Guide: Choosing an Animation Style
If you’re a business owner, animated explainer videos are a fantastic way to market your product or service and help grow your company! To learn a little more about how an explainer videos can help your business, check out this quick video on 11 reasons to have an animated explainer video.
Coming up with an idea for your animated explainer video can be an overwhelming task, especially when choosing between all the different animation styles. But don't worry, we broke down the top animation styles here to help you make an educated decision!
2D Animations
This type of animation is most common in animated explainer videos. It allows you to tell your company story like a cartoon storybook. It doesn't necessarily have to look "cartoon-y" but can create the world that you envision in an animation to best explain your product or service.
2D animations are flat images that are manipulated to have motion and can include backgrounds, foregrounds, characters, graphic elements, titles, and more. Here is an example of a 2D animation that we created for Christmas!
Here is another example of 2D animation that is perfect for business. In this video, there are a few character elements, but mostly it is an animated infographic. There are some elements of depth that give the effect of 3D animation, but it is mostly 2D animation with compelling voiceover that drives that story.
3D Animations
The other type of animation that is common for animated explainer videos are 3D animations. 3D animations are made up of objects and scenes that are computer generated, allowing the animations to have multiple dimensions, rather than just two.
3D animations are more complex than 2D animations, which means they are usually more pricey and take more time to create. Here is an example of a 3D animation for business. This video tells the story of the evolution of Heinz baked beans in a short animation that is Pixar-esque.
Whiteboard Animations
A whiteboard animation is a fun and different way to talk about your business, blending 2D and 3D animation styles. With Whiteboard animations, there is usually a a hand "drawing" all the graphics that are on the video on a whiteboard, chalk, or paper background. Here's an example of a whiteboard video that explains more on what a whiteboard video can do.
Typography
A typography video is commonly used for many different reasons like music videos, presentations, company announcements, and a variety of other things. Typography videos are animations with words, usually appearing and animating in fun ways. They are usually easy to follow and read along.
Here's an example of a typography video by Apple, launched in 2018. It uses typography in a quick and flashy way to showcase their upcoming products.
Screencast
The last video style in this list is the Screencast video. These videos are great for apps or software looking to explain the features and benefits of their product by using the actual interface.
A great example of a screencast video is this video for the Apple Card- yes, another Apple video, because they do it so well! It takes the interface of their app and uses it to show you what it looks like on an iPhone as someone uses it.
Now that you have a better understanding of different styles companies use for their animated explainer videos, it's a good time to start thinking about which style is best for you!
At The Bear's Den, we love working with small businesses and help make their vision a reality through video. Contact us today to discuss how we can work together to make your video!
