Unleash the Power of Professional Animation: Elevate Your Visual Storytelling

If you’re interested in hiring a professional animator or want to get a professional animation produced, you’re in the right place! Video Igniter’s comprehensive guide to creating professional animations teaches you everything you need to know about how to work with animators to create a custom animated video. In this guide, you’ll learn:

✅  The benefits of hiring a professional animation team.

✅  What to expect during the production process.

✅  What to look for when hiring a professional animator.

✅  How long it takes to make a professional animation.

✅  What it costs to make a professional animation.

✅  And tips to lower your production cost.

Let’s dive in!

Examples of Professional Animations You Can Get From Video Igniter

Video Igniter can create any kind of 2D or 3D animated video for you. Check out the example videos below.

To start your project contact us, schedule a call with our production team or request access to our new pricing page.

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

 

Benefits of Hiring a Professional Animation Team

Quality and Expertise

Professional animators possess the skills, experience, and technical know-how to deliver high-quality animations that make your animation stand out.

Enhanced Brand Identity

Professional animation teams can help you establish a unique brand identity through consistent visual storytelling and cohesive animations.

Engaging and Memorable Content

Professional animators create animations that captivate audiences, leaving a lasting impression and drive brand recall. They can also help bring fresh ideas, unique perspectives, and innovative techniques to create visually stunning animations that internal teams struggle to conceive.

Tailored and Customized Approach

Professional animators work closely with clients to understand your goals, target audience, and brand aesthetics, resulting in animations that align precisely with your vision and brand identity.

Time and Efficiency

Working with professionals saves time and ensures a streamlined production process, allowing businesses to focus on their core objectives.

What to look for when hiring a professional animator?

Portfolio & Production Samples

Before hiring a professional animator, the first thing you want to look at is their animation portfolio. Check to see if they’ve produced videos with a similar visual style or level of detail that you want to feature in your animated video. If you don’t see relevant examples, feel free to get in touch with the animator to see if they have production examples in their archives to share with you.

Communication & Collaboration

Ask your producer what their communication and collaboration style is like. Look for a production partner that keeps you in the loop when your feedback is needed to ensure your video achieves the desired outcomes.

Testimonials

Be sure to check for testimonials to see if the animation company provides professional customer service to their clients.

Price

Get a quote for your animation to see if it works with your production budget.

Revisions

Review the production terms for your project. How many revisions are included? Some studios only include 1-2 rounds of revisions in the price they quote you. Video Igniter’s projects include unlimited revisions for most projects.

Project Timeline

When does your project need to be completed by? Professional animations take weeks or months to create. If you have a short deadline, ask if your production partner offers rush delivery animation to speed up the creation of your animation.

What is the production process like to create a professional animation?

After you’ve selected a professional animator for your project, here’s an overview of what you can expect during the animation process:

Kick Off Call / Questionnaire

Production starts with a and or a questionnaire to help us learn:

✅  Who is your target audience?

✅  What key talking points do you want to convey?

✅  What action do you want viewers to take after they finish watching your animation?

✅  What visual style do you want to use for your professional animation?

Script

We use the information from the kick off call / questionnaire to develop a script that conveys your key talking points to your target audience in a way that resonates with them.  You will receive the first draft of the script so that you can provide feedback and request edits. Our writing team will incorporate your revisions and share the updated script with you to request further edits or approve for production.

Storyboard

Now it’s time to turn your script into a storyboard. A storyboard is like a blueprint for your animation. It provides clear documentation to the illustrators and animators so they know what to create for each part of your script. You will receive a draft of the storyboard to review and request edits. After we integrate your revisions, you will get another opportunity to review the storyboard and request edits or approve the document for production.

VoiceOver

You will receive several voiceover auditions for your professional animation. Give them a listen and let us know which one you prefer. Then, we’ll oversee the recording of the full voiceover. You will get an opportunity to review the full voiceover and request edits. Once the voiceover is approved, we’ll secure the broadcast license so that you can legally use the audio recording in your video.

Soundtrack

Our team will select multiple soundtracks that compliment your animation. Give them a listen and let us know which option(s) you prefer. Then, we’ll purchase the broadcast license(s) so that you can legally use the music in your video.

Illustration

You will receive multiple pieces of concept art from our art director. Let us know which concept you prefer and whether or not you want to make any refinements to the visual style before approving that concept art.

Then, our illustration team will use the approved art as a style reference to create all of the details for your video. You get an opportunity to review the art and request edits before approving the all of the illustrations for production.

Animation

Now that everything is approved, we can create your professional animation. After we finish our work, we’ll send you the first draft to review. We recommend reviewing it with your internal team and members of your target audience. Organize everyone’s feedback and send it to us. We will incorporate your revisions and then render out the final draft of your video.

How much does a professional animation cost?

Professional animation budgets range widely. Here are a few data points:

✔️  You can get high quality animated videos produced for $3,000-$10,000 for a 2D, 60 second animation.

✔️  3D animation can cost 2-4x more.

✔️  Commercial animation for TV ads can easily cost $25,000 or more for a 30 second spot.

✔️  Pixar-quality animation costs over $1,000,000 per minute to create.

✅  Get a quote for your animated video.

How long does it take to make a professional animation?

Most short, 2D animated videos (30-120 seconds) can be produced in 2-8 weeks. 3D animated videos take 2-4x more time to produce. Long animated videos and animated video series take months or years to produce.

Want to figure out how long it will take to make your professional animation? Send a message to our production team or request access to our price sheet.

How to save money when making a professional animation?

1). Write the script for your video instead of hiring the professional animation team to create it for you. Download our free scriptwriting template.

2). Create the storyboard for your video instead of hiring us to create it for you. Download our free storyboard template.

3). Use free (legal) music from Incompetech or Facebook’s sound collection.

4). Record your own voiceover for free.

5). Consider using stock assets like icons, photos, clip art and 3D models to save time and money.

Types of Professional Animation for Different Business Goals

Professional animation can take many forms, and the best approach depends on what you need the video to accomplish. Instead of choosing an animation style simply because it looks impressive, consider how the visual approach supports your message, audience, and distribution channel.

Explainer Animation

Professional explainer animation is useful for simplifying products, services, processes, or ideas that may be difficult to communicate with traditional video. Animated diagrams, illustrations, characters, interfaces, and visual metaphors can demonstrate concepts that would otherwise require expensive filming or complicated demonstrations.

Explainer videos are commonly used on websites, landing pages, sales presentations, and product pages where viewers need to understand an offering quickly.

Motion Graphics

Professional motion graphics combine graphic design, typography, shapes, icons, illustrations, and animation to create visually engaging content. This style can be particularly effective when a project needs to communicate statistics, data, product features, business concepts, or brand messaging without relying heavily on character animation.

Motion graphics can also be combined with live-action footage, screen recordings, photographs, and other visual elements.

Product and Demonstration Animation

Animation can demonstrate how a physical or digital product works without requiring a camera crew or physical prototype. A professional animation team can visualize a product from different angles, show internal components, demonstrate functionality, or illustrate a process that would be difficult to film.

This makes animation useful for product launches, technology companies, software businesses, manufacturers, and organizations introducing new products.

3D Professional Animation

3D animation creates depth, perspective, lighting, materials, and camera movement that can provide a highly detailed visual presentation. It can be used for product visualization, architectural concepts, scientific explanations, technology demonstrations, commercials, and other projects where three-dimensional presentation adds value.

A professional 3D animation can also show perspectives that aren’t possible with conventional photography, such as moving inside a product or revealing its internal components.

Where Can Professional Animation Be Used?

One advantage of professional animation is its flexibility across different marketing and communication channels. The same core production can potentially be adapted into multiple pieces of content rather than being used only once.

Websites and Landing Pages

Animation can help explain a product or service to website visitors who may not be familiar with the company. A concise animated video can communicate key information while supporting the written content on a landing page.

Social Media

Professional animation can be adapted into shorter clips for social platforms. Instead of publishing an entire long-form video, a company can create multiple short segments focused on individual ideas, features, statistics, or messages.

Advertising

Animated content can be used in digital advertisements, social ads, promotional campaigns, and commercial spots. Because animation does not require every visual to be captured with a camera, creative concepts can be built around visual environments and ideas that would be difficult or expensive to film.

Internal Communications and Training

Professional animation isn’t limited to external marketing. Businesses can use animation for employee onboarding, training, internal announcements, process documentation, compliance education, and software instruction.

Animated training content can make abstract information easier to visualize and can provide a consistent presentation that organizations can reuse for multiple groups of employees.

How to Make Professional Animation More Effective

The visual quality of an animation is only one part of a successful production. Strong professional animation also depends on making deliberate decisions about the viewer’s experience.

Keep the Visuals Focused on the Message

Adding more animation does not automatically make a video more effective. Every visual element should contribute to the information being communicated. Excessive movement, unnecessary visual details, or complicated scenes can compete with the message instead of supporting it.

Design for the Audience

A professional animation intended for executives may require a different visual approach than one designed for consumers, children, technical professionals, or employees. Consider the audience’s existing knowledge of the subject and use visual language that makes the information easy to understand.

Establish a Consistent Visual System

Colors, typography, illustration styles, icons, transitions, and other visual elements should work together. A consistent visual system helps the finished animation feel like part of the organization’s overall brand rather than an unrelated piece of content.

Plan for Sound-Off Viewing

Many videos are encountered in environments where viewers may not immediately hear the audio. Important information should therefore be understandable through the visuals and on-screen text when appropriate. Captions can also make animated content more accessible and useful in situations where sound isn’t available.

Create Multiple Versions From One Professional Animation

A professional animation can often provide more value when it is planned as a collection of reusable content rather than a single finished video.

For example, a 90-second marketing animation could potentially be adapted into shorter social media clips, a vertical version for mobile platforms, a square version for social feeds, short advertisements, presentation content, or individual sections for a website.

It is useful to discuss these potential versions with your production team before animation begins. Designing for multiple formats from the beginning can reduce the need for expensive changes later.

Professional Animation and Brand Consistency

For companies producing videos regularly, establishing a recognizable animation style can be especially valuable. Rather than creating every video from scratch with an unrelated visual approach, organizations can develop recurring design elements that carry from one production to the next.

These elements might include a particular illustration style, color palette, typography, character designs, icon system, transitions, or approach to motion. Maintaining these visual conventions can make videos feel connected even when they cover different subjects.

This is particularly useful for companies producing animated content for product launches, educational campaigns, social media, sales enablement, or ongoing customer communications.

What Files Should You Receive From a Professional Animation Company?

Before production begins, ask what will be included in the final delivery. In addition to the finished video, some projects may require additional versions or assets.

Potential deliverables can include:

• A high-resolution master video
• Versions formatted for different platforms
• Shorter promotional clips
• Captions or subtitle files
• Voiceover and audio files
• Still images or thumbnails
• Project artwork or selected source assets
• Different video resolutions or aspect ratios

The exact deliverables depend on the project, so establish these requirements before production starts. If you expect to reuse the animation in future campaigns, discuss that requirement with your production partner as well.

Questions to Ask Before Starting a Professional Animation Project

A few additional questions can help ensure that the final production fits your long-term needs:

• Which video formats and resolutions will be delivered?
• Can the animation be adapted for vertical and square platforms?
• Will captions or subtitles be provided?
• Can short clips be created from the finished animation?
• What audio and voiceover licensing is included?
• Can the artwork be reused in future videos?
• What happens if the company needs a new version later?
• Are there additional costs for alternate versions?
• Who owns the completed creative assets?
• Can the animation be localized into other languages?

Answering these questions early can prevent unexpected costs and make it easier to use your professional animation across your marketing and communications strategy.

Ultimately, professional animation is more than producing a visually impressive video. The strongest productions combine thoughtful visual design with clear communication, appropriate formatting, audience considerations, and a plan for how the finished content will be used. By considering these factors before production begins, businesses can get more value from their animation investment and create content that continues to serve a purpose long after the initial video is published.

Professional Animation Production Resources

These articles are popular among people researching and reading about professional animation production options:

• How To Make A Video Animation
• 3D Animator For Hire
• Video Igniter’s Animation Production FAQ
• How To Make An Animation
• How To Create Animated Videos

Still have questions about professional animation?

Do you have a question about professional 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 our explainer video on our home page to learn more about how we can help you create an animated video. For examples of the kinds of animation our team can produce, check out the demo reel below:

 

Looking For A Professional Animation Company In The U.S.?

Video Igniter is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Professional Animation 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.

“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

 

Get in touch to start creating your professional animation!

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.