If you’re considering an explainer video, choosing the right style is just as important as the message you want to share. Some styles are timeless and widely used, while others are more niche but perfect for specific industries or goals.
At Prolific Studio, we understand that every brand is unique, which is why the right explainer video style can make all the difference. The right choice will highlight your strengths, connect with your audience, and showcase your message in a way that feels authentic.
Let’s explore the many types of explainer videos you can choose from and how each one can help you reach your goals.
Types of Explainer Videos
1. 2D Motion Graphics
2D Motion Graphics are one of the most versatile and widely used styles for explainer videos. They work by creatively animating images—either stock visuals or custom designs.
One of the key benefits of this style is how easily your brand logo and visual assets can be integrated into the animation. This makes it a perfect choice for companies that want to maintain strong brand consistency while delivering a polished, professional video.
At Prolific Studio, we often recommend this style for app demos, technology presentations, financial overviews, and corporate explainers because it strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and impact.
2. 2D Character Animation
Perhaps the most popular and relatable style, 2D Character Animation brings your story to life through characters. By showcasing customer experiences, pain points, or product benefits through animated characters, your audience can quickly see themselves in the story.
Startups and growing businesses especially love this approach because it’s cost-effective, engaging, and adaptable to almost any industry. Whether you’re introducing a new service or explaining a complex concept, Prolific Studio can help you create character-driven stories that resonate deeply with your target audience.
3. 2D Animation with 3D Elements
Sometimes a purely 2D animation isn’t enough to tell your story. That’s where adding 3D elements comes in. This hybrid style allows you to showcase specific features of a product—like rotating it, zooming in, or showing it from different angles—while still benefiting from affordable and efficient 2d animation services without committing to the cost and time of a full 3D production.
At Prolific Studio, we recommend this style for brands that want the added depth and realism of 3D while staying within budget and timeline. It’s particularly effective for product mockups, tech-focused explainers, and detailed demonstrations.
2.5D Animation
2.5D animation is a creative middle ground between 2D and 3D. Unlike traditional flat 2D, 2.5D adds subtle depth and dimension to illustrations, giving visuals more punch and movement. While the images remain flat, the layered animation creates the illusion of depth without the complexity or cost of full 3D.
At Prolific Studio, we often recommend 2.5D for brands looking to elevate their videos with a modern, dynamic touch—without overspending.
Whiteboard Animation Videos
Whiteboard animation became popular in the early 2010s for its affordability and simplicity. However, with today’s advancements in After Effects plugins and animation software, 2D and character animation now cost nearly the same to produce as whiteboard videos—yet they offer far more creative flexibility.
At Prolific Studio, we help brands understand that while whiteboard videos once had their moment, they now feel outdated, lack customization, and don’t align well with unique brand identities. If you want your video to truly reflect your brand’s style, 2D or 2.5D animation is a smarter investment.
3D Animation
3D animation is the most resource-heavy of all animation styles. For a 2D motion graphics video, you typically need a couple of illustrators and animators. In contrast, 3D production requires a larger team, powerful computers, and significantly more rendering time.
For example, a 60-second 2D explainer video might render in under an hour on a standard PC, while the same in 3D could take several hours—or even days. Every revision also means re-rendering from scratch.
While 3D animations can look stunning, they aren’t always practical for product demos or storytelling. That’s why even major players like Google and Microsoft often choose 2D for explainer videos.
At Prolific Studio, we help clients weigh the pros and cons to decide whether the visual impact of 3D is worth the additional time and cost.
Live-Action
Live-action is an excellent choice when you want to connect directly with your audience or showcase your product in real-world scenarios. If you’re filming in a simple home studio, it can be a cost-effective solution. However, adding professional elements—such as locations, actors, sets, and crew—can drive costs up quickly. A 30-second professional live-action video can easily range between $50,000 and $250,000.
At Prolific Studio, we guide clients through whether live-action or animation will deliver the best return for their vision, message, and budget.
Live-Action with Track Elements
At Prolific Studio, we often enhance live-action videos with dynamic animated elements to make them more engaging. This could be a glowing trail following a person, text bubbles appearing above a phone, or data visuals springing to life from a chart.
These subtle yet impactful touches grab attention and highlight key moments, making them ideal for brand videos, corporate presentations, and marketing campaigns.
Stop Motion
Stop motion is a distinctive animation style that involves capturing one frame at a time while slightly moving a model or object, often made of clay or crafted materials. The result is a visually captivating effect that feels artistic and unique.
While it’s a time-intensive process requiring specialized equipment and expertise, Prolific Studio delivers stop motion videos that stand out as memorable and high-end productions.
Kinetic Typography Animation
As the name suggests, kinetic typography focuses on animated text. It’s a cost-effective style that can work well for short bursts of emphasis, like highlighting a quote or key message. However, when overused, it can overwhelm viewers.
At Prolific Studio, we know how to use this technique strategically—whether by designing characters made of text or weaving words seamlessly into the story—so that it feels fresh and engaging without losing your audience’s attention.
Screencast
When the goal is to demonstrate how a digital product works, screencasts are the perfect solution. Prolific Studio can capture real-time recordings from browsers or applications and enrich them with zooms, highlights, or animated pointers to make them more intuitive.
Screencasts can also be integrated with live-action shots, showing people actively using your app or platform, making the demonstration both clear and visually appealing.
Infographic Animation
Infographic videos are ideal when you need to simplify complex data and present it in an easy-to-digest way. At Prolific Studio, we transform statistics, charts, and diagrams into clean, engaging animations that tell a compelling visual story.
This style is perfect for educational videos, business presentations, and corporate storytelling.
Explainer Videos with Stock Footage
Not every project requires a full cast, crew, and custom shoot. That’s why Prolific Studio often incorporates stock footage into explainer videos. High-quality clips can be licensed at a fraction of the cost of live production, giving you access to footage from virtually anywhere in the world—from deserts to skyscrapers—without the heavy expenses.
When combined with thoughtful editing and motion graphics, stock footage can create powerful, professional-grade explainer videos that look like they cost far more than they did.
Isometric
Technically, isometric animation is still 2D, but it’s designed to appear 3D. Think back to the cubes you used to sketch in school when you were bored—that’s the basic idea. All elements are created with 2D lines but enhanced with shading and carefully chosen color palettes to create the illusion of depth.
At Prolific Studio, we use isometric animation to give videos a clean, modern, and professional look without overcomplicating the visuals.
Animation with Popular Images
This style involves using recognizable imagery, such as memes or famous visuals, within an animation. While it can be fun and attention-grabbing, it often mixes different design sources, which can make a video feel inconsistent or low quality.
At Prolific Studio, we believe in creating animations that maintain a cohesive visual style, ensuring your brand message looks polished and professional from start to finish.
Cutout Animation
Cutout animation is exactly what it sounds like—characters and objects designed as though they’ve been cut from paper and moved frame by frame. It’s a simple, low-tech style that keeps the focus on your message without overwhelming the viewer.
Prolific Studio often recommends this approach for clients who want something playful, straightforward, and easy to follow.
Traditional Animation / Frame by Frame
This is the original form of animation and the foundation of the entire art form. Every single frame is hand-drawn, with small adjustments in movement that, when combined, create fluid motion. It’s the same style used in classic Disney films and remains one of the most visually stunning techniques.
While it is time-intensive (and more costly), Prolific Studio delivers breathtaking results with frame-by-frame animation for brands that want timeless, high-quality visuals.
Outline
Outline animation is widely used by startups because of its minimalist and distraction-free style. It strips away unnecessary detail, making it easy to focus on the message.
Prolific Studio embraces this style for brands looking to convey ideas with clarity and simplicity while still maintaining a modern, professional aesthetic.
Parallax with Images
Parallax animation brings still images to life by creating a sense of motion and depth. It’s especially useful for companies that want to showcase real photos from their archives or products in a visually dynamic way.
At Prolific Studio, we often recommend this style when clients want to animate old photos, presentations, or existing imagery, giving them a fresh and engaging new look.
Top 10 Most Effective Types of Explainer Videos
1. 2D Character Animation
This style uses fun, relatable characters to tell a story and connect with viewers emotionally. It’s a great option when you want to simplify complex ideas and add personality to your brand.
2. Motion Graphics Explainer Video
Motion graphics bring abstract concepts to life with dynamic visuals, text, and sleek design. These videos are clean, professional, and ideal for explaining services, processes, or technology.
3. Live-Action Explainer Video
When you need a human touch, live-action explainer videos help you speak directly to your audience. They are best for showcasing products, testimonials, or team culture in a relatable way.
4. Screencast
Perfect for software, apps, or online tools, screencast explainer videos show the product in action. They’re straightforward, cost-effective, and excellent for tutorials or demos.
5. 2.5D Animation
This hybrid style mixes 2D elements with 3D depth, creating a visually rich effect. It’s engaging, professional, and a great middle ground for brands seeking something unique without the higher cost of full 3D animation.
6. Explainer Video with Stock Footage
Using high-quality stock footage combined with professional editing and motion graphics can be an affordable yet impactful way to get your message across. It’s quick to produce and still looks polished.
7. Whiteboard Animation
Whiteboard explainer videos use hand-drawn illustrations that unfold on-screen. They’re excellent for step-by-step explanations, educational content, or simplifying complex topics.
8. Stop Motion
Stop motion animation is creative and memorable, making it a good choice for brands that want to stand out. It’s playful, eye-catching, and leaves a lasting impression.
9. Traditional Animation
This hand-drawn animation style is timeless and nostalgic. It’s best suited for storytelling, brand building, and campaigns where creativity and artistry take center stage.
10. 2D Animation with 3D Elements
Combining 2D animation with 3D elements gives videos a modern, dynamic feel. It adds depth and realism while keeping costs lower than full 3D production.
Final Thoughts
At Prolific Studio, we know that choosing the right type of explainer video depends on your goals, audience, and budget. Motion graphics (both 2D and character-based) and stock footage explainers remain the most popular and cost-effective choices, offering great quality without breaking the bank.
If you need to highlight how your product works or connect with your audience on a personal level, live-action videos supported with motion graphics are also highly effective.
Not sure which style is right for your brand? Contact Prolific Studio today for a free consultation, and let’s create an explainer video that perfectly fits your needs!
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