and Harmony Advanced at USD $588.00 per year.

The table below reflects prices published on each vendor's own site; re-check the vendor page before you publish a goal amount, because list prices change without notice.

Live2D prices its editor in Japanese yen and displays a live USD conversion, which is why the dollar figure moves: Live2D's own store lists Cubism PRO for indie at ¥14,280 for year one (about US$89.31 at the conversion shown) and ¥36,720 for the non-renewable 3-year plan (about US$229.65). Quote the yen figure in a goal description if you want a number that will not drift with the exchange rate. Live2D's own help centre states that a creator must move from PRO for indie to PRO for business once sales in the most recent fiscal year reach 10 million yen — so the indie price is the right one for almost every VTuber rigger funding a first license.

Live2D's comparison page states plainly what the free tier cannot do:

"If you exceed the limit of the FREE version, you will not be able to save the file." — Live2D Cubism, FREE vs PRO comparison

Losing the ability to save past a certain project size is why a VTuber rigger working beyond hobby-scale models eventually needs the PRO tier.

How does a software goal work on FanBell?

A creator turns on Wishlist / Project Support, names the goal, sets a target amount, and publishes it; fans then send cash toward that target and watch a progress bar move as contributions land. FanBell processes the payment only — it does not purchase, license, or activate any third-party software on the creator's behalf.

Project Support is cash toward a goal, not a product order: there is no shipping, no license-key delivery, and no fulfillment step inside FanBell. Once the goal is funded, buying and activating the license is the creator's own step, exactly as it would be with money from any other source (how it works).

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan actually pays, per FanBell's own pricing page. There is no follower minimum to publish a goal, so a creator with a small but engaged audience can open one the same day the trial clock starts running.

What does a $252 or $588 goal actually net the creator?

A $252 goal funded by a single $252 contribution nets about $214.15 after FanBell's 12% platform fee ($30.24) and Stripe's card rate ($7.61). Stripe's own pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards. Set the target above the license price to cover it fully.

Two things move the math: the 12% platform fee is charged on what fans pay, and Stripe's 30¢ is charged per successful transaction, so twelve small contributions carry twelve 30¢ charges instead of one.

Stripe rates vary by country and card type, so the figures above apply to US domestic cards at Stripe's published standard rate. Treat them as worked examples, not a quote.

Should the goal name a specific tool?

Yes — name the exact software and tier, because a named tool maps to a price a fan can verify in one click, while "help with equipment" raises questions. Toon Boom's store lists Harmony Advanced at USD $588.00 per year, which makes a $588 target self-explaining where a round $600 is not.

Say plainly whether the goal covers a recurring subscription or a one-time purchase. Harmony and After Effects are both subscriptions, so a fan who funds one in March may see the same goal again next March — telling them that upfront is cheaper than explaining it later.

If you are still choosing between tools, name the decision in the goal description instead of picking a target before the decision is made.

Can a software goal sit next to paid commissions?

Yes. A funding goal and paid commission work are separate FanBell offers that run on the same page without conflicting. Commission orders buy a defined deliverable at a price and turnaround the creator sets; a Wishlist / Project Support goal is cash toward a stated tool cost with no deliverable attached and no queue position implied.

An animator can list Creator Services for commission work — such as intro and outro animation pricing, Live2D rig commissions, or paid critique and timing feedback sessions — while a software goal fills alongside it. On FanBell, each service carries its own price, scope, and creator-set delivery turnaround; the goal carries none of those, which is exactly what keeps the two offers distinct.

Keep the language separate too: implying that a contribution toward the goal buys priority in a commission queue misrepresents both offers. Writing that a funded license will unlock a new service tier later is fine — that describes a future plan, not a promise attached to the payment.

How do you write the goal so fans get it?

State the tool, the tier, the exact amount, and what it unlocks — then say whether it is a one-time purchase or an annual renewal. Three ready-to-copy goal descriptions, a mid-goal update, and disclosure wording follow; each is written to be pasted and edited in under a minute, with the dollar figures swapped for whatever the vendor lists today.

Copy 1 — annual renewal, deadline framing:

Goal: $252 — one year of Toon Boom Harmony Essentials. Toon Boom lists Essentials at USD $252.00/year on its own store. My current license lapses on the 14th, and Harmony is what I use for every cutout animation I post here. This is an annual renewal, not a one-time purchase, so you may see this goal again next year. Nothing is owed back for contributing — it is support, not an order.

Copy 2 — tier upgrade, capability framing:

Goal: $588 — Toon Boom Harmony Advanced for a year. I animate on Essentials now. Advanced adds the rigging tools I keep hitting the wall on, and Toon Boom lists it at USD $588.00/year. Funding this does not buy a commission slot or move anyone up the queue; commissions stay separate and priced as listed.

Copy 3 — VTuber rigging, trial deadline:

Goal: ¥14,280 (about US$89) — Live2D Cubism PRO for indie, year one. The FREE version stops letting me save once a model passes its limit, which is where my current rig is. My 42-day trial ends this month. Price is set in yen by Live2D, so the dollar figure moves a little with the exchange rate.

Mid-goal update (paste into the goal description or a post):

Update: we are at $164 of $252 — thank you. That covers about two-thirds of the Harmony Essentials year. I will post here the day it is funded and again once the license is active, with the first thing I animate on it.

Disclosure line (append to any of the above):

What this is: cash support toward a named software cost. What it is not: a purchase, a commission, or a preorder. FanBell processes the payment; I buy and activate the license myself. If the vendor's price changes before this goal closes, I will update the target here and say so.

Keep the description honest about scope. If the goal covers the software only and not a new tablet or computer, write that line in — a fan who contributes against one clear line item is far less likely to feel misled than one who assumed a broader ask.

Frequently asked questions

Does FanBell buy or activate the software for me?

No. FanBell's Wishlist / Project Support only processes the payment from fans to the creator's account; it does not purchase a license, generate a key, or activate any third-party software. Buying and installing the tool once the goal is funded is the creator's own step, off-platform.

Should I use a Wishlist goal or a Creator Service listing to pay for software?

Use a Wishlist / Project Support goal for a direct funding ask with no deliverable attached — fans give toward a stated cost and see a progress bar. Use Creator Services when fans are paying for a specific piece of finished work in return, such as a commissioned animation or rig. The two can run side by side on the same page.

How much should a software wishlist goal ask for?

Match the target to the vendor's listed price rather than rounding. Toon Boom's own store lists Harmony Essentials at USD $252.00 per year and Adobe lists After Effects Single App at US$22.99 per month. If you want the license fully covered after fees, a $252 license needs a target near $296 at FanBell's 12% fee plus Stripe's published 2.9% + 30¢ US domestic-card rate.

What does FanBell charge to run a software goal?

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays. There is no follower minimum required to publish a goal. Payment-processing fees are deducted separately from creator earnings; Stripe's pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for US domestic cards.

Is there a free alternative if I can't fund a paid license yet?

Blender is released under the GNU General Public License at no cost, and the Blender Foundation states its position on its own About page:

"Blender is Free and Open Source software, forever." — Blender Foundation, About Blender

Blender is a real option for 3D animation while a goal for paid 2D tools fills, but it is not a like-for-like substitute for cutout or rigging-specific software such as Harmony or Cubism, which is why creators still fund those separately — 3D artists layering paid add-ons on top of Blender often run a parallel goal for ZBrush or Substance licenses.

Create your free FanBell page and turn "help me afford Harmony" into a goal fans can actually see filling up.