From Fortune 500 giants to startups worldwide, 2D animated videos are creating a buzz in business marketing. Compared to textual or static modes, animated videos are highly effective marketing tools because they can tell your business’ story, increase understanding of a topic through dynamic and creative visuals, and leave a lasting impression on the viewer. Furthermore, they may help you drive engagement across multiple platforms and boost conversion rates if used correctly.
According to HubSpot’s survey, 85% of consumers would like to see their favourite brands create more video content. This speaks volumes about the popularity of video campaigns and their success in retaining client interest and loyalty.
Whether it’s a whiteboard animation for training or an infographic animation that demonstrates growth trends, it’s time to start using animated videos’ endless potential—they’re here to stay!
Understanding the Fundamentals of 2D Animation Videos
To maximize the potential of animated videos, you must first grasp how they work.
Here is a brief, step-by-step guideline for launching your next 2D animated video with hassle-free perfection.
1. Plan it out
Figure out the purpose of your video, what kind of animation it requires, how it blends in with your visual language, whether it needs characters, and what platforms you’d like to launch it on.
2. Prepare a thorough script
For starters, don’t worry about perfection, but have a story in mind regarding how you’d like to proceed with your video, what it explains, and how you see the video progressing frame by frame.
3. Start with pre-production
The process of creating 2D animation videos involves three steps: pre-production, production, and post-production. Pre-production includes designing the characters, sketching background designs, and storyboarding, a comic strip-like graphic visualization of the actions and events across the entire animation.
4. Enter the production phase
The actual animation takes place during the production phase. The animation of 2D characters or objects occurs when we show multiple frames—singular, static images in quick succession, just like how a flipbook or stop-motion animation works. 24 frames are used to produce 1 second of animation, hence the common term 24 fps (frames per second), which simply means that 24 individual drawings are required for every second of animation time.
5. Perfect everything in post-production
Once the frames are prepared, they are transferred onto the background of each scene. Each animated movement made up of those multiple frames within that scene, then undergoes the process of ‘tweening.’ This refers to generating intermediate frames between two frames to provide an even transition and, thus, smooth animated movement.
2D Animation Types and Techniques
2D animation can be classified into various types based on the function it serves and the technique used to create it. For your convenience, we’ve explained some popular styles of 2D animation that Ice N Fire Media offers below:
1. Stop Motion Animation
Stop-motion animations can be created by photographing static objects in a specific sequence and then binding these images together to create the appearance of continuous movement. As hardly any expensive equipment and facilities are used, stop-motion animation is a cost-effective option worth a shot.
2. Rotoscope Animation
This technique is similar to traditional animation approaches in that live-action footage provides the background, enabling a rotoscoping tool to trace it. Rotoscoping is mainly used when the animated character is supposed to interact with the surrounding environment in a realistic fashion, such as in science fiction films. It is highly used in advertisements and movies because it is comparatively less expensive than 3D animation.
3. Typography Animation
Typography animation uses computer software to animate typography. This form of animation is often employed in films to produce visually eye-catching titles and credit sequences. It can also be used to create engaging explainer movies, interactive statistical models, and presentations in the business world.
4. Whiteboard-style Animation
Whiteboard-style animation, generally used in explainer videos of educational kinds, has the power to explain complex concepts easily through hand-drawn animations created by a talented team of 2D experts. This enables you to interact with your audience in a fun and engaging way and make even the most monotonous topics fun and engaging.
4. Mechanical Animation
Mechanical animation is a technique mainly used to explain the workings of mechanical products and how they can be configured. To produce an educational visualization, it is necessary to draw and animate each component and mechanism in great detail. Engineers often utilize this animation technique to make changes to machines before they are sent for manufacturing, which is helpful in the industry. Product demonstrations benefit greatly from mechanical animation.
5. Cutout Animation
Cutout animation is a style of stop-motion animation in which animators use characters cut out of paper to place them over animated backgrounds. Modern cutout animation uses scanned paper cutouts rather than shadow puppets to expedite the process. Cutout animations are widely used in cartoons, storytelling videos, and explainer videos.
Our 2-D Animation Process
Ice N Fire Media is proud of its team of specialists with years of experience and tactics for creating fantastic 2D animation videos for various industries. Let us give you a glimpse of our processes:
Step 1: Concept Development
We get acquainted with our clients and discuss their overall requirements, end goals, budget, the style of 2D animation they desire to produce, and the technique that will yield the best ROI. Furthermore, we conduct extensive research on industry needs and best practices so there is no room for error.
Step 2: Storyboarding
Once the fundamentals have been determined, it’s time to make rough sketches or storyboard ideas of how the final video will appear once completed. To avoid a lot of back-and-forth, we keep our clients in the loop and work on any feedback they might have for us. A storyboard can either be drawn by hand or using computer software—it all depends on the technique and the script.
Step 3: Character Design and Artwork
Here comes the fun part, where we bring life into the videos by introducing our characters. Character design usually takes some time while we try to perfect our lead stars. Our digital artists work tirelessly to create the ideal characters, each with their distinct features so that they fit right into the story of our animated video. They can be hand-drawn, illustrated, or even life-sized cutouts.
Step 4: Animation Production
Nowadays, animation is done at 12 frames per second, and one drawing is required for every two frames. When creating an actual scene of an animated film or cartoon, our professional animators combine the character model sheets, storyboard, layout, and backgrounds from the pre-production phase and ensure that all the elements work together in harmony.
Step 5: Voiceover and Sound Design
Once the animation is finalized and up to our excellent standards, we move to the stage of voiceover and sound design. We find the perfect voiceover to suit your video’s rhythm and overall aesthetic. Along with sound design, the video’s quality becomes highly enhanced. The combination of visual, sound, and text provides an immersive experience ideal for delivering an impactful message.
Step 6: Review and Revisions
This is where we work with clients to review feedback, revise potential changes, and make last-minute corrections based on how they like it. Our team at Ice N Fire always sets aside a day and a half to work on client feedback so that we can guarantee 100% client satisfaction without missing our deadlines.
Step 7: Final Delivery
Finally, it’s time to deliver the completed animated video to the client in their selected format, such as mp4, .edl, or .xml, with 2K, 4K, or 1080 x 1920 resolution. We also provide any post-production support they might need, like closed and open captions, open files for future changes, and other technical guidance. We leave no stone unturned and ensure that there are only wide smiles once the final product is delivered.
Conclusion
Now that we have discussed the vital importance of video marketing in today’s visual-focused hyper-digital world, it is crucial for your business to get into the game and stop shying away from leveraging animated videos as an engaging marketing tool.
As brands like Slack, Airbnb, Apple, Amazon, and Spotify lead the way to innovative change with their animated video ads, it’s time for your brand to hop on the bandwagon. As AI technology advances, AI-generated video content will also become more expressive, while AI avatars will become more common and accessible, leading to a revolution in animation.
Ice N Fire’s team of dedicated animators, with their years of experience, provide the perfect package for any business looking to garner attention through 2D animation videos. Our customized prices and streamlined processes help you save time and effort with minimal to-and-fro. To make your space in the existing marketplace and take advantage of the popularity of 2D animation videos, check out our website or get in touch with us. You can also check out our collection of previous projects, which were happily delivered to our client’s satisfaction.
Unlock the power of animated storytelling for your business. Get started with impactful marketing solutions!
FAQs:
1. What are the main types of 2D animation used in business marketing?
Explainer videos, animated infographics, motion graphics, whiteboard animations, and character animations.
2. How can 2D animation benefit my company’s promotional efforts?
It simplifies complex information, increases viewer retention, and boosts social media shareability.
3. Which industries are currently using 2D animation most effectively?
Technology, healthcare, education, finance, e-commerce, and SaaS.
4. What’s the difference between explainer videos and animated infographics?
Explainer videos are narrative-driven (1-3 minutes), while animated infographics focus on visualizing data and stats.
5. Can 2D animation be integrated with live-action footage for business videos?
Yes, using mixed media techniques for educational content, product demos, and corporate videos.
6. What software do professional animators use for creating 2D business animations?
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate, and Toon Boom Harmony.
7. What are some ways in which I can measure the ROI of using 2D animation in my marketing campaigns?
Track view counts, engagement rates, click-throughs, conversions, and customer support reductions.
8. Are there any emerging trends in 2D animation for business applications?
Micro-animations, AI tools, and machine learning are rising trends.
