You might already know that animated videos, like animated explainers and whiteboard animations, allow you to convey your company’s message easily and clearly, even if your product or service appears complex at first glance. However, you likely aren’t well-acquainted with the method of crafting a distinctive animation or what the actual animation process entails.
Whether you’re embarking on this new journey to create an animation on your own or considering hiring a professional video marketing agency, I want you to feel fully prepared for the animation process ahead. If you’re curious about how to create an animated video, you’re not the only one—many newcomers pose this question when embarking on this artistic adventure. In this article, I’ll explain how we at Prolific Studio, one of the top animation studios in LA, produce outstanding animation videos!
Ready? Let’s begin!
What Does the Animation Process Involve?
The animation process refers to the sequential workflow utilized to produce animated content, applicable to films, videos, or digital media. It generally consists of multiple animation steps, such as concept formulation, script creation, storyboarding, designing characters and visuals, animation, and post-production tasks like sound design, editing, and incorporating special effects.
This process may differ based on the animation technique, like 2D, 3D, or stop-motion, but it typically seeks to convert concepts into a dynamic, captivating flow of movement and audio. If you’ve ever asked yourself, How do I make an animated video, understanding these key animation steps is the perfect place to begin. We’ll examine each step of the animation process in just a moment!
A Brief Overview of the Animation Creation Procedure
Animation has existed for a significant amount of time now. Nevertheless, the method of creating animations that animate characters and narratives was significantly altered prior to the arrival of computers and digital technologies that transformed the video industry. At that time, movies and short videos were created exclusively by hand, adhering to a complicated and laborious method that might require years to finish.
The technique of hand-drawn animation entails creating each frame of a narrative one after another on a clear plastic sheet known as a “cel.” Subsequently, every cel is captured in a photo and shown back quickly one after the other to produce the effect of movement. If you’ve ever wondered how are cartoons made, this traditional method is a perfect example.
This animation creation process demanded highly talented experts and careful focus on detail, which is the reason only the leading animation studios collaborated on it. Eventually, it was supplanted by contemporary methods such as computer-generated 2D and 3D animation, which follow a more efficient step-by-step animation approach.
Today, anyone asking how do I make an animated video would begin by learning the essential animation phases. These stages of animation simplify production while retaining creativity, making animation more accessible than ever before.
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10 Stages of the Animation Procedure
In the majority of projects, the animation procedure involves the same ten fundamental steps:
I will review these animation stages individually, providing you with a comprehensive summary of what each of them usually involves in our 2D animation studio.
Step 1 of the Animation Process – Research: Understanding Your Brand
Creating animated advertisements involves more than just designing characters and brainstorming scripts. Indeed, it’s essential to have a comprehensive grasp of your business initially. This is why we consistently invest time in understanding your brand and your product or service deeply to identify the precise needs and objectives for your video. For anyone wondering how do I make an animated video, it all starts with understanding your message and audience clearly.
How do we address this animation phase? We provide clients with a creative brief containing inquiries regarding their brand’s values, identity, and intended audience. We inquire about the objectives of the video and the tone it is expected to convey, part of our thorough methodology animation approach.
After completing this document, we will schedule an online meeting to go over additional details and ensure that both your team and ours are aligned on the entire 2D animation process. This clarity helps explain how do animations work in a real business context and gives you insight into the early stages of animation.
Ultimately, considering all your insights, we collaborate and begin progressing to the subsequent phases of the project. Whether you’re curious about how the cartoons are made or how professional explainer videos come to life, our process ensures each step is purposeful and strategic.
Step 2 of Animation Creation – Script: Establishing the Idea
What is the message you wish to create an animation for? The second step focuses on identifying the central message of your piece and crafting a unified script to convey it engagingly.
Regardless of the complexity of the concept at hand, we consistently create a straightforward and clear script that is easy to grasp and allows your message to stand out.
Individuals frequently overlook scriptwriting, but we cannot emphasize enough how essential this animation phase is since it will later be converted into video storytelling. Trust me when I state it will serve as the basis for the rest of your video, and the remaining aspects will save you considerable time and effort later on. There’s no denying it: lacking a script or relying on a subpar, hastily prepared one can impede your ability to create animation videos that connect with your audience.
Step 3 in the Animation Process – Storyboard: Illustrating the Script
The third phase of the animation process involves creating the storyboard. If this term is new to you, consider it the visual representation of your script that assists in organizing your story more effectively.
At this point, when you aim to create an animation, no matter the type of animation, you ought to adhere to a comic book-style format to depict the essential keyframes of your impending video. In our situation, we additionally provide a description of the shot, incorporating the related script lines and any other pertinent information regarding how the narrative will develop.
We view the storyboard as the guide that instructs our production team on creating an animated video that effectively conveys your message, assisting them in delivering a consistent and captivating piece for our clients every time. It serves as one of the most crucial tools in our animation production process, enabling our clients to see and evaluate how the video will appear while also assisting us in avoiding inconsistencies, errors, and avoidable holdups in the animation workflow.
Step 4 of the Animation Process – Artistic Guidance: Choosing the Visual Aesthetic
At this phase of the 2D animation process, we concentrate on producing the style frames for your video, which consist of a collection of illustrations that embody the overall look of the piece. They encompass the artistic design of all significant elements shown on screen, including the characters, products, color schemes, typography, and the video’s keyframes.
We generally offer three style frames featuring the color scheme, character art design, and several storyboard scenes, allowing you to grasp how the finished asset will appear and resonate. Undoubtedly, we place great importance on providing style frames that truly reflect your brand’s identity. Additionally, with this animation phase, we can establish a strong foundation for the remainder of our team to build upon.
Step 5 in Animation Production – Voice-over Narration: Selecting the Appropriate Actor
The following crucial (and thrilling!) animation stage is animating the script by choosing the appropriate narrator. I understand what you could be thinking—voice-over isn’t typically the primary option that pops up when contemplating animation techniques! However, choosing a skilled voice-over artist is crucial for establishing the appropriate tone in your video.
During this stage of the animation production process, you will have the opportunity to review our lineup of skilled voice-over artists and choose the one that appeals to you the most. As selecting only one can be challenging, we suggest beginning by determining if you favor a more masculine or feminine tone. Next, choose the performer whose style most aligns with your brand’s character. This holds particular significance for corporate and educational videos, as the tone can profoundly influence the reception of your message.
Step 6 in the Animation Process – Illustration: Designing the Characters and Environments
After we receive your confirmation on the style frames and all the earlier animation stages, we can begin designing the various graphic elements that will enable us to create an animation that reflects your brand’s values.
The illustration phase of the animation process can be accomplished through traditional animation methods, like hand-drawn techniques, or by utilizing computer software such as Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop (or a combination of both!). The choice you make will ultimately depend on the cartoon style selected for your video.
While creating animations or illustrations with digital tools, the artist can draw their character and background concepts utilizing various digital brushes offered by the software. They can operate directly on the canvas or on different layers to facilitate swift modifications and to simply reverse or alter strokes.
However, even more crucially, by dividing various components of a character or object into distinct layers, the artist can set them up for rigging and animation. Each layer can subsequently be adjusted and animated separately in the following phase of the process with a different type of software.
After they are satisfied with the sketch, they can enhance the line art and start applying color, shading, and texture to the images. The artwork is consistently produced in high resolution to guarantee sharpness and detail, and it is saved in an appropriate file format, like PNG and JPG for single image files or PSD and AI for layered files.
Our animation services provide a PDF file featuring several illustrations, allowing you to visualize the story’s development.
Step 7 of the Animation Process – Animation: Making the Story Come Alive
It’s now the moment for my most loved aspect of the animation process! In this context, the talented creators at our video animation firm aim to animate the drawings.
Employing advanced software, they bring in the illustrations and begin rigging them. This implies that they create a type of framework that regulates the motion of each component of the illustration at certain moments to produce the animation.
Subsequently, they produce keyframes, which, to put it simply, are the frames that define a character’s significant poses or positions.
Have you ever been curious about how animated figures can glide so effortlessly? This is due to the subsequent animation process, known as in-betweening. In simple terms, this means bridging the spaces between keyframes to create smooth and fluid movement. In conventional hand-drawn animation, creators needed to manually produce every in-between frame, making this process very time-intensive. These days, we can utilize interpolation to create these in-between frames, which saves considerable time.
Ultimately, our team meticulously examines the animation and verifies for any discrepancies before exporting it into an appropriate file format. Additionally, they remove any flaws in every frame—a crucial aspect of performing animation that guarantees a polished outcome.
And that’s the way to make an animation project stand out! As expected, this phase is among the most intricate aspects of creating animation projects, so it may require a considerable amount of time to finish!
Step 8 of Animation Production – Audio Version: Incorporating Sound Effects
We’re nearly finished! Although the visuals are finished, an animation requires more than just impressive imagery to genuinely engage an audience. Now, it’s time to direct our attention to the audio.
During this phase of the animation workflow, we meticulously edit and align the voice-over, sound effects, and music with the visual elements.
We recognize that the audio quality can enhance or detract from the effectiveness of your video, so we focus on providing the highest quality outcome at this phase.
Step 9 in the Animation Process – Integration: Combining All Elements
In the concluding phases of animation production, digital assets and single frames need to be rendered. This implies that all of them will be merged into one video file based on the artist’s requirements.
The procedure can be fully tailored, allowing you to specify your preferred resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, and additional factors based on your project’s needs. This is especially crucial for social media video creation, for instance, where it involves not merely making an animated video but also developing video content that satisfies your audience’s expectations.
Aside from that, it’s crucial to recognize that rendering can frequently be one of the most labor-intensive aspects of creating animation videos, especially when handling intricate scenes or high-resolution results.
Next, the concluding animation phase of this stage occurs. In post-production, your efforts are improved through meticulous editing. In this stage, you would apply color correction methods and incorporate any finishing touches or effects to enhance its appearance.
Final Animation Phase – Outcome: Refining the Details
At last! The animation procedure has concluded. What remains for us is to modify the video according to your preferences.
As we are dedicated to fully satisfying our clients, we will provide you with a deliverable during the animation production process so you can inform us of any changes you desire.
With the round of changes included, completing all the animation steps may require between seven to nine weeks in total.
And there it stands! A personalized 2D animated video of the utmost quality.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding all these animation processes and how to create animation videos may have raised some questions for you. I hope my ability to read minds will function, allowing me to discern what you’re thinking at this moment.
What is the duration needed to animate one minute of video?
This is a very difficult question to address because several factors need to be considered, including the character count, the actions they undertake, and the animation style you select. Despite this, putting aside the time spent on earlier stages and post-production, if you already possess the skills to create an animation, it may take from 12 days to two weeks to animate just one minute of footage.
What is the duration required to finish the animation process?
The entire animated video production process can require a professional explainer video company eight to nine weeks of dedicated effort from initial creation to final delivery, depending on the piece’s complexity. At Prolific Studio, our standard production timeline usually spans six weeks, in addition to the time needed to incorporate your feedback and implement required adjustments to your video.
Is the animation procedure adaptable?
When creating a silent video, you can (and will) bypass the process of recording voice-over narration and incorporating sound effects. Overall, the process offers limited flexibility since every phase is crucial for creating an excellent animation video that aligns seamlessly with your video marketing strategy.
In many professional companies, there is flexibility for adjusting deadlines and providing input as well. For instance, at Prolific Studio, you can request a faster production process and even ask for additional rounds of revisions. Nevertheless, it's important to remember that striving for quicker deliveries will invariably result in a price hike to cover the higher production effort required to meet strict deadlines.
What is significant in the process of making animations?
The essential part of the animation process is keeping a comprehensive perspective of the whole project. No matter the number of animation steps, varying viewpoints among stakeholders, or the size of the team, the end result must unite as a cohesive entity. It must progress fluidly, effectively deliver its message, and engage the audience's interest. In the absence of this unity, the animated video will not possess a unique identity.
Is it possible for me to learn animation on my own?
Certainly! Today, there are numerous workshops, university classes, and materials available for learning animation. At Prolific Studio, we suggest Richard Williams' book The Animator’s Survival Kit along with his videos. In that location, you'll discover the essentials to begin animating.
What does an animation workflow consist of?
It denotes the series of stages necessary for creating a film or a video. No matter which approach you choose for your project, the production pipeline will consistently be split into three primary stages: pre-production, production, and post-production.
What are the three key stages in animation?
In filmmaking, the process is usually categorized into three primary phases, which are also relevant for animation:
Pre-Production
This is the stage of planning where the whole project is envisioned. It includes writing the script, designing storyboards, and defining the visual aesthetic. At this phase, important decisions are taken concerning the story structure, character design, and general visual style. This foundation is essential, as it establishes the path for the whole project and guarantees that all participants share a clear comprehension of the vision.
Production
In live-action filmmaking, this phase consists of capturing scenes, while in animation, it centers on producing drawings and bringing the majority of the video to life through animation. This is the place where characters are animated, settings are developed, and different techniques merge to create the animation. Depending on the technique, this might consist of frame-by-frame illustration, 3D animation, or stop-motion techniques. Teamwork among animators, illustrators, and directors is essential in this animation stage to uphold the project's artistic vision.
Post-Production
This last phase includes honing the project and applying the final details. In animation, this involves modifying music, sound effects, and any extra animated elements that improve the video. This animation phase is crucial for refining the entire production, guaranteeing that the audio and visual components are aligned, and implementing any needed modifications based on input. The aim is to develop a smooth and captivating end result that clearly conveys the desired message and attracts the viewers.
Final Words
Rome wasn’t constructed in a day, and neither was any outstanding animated video available!
To produce outstanding explainer videos, training videos, product videos, video promos, and additional content, we invest significant time and attention and work hard to achieve the best outcomes for our clients. Additionally, numerous individuals participate in a valuable animation process, including a director, screenwriter, illustrator, animator, voice actor, and others. It’s no surprise that the production can last for weeks!
But don’t lose hope: after finishing all the animation steps and having a fantastic video ready, you’ll realize that the wait was truly worthwhile! Contact us now for your next project.
