2D Vs 3D Animation
Table of Contents
If you’re planning a new animated video for your company and you’re trying to decide if you should use 2D vs 3D animation, you’re in the right place!
This guide will help you understand the differences between using 2D vs 3D animation for your next video project. We’ll answer popular questions like:
- When should I use 2D vs 3D animation for my video?
- What is the cost difference between 2D vs 3D animation?
- How long does it take to make 2D animation vs 3D animation?
- When might I want to use a mix of 2D animation and 3D animation?
Ready? Let’s dive in:
When should I use 2D vs 3D animation?
2D animation and 3D animation have their own unique strengths and drawbacks depending on the type of content you want to create. Most animations are either created for a business purpose (promotions & advertising), educational purposes (classes & customer education) or for an entertaining purpose (movies & TV shows).
Here, we’ll explore the pros and cons of 2D vs 3D animation for each of these use cases to help you decide which style of animation is right for your video’s goals.
2D vs 3D Animation For Business Videos
Animated videos for your business are typically created to help the business increase awareness, generate leads, close sales and educate customers about how to use the product or service they purchased.
Businesses typically make purchasing decisions based on their ROI (return on investment). Because of this, most business videos are made with 2D animation because they cost less to produce which means they can deliver a higher ROI.
Example:
Let’s say your company spends $1,000 on a 2D animation and $1,000 to promote the video (campaign total cost = $2,000). If this campaign generates 5 sales worth $2,000 each ($10,000 total), your ROI is 500%. Excellent results!
Now, let’s say instead of spending $1,000 on a 2D animation, your company decides to spend $4,000 on a fancy 3D animation and $1,000 to promote the video (campaign total cost = $5,000). Hypothetically, if that campaign generates 5 sales worth $2,000 each ($10,000 in total), your ROI is only 200%. Your company still makes money, but they could have generated the same amount of sales by only spending $1,000 on the video and $1,000 promoting it ($8,000 profit) vs spending $4,000 on a video and $1,000 to promote it ($5,000 profit).
This is a very basic example but it’s common practice to evaluate business results based on the financial outcomes of a campaign. Creativity certainly plays a factor which can increase the campaign’s ROI but that’s separate from the monetary value and the time spent creating a 2D vs 3D animation.
There are exceptions to this guideline. Primarily, if your company needs to use 3D animation to visualize something that you can’t show using 2D animation (i.e. a hardware demo or physical process), then it’s likely worth it to spend the extra money to create a 3D animation so your target audience can visualize the details they need to see to understand your product/service/solution.
2D vs 3D Animation For Educational Videos
If you’re making animated educational videos, the decision to use 2D vs 3D animation often comes down to whether the concept you are teaching can be produced using 2D or 3D animation. Whenever possible, use 2D animation to keep costs low. That being said, one of the remarkable advantages of animation is that it can be used to show and explain things that are difficult to understand or difficult to film. If 3D animation is the only way to show what you want to show, use 3D animation.
2D vs 3D Animation For Entertaining Videos
When it comes to make entertaining content, you have a lot more creative freedom in the choice to use 2D vs 3D animation. Budget is certainly a concern but if you are creating videos or movies to entertain people, higher production value is often rewarded with higher engagement and more paying viewers.
If you’re creating an animated video for social media, 2D animation is often the route you want to go because there is still some sort of business ROI attached to the media asset. Sure, 3D animation can be used to create something truly captivating that takes off on social media, but it’s a lot of money to spend on a one-off short video that could quickly get buried in the ocean of online content.
On the flip side, if you’re producing a full length movie that people are paying to see, spending money on a higher production budget means you’ll end up with a higher quality video that people will be more likely to pay to watch.
What is the cost difference between 2D vs 3D animation?
TL;DR: 3D animation costs about 2x-4x more to produce than 3D animation.
In general, most forms of 2D animation can be produced for $1,750-$7,500 for each minute of content that’s being produced. Hand drawn animation also known as Cel Animation or Frame by Frame Animation can cost between $10,000-$25,000+ to animate each minute of footage.
3D animation on the other hand tends to start at $10,000 to create each minute of footage and can easily go up to $25,000-$50,000 to create each minute of video when you hire an independent studio like Video Igniter to make your animation. To put this into perspective, the average PIXAR film costs over $100,000,000 to produce, meaning each minute of the film costs over $1,000,000 to create.
If you’re looking for a quote to make a custom animated video, here are 4 ways Video Igniter can help you generate a quote:
1). Schedule a call with our production team.
2). Send us a message with details about the animation you want us to create.
3). Fill out this digital questionnaire about your video.
4). Request access to our pricing page.
How long does it take to make 2D animation vs 3D animation?
If we’re just talking about short 60-second long animations, it typically takes about 4-6 weeks to create a 2D animation. Hand drawn 2D animation and 3D animation take about 8-12 weeks to create a 60-second animation.
If you need to speed up the production process, send us a message and ask us about rush delivery animation.
When might I want to use a mix of 2D animation and 3D animation?
Unless you’re making a PIXAR style film or short video, there’s a good chance you can get a lot of cost savings by using a mix of 2D animation and 3D animation.
Let’s say you’re in charge of producing a video for your company to show how an engine works. 3D animation is a great way to show how the engine works and what all the parts look like. However, the entire video doesn’t need to be made using 3D animation. You might also have a title scene that’s just 2D text on screen introducing the engine. There might be another scene that uses icons to highlight the unique benefits of your engine ($ signs to indicate the reduced operating cost of the engine, a tree to indicate the engine is eco friendly, etc).
If you need help figuring out how and when to use 2D vs 3D animation for your project, send us a message and our team will work with you to develop a plan that makes cost efficient use of 2D and 3D animation for your next video project.
Still have questions about 2D vs 3D animation?
Do you have a question about 2D vs 3D animation that wasn’t addressed in this FAQ? Use this form to send us your question and we’ll follow up with an answer. We’ll also post the question and answer to this page so other people can benefit from the knowledge.
What is Video Igniter Animation?
Video Igniter Animation is an online animated video production service. By working with our team online, you can get your custom animated video produced faster and for less than hiring a brick and mortar animation studio.
Watch the demo reel below for examples of the kinds of animation our team can produce for you.
Looking For An Animation Production Company In The U.S.?
Video Igniter is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
2D & 3D Animation Success Stories & Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it – these testimonials highlight Video Igniter’s reliability, creativity, flexibility and ability to deliver animations that exceed expectations. When you choose Video Igniter Animation, you can rest assured that you are working with a trusted and reputable studio.
“Couldn’t be happier with Derek and his team. The quality of the work for the cost far exceeded expectations and surpasses anything in the market. Derek was patient, offered many revisions, and was overall great to work with.”
Alex Novick – Founder, Sproutly.com
“Video Igniter were very easy to work with and the entire process for creating and suggesting edits was seamless and stress-free. I would work with them again and would recommend to others looking to create a modern and stylish explainer video.”
Clair Simpson – VP Marketing, Repool.com
“I run a video production company and outsource animation. The team at Video Igniter did a great job in taking the concept I very crudely drew out and making it into a beautiful animation. The review process was easy and their turnaround time was very quick. I’d def recommend them if you’re looking for an animation project.”
Pat Henderson – Founder, Path8 Productions
“Video Igniter offered us the critical combination of creative value, clear communication, and patience with stakeholder feedback. We ended up with truly high-quality design assets for our video series largely due to the extra level of commitment — and the right balance of efficiencies with flexibility in the process when called for.”
Larry Schlessinger – Sr. Creative Program Manager, Amazon Web Services
“Video Igniter came to us with a number of creative and engaging ideas and were able to create an exciting, impactful video in a short period of time. And the best part was that it cost much less than other options of similar quality. The video they made is a great marketing tool for us.”
Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems
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