Learn About Different Styles Of Animation
Table of Contents
With so many different animation styles out there, we thought it would be helpful to present an overview of the most common types of animated videos and provide a run down of their pros and cons to help you figure out which animation styles could be used for your video.
2D Animation Styles:
1). Flash / After Effects 2D animation
2). Motion Graphics
3). Hand Drawn Animation (aka Frame by Frame or Cel Animation)
4). Kinetic Typography
5). Cut-Out Animation
6). Rotoscoping Animation
3D Animation Styles:
1). 3D Animation
2). Stop Motion
3). Cel-Shaded Animation
Non-Animated Explainer Videos:
1). Screen Recording
2). Whiteboard Videos
2D Animation Styles:
1). Flash / After Effects 2D Animation
If you’ve seen a 2D animated video online, odds are, it was likely made using Adobe Flash or Adobe After Effects. These are two of the most popular programs for creating 2D animated videos because they enable an infinite range of different animation styles at a lower cost than producing a video with traditional frame-by-frame (hand drawn) animation.
Pros: Enables you to create infinite different types of animation styles. Very easy to make custom branded art.
Cons: This is what everyone does. Can be difficult to pick out which studio or freelancer is best for you.
Example of an Animated Explainer Video Created with Flash:
Example of a More Advanced Animation Created with Adobe After Effects:
2). Motion Graphics
Think of motion graphics as a type of animation that’s more like an animated diagram or a series of shapes, icons and text sliding around. Generally this is animation that doesn’t have people walking around. Instead, motion graphics are used like visual accents. Sometimes they are overlaid on top of live action videos, other times they’re inserted between scenes of a video to show an animated diagram that visually illustrates what a narrator is explaining.
Pros: Can be simpler to produce than traditional animation.
Cons: May not include enough detail for what you want to show or explain.
3). Hand Drawn Animation aka Frame-By-Frame Animation
This is the ‘real’ old school style of animation. The kind where each frame of the animation is hand drawn by the video animator. It enables the artist to create beautiful flowing animated details with realistic, smooth movements. It also takes a lot of time, skill and a huge team with an adequate budget to produce anything more than a few seconds long.
Pros: Visually unique compared to the glut of 2D animated content out there.
Cons: Expensive. Takes a long time and a big team to produce.
4). Kinetic Typography
Kinetic typography is a type of animated video that relies heavily on animating text with flashy motion and designs to keep the viewer engaged. Sometimes characters and scenes get mixed in but typically the goal is to animate the words in visually unique ways in sync with the narrative voiceover.
Pros: When designed with proper timing, these videos do a great job at keeping viewer’s interest. It’s also possible to watch these videos without the sound on (i.e. in a social media feed) and still be able to understand the content of the video w/out the audio.
Cons: Since the focus tends to be text-based, sometimes content that’s presented in kinetic typography videos should actually be an animated diagram (which you can totally mix into your video).
5). Cut-Out Animation
Cut-out animation uses flat materials, like paper or fabric, to create characters and scenes that move in a two-dimensional space. Traditionally, this style involved physically moving cut-out pieces frame by frame, but modern software now simulates the process digitally. Cut-out animation is popular for its cost-effectiveness and charming simplicity, as seen in shows like South Park. If you’re looking for a fun, quirky, and budget-friendly animation style, cut-out animation might be a perfect fit.
Pros: This fun animation style is visually unique and helps your message stand out from other forms of 2D computer animation.
Cons: Creating this style of animation takes more time to create compared to modern forms of computer animation.
6). Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping involves tracing over live-action video footage to create lifelike movement in an animated format. This style blends realism with artistic expression, making it a great option when you want natural character motion with a stylized visual appeal. Rotoscoping was famously used in films like A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life to create a surreal, dreamlike effect that draws viewers into the story.
Pros: Visuals include realistic, natural movement using a unique stylized aesthetic.
Cons: Rotoscoping is a time-consuming, expensive process which requires a film crew to capture video content before animators can trace over each scene.
Types of 3D Animation:
1). Animated Computer Generated 3D Visuals
3D animation is ideal for when you want to take a viewer on a journey inside a 3D space to show what an environment is like or to understand the inner workings of a machine. 3D animation also works great for your standard business explainer video if you want to go for a high impact visual style that stands out from the rest. Just note that 3D animations take longer to produce, require a larger budget, and it’s not as easy to make changes to the video once production has begun. 3D animated video styles can look cartoon-ish (like Pixar movies) or they can be made to look like photo-realistic renderings of the real world.
Pros: Great for showing how products/machines work or exploring 3D environments
Cons: Expensive and takes a long time to produce. Difficult to make changes mid-way through video production.
Cartoon-style 3D:
Photo-realistic 3D:
2). Stop motion
Stop motion animation is created by setting up a scene (could be made of clay, paper, legos, etc), taking a photo, moving a few things slightly in the scene, and taking another picture. By repeating this process of taking photos of the scene with slight adjustments, the images can be combined to create a moving animated scene.
Pros: Fun and unique to watch.
Cons: Expensive and it takes a long time to do a good job – definitely can’t be rushed.
3). Cel-Shaded Animation
Cel-shaded animation gives 3D objects a flat, cartoonish appearance reminiscent of traditional 2D animation. It’s often used in video games and stylized animations to create bold, eye-catching visuals. Titles like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Arcane demonstrate how cel shading can blend modern 3D animation with classic, hand-drawn aesthetics.
Pros: Evokes a nostalgic, hand-drawn aesthetic with modern computer animation tools. Rendering costs are lower compared to photorealistic 3D animation.
Cons: Limited realism compared to traditional 3D animation. Requires talented artists to do a quality job creating this visual style.
Non-animated explainer videos:
1). Screen recording
Sometimes you want to show what’s actually happening on a phone, tablet or computer screen. In this case, you can use different programs to record what is happening on screen to show exactly what is happening, rather than providing a high level story of what an app actually does. Motion graphics are sometimes mixed in to keep the viewer’s attention and to visually call out specific details on screen.
Pros: Great for showcasing how to use different websites, software and apps.
Cons: Generally kinda boring to watch unless there’s some unique motion graphics overlaid on top of the screen recording. Not great for sales/marketing videos, but that’s not what they’re really meant for anyway.
Deep Dive: How to hire and collaborate with a motion graphics company?
2). Whiteboard videos
Whiteboard videos are another style of hand drawn animation – however, unlike Frame-by-Frame animation, where the animator draws each frame individually and then flips through them to make the image look like it’s in motion, whiteboard explainers are videos that show the artist in the act of drawing out visuals in sync with a voiceover.
Pros: Generally quick and less expensive to produce. Great at keeping the viewer’s attention.
Cons: They all look very similar so they’re not great for brand recognition.
Practical Applications for Different Animation Styles
The type of content you want to create often informs the visual style that’s appropriate for the video. Below, you can see our recommendations for which style(s) of animation are appropriate to use for creating educational, entertaining and promotional video content.
Educational Content
Animations simplify abstract concepts and make learning more accessible. Animated educational videos often use 2D animation and motion graphics to illustrate scientific principles, historical events, and mathematical theories.
Entertainment
From children’s cartoons to adult animated series, the entertainment industry uses a diverse range of styles to appeal to different audiences. 2D, 3D, and stop motion animation have all found success in TV, movies, and online content.
Marketing and Advertising
Animation helps brands stand out in competitive markets by delivering memorable, engaging content. Motion graphics and character animations are popular choices for commercials, product explainers, and social media content.
Choosing the Right Animation Style
The right animation style depends on your video’s goals, target audience, and budget. If you need something cost-effective and fun, 2D animation might be the way to go. For high-impact, immersive content, 3D or mixed media animation could be a better fit.
With so many cool animation styles to choose from, it can be difficult to narrow it down to the right option for your video. If you’re still not sure which types of animation are appropriate for your video, send us a message or schedule a call to discuss your video project and goals with Video Igniter’s production team.
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 Animated Video Company In The U.S.?
Video Igniter is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
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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