22 Animation Styles and Techniques to Use for Your Campaign

Animation Styles and Techniques for Your Campaign

Using animation for your video campaigns is a good marketing strategy. With it, you can capture your audience’s attention immediately as it gives you endless storytelling possibilities. You also have the ability to undo and redo the elements of the story because animation can be re-use for different purposes.

However, there are a lot of types of animation used in the industry which can confuse any business owner and even lead to choosing the wrong animation style. Fortunately, Mustasa Republic, a reputable multimedia company in the Philippines, has outlined the different kinds of animation to guide you.

Read on to know the 22 types of animation styles and techniques you can use for your video marketing campaign.

 

22 Types of Animation to Use for Your Marketing Campaign

 

1. Traditional Animation

Traditional animation, also known as classical 2D animation, is the process of creating drawings frame-by-frame in two-dimensional environments. 

In this particular type of animation, the animator draws every frame and rely only on width and height to tell a complete story. These illustrations are then photographed and played back to create an illusion of movement.

This animation style can give a classic look to your brand videos. Just picture how the first fully 2D-animated film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” looks like. However, do know that it takes a lot of time and money to complete the desired look since it ultimately requires frame-by-frame drawing. Fortunately, with the advent of computers, there is now a viable alternative to traditional animation.

Did You Know? “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” took about 3 years to make and cost around $1.5 million. This sum of money even forced Walt Disney to mortgage his own home.

 

2. Digital 2D Animation

Digital 2D animation, or commonly known today as simply 2D animation, use the same techniques as traditional animation. However, animators don’t need to draw every frame of the story. They simply illustrate some of the frames (usually those that show the major character movements) and rely on the computer to generate the remaining frames to complete the story.

Professional animators can also change the color or frame rate of the drawings instantly on the computer. This makes it a great, inexpensive animation style for businesses that like experimenting with their video campaigns.

 

3. 3D Animation

3D Animation, or computer-generated imagery (CGI), is a type of animation that can bring a realistic look to characters, objects, backgrounds, and even lighting. This is made possible through the addition of a third dimension (depth) in the animation production process.

And unlike traditional and 2D animation, 3D animation focuses on digitally modeling the movements of the characters and leave most of the visual look and elements to the computer. 

Today, this animation style is commonly used in many short films and feature-length movies. However, when used for your video campaigns, it brings a unique and highly realistic depiction of whatever brand story you want to share with consumers. Furthermore, it helps businesses visualize ideas, products, and processes in ways impossible to other types of animation.

 

4. Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion is an animation technique that involves moving physical objects in the frame and photographing each movement in order to create the illusion of action. This animation process is similar to traditional animation which makes it just as time-consuming and expensive to make.

However, when chosen for your marketing campaign, this type of animation offers versatility and uniqueness in your videos. It’s extremely creative yet simple enough to be easily retained in your consumers’ memories, ultimately boosting brand image and conversions. 

 

5. Clay Animation

Clay animation, also known as claymation, is one type of stop motion animation. In this particular animation technique, animators mold together pieces of clay to create characters and move them accordingly in the frame to create a compelling story.

Claymation can bring a three-dimensional effect to your animated campaigns and can expand easily which allows you to create a marble look. However, it doesn’t accurately show fine details and is extremely time-consuming. Furthermore, due to the great effort required, claymation videos are shorter than other types of animation.

Did You Know? To keep animated characters and objects in shape, animators usually mold clay around a wire skeleton called armature.

 

6. Cut Out Animation

Cut out is another animation technique used in stop motion animation. Animators produce character movements, props, and settings using materials cut from paper, card, or even fabric.

Today, making this particular type of animation is made easier by computers. Animators simply replace physically cut-out shapes with digitized, scanned images. Due to this, it has now become one of the most popular animation techniques used by brands because it saves production time and leads to smaller file sizes. This ultimately increases the profits of your business.

 

7. Puppetry Animation

Puppetry animation is just one of the many forms of stop motion animation. The production process involves using puppets in different frames instead of objects because of their human-like quality. 

Nowadays, this animation technique is commonly used in children’s cartoon films. However, it can also be the right type of animation for your video campaigns especially if you want to achieve a unique overall look.

Did You Know? Acclaimed filmmaker Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was made using stop-motion puppet animation.

 

8. Chuckimation

Chuckimation is a type of animation popularized by the creators of the cartoon series, “Action League Now!” It combines both stop motion animation techniques and live-action shots in which characters and props are randomly thrown into the frame by unseen hands.

While not the best animation style to use for your video campaigns, it still adds a certain charm to your business especially when it fits your brand image and personality.

 

9. Erasure Animation

Erasure animation uses traditional 2D animation elements and erases them. This production process allows animators to manipulate the image, creating one-of-a-kind illustrated movements.

 

10. Mechanical Animation

Mechanical animation is the process of developing computer-generated imagery to visually depict the configuration and assembly of a specific product and its components. As such, it’s one of the most commonly used animation styles used in animated video campaigns.

It allows businesses to highlight their products and explain to their customers how a specific item works to benefit them. It also gives you freedom when choosing the aspects of the product you want to showcase. 

Overall, mechanically animated videos can help increase brand or product awareness which in turn positively affects your sales.

 

11. Motion Graphics

Motion graphics is a type of animation that doesn’t follow a specific story or narrative. It simply focuses on giving movements to otherwise static graphic design elements such as lines, shapes, texts, and color.

This particular animation style adds interest to the most basic elements of your business including your logo and website. Furthermore, motion graphics allow brands to illustrate complex ideas visually. After all, research confirmed that 79% of consumers say they prefer learning about a new product through a video instead of a wall of text.

Tip: If you have a business website, it’s advisable to include motion graphics in your homepage banner. This would increase the average time users spend on your site.

 

12. Typography Animation

Typography is similar to motion graphics but with a focus on texts. In short, it is the combination of texts in motion.

Also known as kinetic animation, it’s widely used in showing the names of the credited staff and actors of a particular film. However, it can also benefit businesses by creating direct and engaging launch videos, product advertisements, and sale promotions.

Ultimately, typography animation can catch the attention of your consumers and hook them into investing in your products or services.

Tip: When creating animated videos with typography, use a big font size that’s easily readable to maximize the benefits this type of animation can bring.

 

13. Flipbook Animation

Animation doesn’t solely revolve around videos. Even before the invention of computers, artists already draw a series of images using only a flipbook. They illustrate the characters or objects with little variation in every page so that when the book is flicked rapidly, they achieve an illusion of movement.

Including flipbooks in your advertising campaign could help propel your marketing strategy. You can use them as business cards instead of the usual paper for an interesting twist that can turn investors’ heads. You can even use them to showcase your portfolio.

 

14. Rotoscope Animation

Rotoscoping is an animation technique that artists use to trace live-action footage in order to create realistic actions. They use a software program that has a special rotoscoping tool to draw over motion pictures.

This type of animation is often used as visual effects in live-action films. It can also create a distinct glowing effect in videos. When used in your video marketing campaign, it immediately adds an abstract, almost painting-like look that’s visually distinct from other animated commercials released.

Did You Know? During the early days of cinema, animators trace live-action film images onto glass. In order to make this process easier, artist Max Fleischer invented a device he called a rotoscope.

 

15. Whiteboard Animation

Whiteboard animation is a type of animation that presents the artist drawing an artwork over a whiteboard—or any other flat surface—by using pens or markers. 

This animation style is extremely popular on YouTube with numerous companies taking advantage of it. And since it lets viewers see your brand story or message come into life before their very eyes, it can hook consumers into learning more about what you have to say and offer. 

 

16. Sand Animation

Sand animation involves moving sand around a piece of glass which creates a unique effect when animated (through photographing every movement) because of the contrast it makes.

However, there are only a number of animators who use this animation technique because of the amount of effort required. For one, they need to continuously erase their illustrations to create another scene in the sand. It’s also extremely messy and very time-consuming. Still, if you decide to use it on your marketing campaign, it yields a one-of-a-kind animated video that will blow viewers’ minds away. 

 

17. Paint-on-Glass Animation

Paint-on-glass animation allows the animator to manipulate character or object movements using slow, drying paints (usually oil-based paints) on a glass canvas. 

The animation production process is laborious as it requires the artist to paint on glass, photograph the illustration, then develop another scene. Lastly, these drawings are blended together in post-production to create the final desired animated video.

 

18. Drawn-on-Film Animation

Drawn-on-film animation is exactly how it sounds—illustrating images directly on film stock through etching and scratching. This specific type of animation can also be produced inside a dark room by introducing lights to create shadows on a film reel.

However, since it’s one of the earliest forms of animation, it isn’t commonly used today unless you want to incorporate a classic “film” look in your brand campaigns.

 

19. Pin Screen Animation 

Pin screen animation use movable pins to fill a screen by moving them in and out and pressing another object inside. The screen is then lit from the side which cast shadows from the pins and ultimately create the illusion of movement.

Tip: If you want to cast larger shadows, you can ask the animator to prick the pins deep into the surface of the screen.

However, since the production process is time-consuming and hard to execute, it’s probably one of the least popular types of animation. Fortunately, several animation softwares have been developed to stimulate the pictures generated by a pin screen which ultimately results in an inexpensive and efficient animation style.

 

20. Audio-Animatronics

Audio-Animatronics is a form of robotics animation which is originally owned by Walt Disney Imagineering. It’s created to entertain visitors at various Disney theme parks through the robot’s ability to talk and sense people’s current moods. But because of its capabilities, many other businesses have also adapted this specific robot (named Otto) in their marketing campaigns.

 

21. Experimental Animation 

Experimental animation refers to an animation style that doesn’t follow a specific narrative point or structure. Considered to be subjective, experimental animated films are usually the products of the animators’ spiritual and philosophical beliefs about a specific subject.

Despite this, major animation studios—namely Disney and Pixar—still incorporate the elements of experimental animation in their works. As such, businesses can also use this type of animation in their video marketing campaigns. It gives brands more freedom when it comes to sharing their stories.

 

22. Zoetrope Animation

While not an animation style per se, zoetrope is one of the earliest animation devices used before the era of film. Invented back in 1834 by William George Horner, the illusion of movement is achieved by drawing still illustrations in a drum and turning it in a circular way. 

Today, zoetrope animation is still used to create animated GIFs. When these GIFs are incorporated in your business marketing strategy, it can immediately engage consumers because of their short, direct-to-the-point nature. They are also great for adding humor in your posts which ultimately allows you to build meaningful connections with your customers. Furthermore, visual content—such as GIFs—is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than any other type of content.

ALSO READ: Why You Should Use Animated Commercials for Your Campaign

Using animation for your marketing campaigns can bring many benefits to your business such as an increase in brand awareness and a boost in overall sales. And while there are a vast range of animation styles and techniques that you can use, it’s important to determine your goals and purposes before choosing one.

If you find yourself leaning towards 2D and 3D animation, you’ll be pleased to know that Mustasa Republic, a reputable multimedia company in the Philippines, offer such services. With several years of experience in the industry, we can help you create unique animated videos that can engage your target market and drive profits. Contact us today to learn more!

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