You want to create an animated explainer video but you don’t know which technique you should choose. You don’t want just any technique, you want the very best available. It should be the most relevant, effective, engaging, animation technique out there. There is only one big problem, there is no such thing as the best technique that works for all applications. You need to know the different animation styles available including 2D animation 3D animation, and whiteboard animation:
Whiteboard Animation
Pros – Classic style, easily explained difficult concepts.
Cons – Can come across as old-school, limited opportunities for branding.
Whiteboard animation surfaced for more than 10 years ago and was pioneered by nonprofit RSA. Even though many people filmed someone standing in front of a whiteboard, RSA was the first to actually animate the process. They discovered the videos were relatively affordable and easy for viewers to understand. There are several different techniques for crating whiteboard animation. One technique was to draw images by hand and then speed up the camera to give an after effect so the drawing syncs with the voice-over.
The other technique is creating a drawing digitally, shoot the arm over the green screens then composite the elements together. The first technique offers a charming authentic feel about it, while the second is more versatile for making changes and is usually more polished and professional.
Most viewer see whiteboard animation as classic rather than contemporary. You can update whiteboard videos by layering your images to create a dimensional effect or bring in pops of color and other simple branding elements. That said, if you want a strong branding experience, another form of animation might work better.
Whiteboard is not the best alternative for all brands. High-tech brands might want to choose a different technique if your business wants a strong branding experience from your video. Then again, this classic, simple feel is perfect for workflows or for illustrating complex ideas.
2D Animations
Pros – There is a wide range of styles and offers good value for your money.
Cons – It must match your brand voice to be really effective.
2D Animation is what most people perceive as animation. If you think that animation is what cartoons are all about, you’d be wrong. This flexible technique can be altered to get different effects and tones. According to William Gadea, creative director and founder of INOVIT places 2D animation in three categories, popular, editorial, and iconic. Here is the breakdown of the styles:
Popular – This style gives the feeling of comics. It is animation that is fun and colorful. The characters have exaggerated measurements like the characters you enjoyed as a child.
Editorial – The figures and scenes are realistic and more reserved like the New Yorker!
Iconic – this is very simplified geometric shapes. The features are minimal, the styles modern and contemporary.
You should choose the right style for you based on how they fit with your brand voice and look. As an example, if your business is a financial service, your choices should work better with iconic or editorial styles instead of the popular style. If you are working with a professional video production company they can help you choose the right style that matches your brand. 2D has the widest range of styles from classic to contemporary, cutting edge to heart-warming. Almost all brands can find a match that will fit their brand’s persona. Most people who want that cartoon look will turn to 2D animation. 2D animation can create an emotional resonance that can be felt by many viewers. Even though this is not inexpensive, most brands believe it’s worth the cost.
3D Animation –
Pros – It’s high-tech looking, extremely modern, and promotes a physical presence.
Cons – It can be expensive and creating human figures can be a challenge.
It’s also called CGI and one of its greatest strength is how well it describes the shape or physical appearance of a product or a place. 3D animation has depth and objects in the scene look realistic in relation to each other. If the look and shape of an object is important to you, you should consider 3D animation as your chosen style. Using careful lighting and shading, 3D animation will come closer to real-life than any other technique. What is difficult to do, is realistically forming human faces and figures. In high-quality 3D is a big problem because the face and figure is complex and people naturally try to read facial expressions and body language. When characters look realistic, the human eye will see them as real but your brain says that something is not right. Watching this type of animation can actually leave the viewer a little uncomfortable. Instead, the characters can seem creepy and not approachable.
Even though 3D animation looks great, creating the mechanism to animate the character can be time-consuming and expensive. That said, 3D animation is considered the best animation technique when there are no human characters or when they are stylized.. As an example 3D animated medical illustrations look great for companies trying to project high-tech advanced images. 3D animated motion graphics also work really well
How To Choose The Right Animation Technique
Your choice should not be at random, it should be based on what you plan to use the video for, your budget, and timeline, your goals, and any other considerations. To choose the best animation technique select the one that works best for your needs. Contact our team (INOVIT) of video marketing experts to create quality video content.