We have seen cartoons and animated movies as children and adults. They are great storytelling mediums and help grab the attention of masses with an ease. With the advent of technology, new methods are being devised to create and project these animations.
Character animation is basically moving illustrations in 2d space where today it is widely used in creating explainer videos, advertisements, short films, etc. The major two types of 2d animation are, Motion Graphics, which is created using vector illustrations which is then imported into animation software and two, Frame by frame animation which is hand drawn and then animated.
Due to the impact they can have on the audiences, businesses have now started experimenting with 2d character animations to explain and showcase their products and services for both, the B2B and B2C markets but is most widely used in B2C because of the interest and awareness that can be created with a unique approach to marketing.
Now-a-days, already made templates are available to quickly create these 2d animations so that a product, its highlights and the specifications can be explained in short and to-the- point manner.
This type of marketing is still not widespread because of the lack of emotional aspect and the amount of time it could require to create a customized 2d character animation of even a few seconds. Also, many products cannot be fitted into this format since it is restricted to create a certain type of theme at a time.
2d Character animated videos are usually used to better advertise financial services, life insurance, payment apps and educational portals.
The major software used in the creation of a 2d character animation are :
Adobe illustrator : Vector illustrations are created by the illustration artist.
Adobe After Effects : Once the vector illustration is created, it is imported into After Effects. Different layers are created and a step-by-step composition according to the head, body and hand movements is separately created. After Effects is a really powerful and industry wide used tool to animate the simplest to the most complex of all 2d characters.
Animaker : This is a, Do It Yourself 2d character animation creator software, used by many independent creators and companies to create explainer videos and advertisements.
Cinema 4D : Which is widely used by VFX artists and game companies to create 3d effects and models, is also used to create 2d animations.
Usually, these animations are created according to the script as the voice overs play an important role in shaping the final output. The illustrations are created according to the script requirements such as, the number of characters involved, the background, the props and other objects to be included. Then it is imported to After Effects as here, separate actions are assigned to the characters according to the voice overs.
Image Source : Freepik.com
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