Alle animatietechnieken op een rij, welke kies jij?

When most people think of animation, they immediately think of a Disney or Pixar film, but there are many more types and styles. In this article, we set out a number of things that can help you make the right choice.

But first, the basics.

What is animation?

Een animatie laten maken is the sequential playback of different still images to create the illusion of movement. These individual images are called frames. Approximately 24 frames per second are needed for smooth, realistic movement. By playing 24 images per second, our brain no longer sees them as individual images, but interprets them as a logical movement.

Whichever technique you choose, the principle of playing images in sequence to simulate movement remains the same.

What animation styles are there?

It is important to distinguish between traditional animation and digital animation. The biggest difference between the two? With traditional animation, every frame is created by the animator, whereas with digital animation, much of this is done using software.

The best-known forms of traditional animation are:

Drawn animations or cel animations

Animations consisting of large numbers of drawings that are drawn on a lightbox and then filmed with a camera. Early Disney films are a prime example of this.

Stop-motion

With stop-motion, you film an object and move or change it slightly in each frame to create movement. Clay animations and cutout animations are forms of stop-motion animation.

The arrival of computers in the late 1970s made animation much easier and more efficient. Software now does a large part of the heavy lifting, and not every frame needs to be created manually any more.

Nowadays, 95% of the animations you see online – including in games, adverts, on YouTube, websites and in banners – are probably digital animations:

2D animation

In a 2D animation various two-dimensional elements such as illustrations, shapes, icons, diagrams or typography are combined to tell a story. And this still works extremely well. For some purposes, it can even be better to stick with 2D rather than going for 3D.

2D animations are still the most widely used form of animation for cartoons, presentations, marketing, adverts, games, and e-learning content.

Why 2D? 2D is cheaper and faster to produce, and works well for explaining or simply visualising concepts.

3D animation

With the arrival of 3D in the 1990s, animations became increasingly realistic. Everyone knows the famous 3D films, of course. But there is more to it than that: Have a 3D animation made can also be used to explain scientific, medical, technical or complex processes or products in a visual – and engaging – way. Or for a bedrijfsvideo of have an explainer animation made.

3D animations are created by modelling objects in 3D using 3D software. These 3D models are then displayed in an animated form within a 3D environment. New innovations such as AI and motion capture (whereby human movement is recorded and used as the basis for movement in a 3D animation) are making animations ever more realistic. This is the key advantage of 3D animations. On the other hand, the complexity does bring with it higher production costs and a longer lead time.

Animation styles

Almost all forms of animation can be placed into these two categories. For example, you have virtual reality animations that are primarily made in 3D. Whiteboard animation production or screencaptures are always 2D. But there is also a grey area when it comes to animation styles. Explainer animations, for instance, can just as easily be made in 2D as in 3D, and the same applies to infographics, typographic animations and motion graphics andHave an AI video made. And why choose at all? 2D and 3D together make an excellent combination.

Making a choice

At first glance, the differences between the types of animation seem very significant, but in roughly a hundred years of animation, not much has changed. Straight to your animation video production.

It starts with information, a story. That is captured in a script or storyboard and then turned into an animation. Animation techniques are secondary to this, because ultimately it is all about conveying a particular message as effectively as possible.

When it comes to making a choice, other considerations are ultimately more important. Budget, for example. But also:

How will the animation be used?

How the animation is used largely determines which animation style works best. Is the animation being made to share on social media? In that case, a short, inspiring animation works better than a more detailed video in which you explain all the features of a product, as you would do in a product video.

What is the most important goal?

An animation can serve different purposes. Getting viewers to download something, selling something, or explaining or promoting something. The goal determines the type of animation, the length, the tone, and most importantly, the message.

What suits my company best?

For a law firm looking for an animation to explain its way of working on its website, a cartoon is less appropriate. Unless, of course, it fits with the rest of the house style and tone used across all other communications. Also consider brand identity elements such as colour and typography, and how these can be incorporated into the animation.

Who is the target audience?

What does the target audience want, and what do they tend to watch? How do they engage with animations, and how do other companies use animations for that audience? Target audience is an important factor to consider when determining the style and content of the animation.

Final thoughts

It can be tricky to make the right choice of animation technique or style. Fortunately, we have done this many times before. If you would like to discuss this with one of our specialists, book a session soon.