Make Animated Movie

Are you reading about animation because you want to make an animated movie but aren’t sure how or where to get started? Luckily, you’re in the right place! Video Igniter’s guide to making an animated movie has answers to all your top questions, including:

• How do I make an animated movie with an animation studio or a freelancer?
• What does it cost to make an animated movie?
• How long does it take to make an animated movie?
• How do I find the right animator to help me make an animated movie?

All that and more coming up in this guide – including tips to help you save $1,000 or more off the cost of making an animated movie! But first, let’s take a look at examples of animated movies Video Igniter can create for you:

Animated Movie Examples

Video Igniter can make any kind of 2D or 3D animated movie for you. The demo reel below showcases highlights from some of the best animations our team has produced. For additional production samples, check out our animation portfolio or request access to our demo reels and price sheet.

Send us a message or schedule a call to start making your video.

Are you looking for a different type of animation example? Send us a message to let us know what kind of production example you want to see and we will follow up with some relevant production samples.

How to make an animated movie with Video Igniter?

Follow these steps to turn your idea into an animated movie:

1). Get A Quote

To get production started on your animated movie, you’ll first want to pick a producer and get a quote for your animated movie.

Pro Tips: Looking for tips to help you select the right animator or studio for your project? Check out our guide to learn how to hire an animator.

After you select a producer and finalize the budget for your animated movie, you will receive a production agreement to sign and an invoice for the first 50% of your production budget.

2). Script

Now that production is underway, our script writing team will spend time learning about the story you want to tell. Give us as much detail as possible so we can develop the first draft of your script.

Alternately – if you want to make the script for your animated movie, we can work with that too!

Assuming our team develops the script for your animated movie, you will receive a link to review a digital copy when the first draft is ready. Give it a thorough review with your team and add your notes to the document. Our team will address all of your revisions and share the updated version of the script as soon as it’s ready. We will continue to work with you to revise and polish your script until it’s perfect.

3). Storyboard

After the script is approved, our team will begin developing the storyboard for your animated movie. The storyboard acts like a blueprint for your entire movie. It tells the illustrators and animators exactly what to create for every part of your script.

Each page of the storyboard includes a sentence from your movie’s script, a rough sketch of the scene, and a list of instructions that explains how the visuals will animate during that part of the script.

You will receive a digital copy of the storyboard to review with your team. Go through every page of the storyboard and add your revision notes. Our team will integrate your revisions and share the updated version of the storyboard with you to review and sign off. If additional edits are needed, our team will work with you to ensure we have the best visual storytelling ideas for every part of your animated movie’s script.

4). VoiceOver

Now that the script and storyboard are locked in, we can help you create the voiceover for your movie. You will receive multiple auditions for each voice that’s featured in your animated movie. Give them a listen and let us know which option(s) are your favorite.

We’ll hire the voiceover talent to record the full narration. We’ll also take care of acquiring the appropriate license(s) so that we have the rights to use their recordings when we make your animated movie.

You will get an opportunity to listen to the full voiceover recording and request edits (if needed).

5). Soundtrack

Our team will select a handful of soundtrack options that will set the tone and energy throughout your animated movie. Give them a listen and let us know which soundtrack(s) are your favorite.

We’ll take care of acquiring the appropriate license(s) so we can legally use the music when we make your animate movie.

After we wrap up animation, our team will add subtle sound effects to your movie and then master the audio levels so the soundtrack, voiceover narration and SFX all sound crisp and clear.

Interested in a custom soundtrack for your movie? We can help with that too!

6). Illustrations

Making the art for your animated movie happens in two stages.

First, we develop concept art for your movie. Instead of diving straight into illustrating, we want to spend time creating and refining the visual concept and character design for your movie.

Our art director will review your visual style references and storyboard. Then they will create several pieces of concept art for you to review. Give the concepts a thoughtful review and let us know what you like and don’t like about the concepts. Together, we’ll refine your favorite concept until it looks perfect.

Now that the concept art is approved, the art director will oversee the production of all of the illustrations for your animated movie. You will get a chance to review all of the illustrations and request edits before we make your animated movie.

7). Animation

After your illustrations are approved, it’s time to make your animated movie! It takes about one week to animate each minute of your movie. For longer projects, we’ll add additional animators to the project to speed up the animation phase of production.

As soon as we finish making the first draft of your animated movie, you will receive a link to download a copy to watch on your computer or phone.

Give the movie a detailed review – ideally with members of your target audience. Collect everyone’s feedback and send it our way. We’ll integrate your revisions and render out the final draft of your animated movie.

How much does it cost to make an animated movie?

The answer to this question depends on a few variables:

1. How long is the animated movie you want to make?
2. What style of animation do you want to use to make your movie?

To put things into context, a feature-length PIXAR animated film can cost over $1,000,000 to create each minute of animation. This level of production is usually out of reach for most businesses, nonprofits and individuals that want to make their own animated movie.

Luckily, Video Igniter offers 2D animation production options that range between $1,500-$7,500 to create each minute of video. 3D animation options cost 2-4x more to create (and are still substantially less than what it costs PIXAR and Dreamworks to produce their animated films).

Get a Custom Quote to make your animated movie.

How long does it take to make an animated movie?

This answer to this question also depends on a few variables, including:

1. Will you be creating the script and or the storyboard?
2. How long is the animated movie you want us to make?
3. What style of animation do you want us to use when we make your animated movie?

To put this into context, a feature-length PIXAR animated film takes about 5 years to go from idea to release in movie theaters.

Thankfully, Video Igniter’s streamlined process enables us to produce content much quicker. It takes about 4-8 weeks to make a short 2D animation. 3D animation takes at least 2x as much time to complete.

Want to figure out how long it will take to make your animated movie? Send us a message or schedule a call to speak with our production team.

How do I find the right animation studio or freelancer to help me make my animated movie?

This topic is an article in and of itself – which is why we created a separate article to help you find and hire the right animator (or studio) for your project:

“How To Hire An Animator For My Animated Movie”

How do I lower my production cost when I make an animated movie?

In order to help keep you your budget as low as possible for your animated movie, here’s a list of 5 tips you can use to save $1,000 or more off the cost of every minute of animation we produce for you.

1). Make The Script For Your Animated Movie

If you decide to make the script for your animated movie, you will save $500 off the cost of each minute of video we produce for you. Download our free script writing template for to see how you should structure your script.

2). Make The Storyboard For Your Animated Movie

If you make the storyboard for your animated video, you will save an additional $500 off the cost of each minute of animation we make for you. Download our free storyboard template and review the included storyboard creation guide to see how easy it is to make a storyboard. No artistic ability needed ✅.

3). Use Free, Legal Music

Music licensing costs start low but can get quite expensive – especially for longer animated movies. You can keep your music budget low by sourcing free legal music for your movie.

Sites like Incompetech offer large libraries of free music we can legally use in your movie. If you pick out music we can legally use for free, we can deduct music licensing costs from your production budget.

4). Record The VoiceOvers For Your Animated Movie

Did you know it’s possible to record high quality voiceover’s at home for free? No need to buy any expensive software or professional equipment.

If you record the voiceover(s) for your animated movie, we’ll make sure to deduct voiceover production and licensing costs from your project’s budget. Watch 1:31 in this video to see how to record professional quality voiceovers for free.

5). Start Production ASAP

The easiest thing you can do to save a lot of money on your animated movie’s production budget is to start production as soon as possible. Rush delivery is available to speed up production, if needed. However, rush delivery can increase your production budget by 10%-25% or more! The sooner you contact us about your project, the more we can help you minimize or avoid rush delivery add on costs for your animated movie.

Still have questions about how to make an animated movie?

Do you have a question about making an animated movie 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.

Animated Movie Production Resources

These guides are popular among people researching how to make an animated movie:

• How To Hire And Work With An Animated Video Company
• How Does Video Igniter’s Animated Video Service Work?
• How To Review Your Animated Video?
• What is Animated Video Production?

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 Production 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

“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

Get in touch!

Schedule a call to discuss your animated video project.

Get a quote for us to create your animated video.

Request access to our newest price sheet.

Create your Video Igniter account, fill out a creative brief for your video and we’ll begin production as soon as we receive your production deposit.