2D animation means the visual movement of objects and characters within a two-dimensional space. 2D animation is limited to the movement in the right, left, up, and down directions. These limitations create the impression of width and height but not depth. The key is to depict the characters, objects, and visual scenes with artistic skill. It’s a creative process that involves making a series of images and frames, which are then combined to give the illusion of motion. There are various styles of 2D animation, each with its unique characteristics and providing various possibilities for storytelling. This blog provides detailed information about the best 2D animation styles.
1. Whiteboard Animation
The whiteboard animation first appeared in 2009 and is still widely used by animators to make 2D animation videos. It is a style of 2D animation where the artist hand-draws the content on a white background or whiteboard. This means that, with the help of videos, the artist can explain the content by making simple drawings that appear on the whiteboard along with the voiceover. This process effectively explains the concept of the video. It’s a great way to communicate complex information effectively.
The whiteboard animation includes the hand that is doing the illustration. The whiteboard animations are black and white and are primarily used in explainer videos. This style is a pre-made process for making 2D animation videos, often used for learning and explanatory purposes.
2. Infographics Animation
An Infographic is a style of 2D animation that visually presents the content’s information through a combination of illustrations, graphs, text, imagery, and other animated elements. This engaging and straightforward style effectively shares facts, statistics, numbers, and other visuals to capture the viewers’ attention.
Infographic animations are commonly used to share insights engagingly for educational and corporate purposes. The infographic animations, such as GIF videos, can be shared in various manners and are easily linkable.
3. Cutout Animation
Cutout animation is also known as stop-motion animation. This style originated in the 18th century when shadow theatres were famous. In this style, the characters are made using cardboard, photographs, or paper and then layered together to create the illusion of movement.
Nowadays, this animation style is made with the help of software, and scanned prototypes are replacing paper characters. Cutout animation is commonly used in the production of cartoons, and animated movies such as South Park cartoons are made by using this 2D animation. It provides a high degree of control over the animated characters’ color, shape, and size.
4. Typography Animation
Typography animation is also known as kinetic Typography. It is a style of 2D animation that originated in 1899. This style is commonly used to present statistics and other information engagingly to the viewers.
It is an effective e-learning and employee training style, offering an alternative to lengthy, monotonous lectures. Typography animation is a powerful way to communicate a message or explain a concept while keeping the engagement of the viewers.
5. Motion Graphics
Motion graphics originated in 1960 and has become one of the most popular animation styles in video content. It is an animation style that blends 2D animation with graphic design. This type of video animates the graphic design text and elements in a bold and engaging manner. This type of animation is often used for websites and marketing campaigns.
Moreover, as we can see, motion graphics are everywhere, such as in making games, movies, commercial advertisements, promotional videos, storytelling videos, and explainer videos. Overall, it is a style of 2D animation that can solve any marketing project.
6. Hand Drawn Animation
Hand drawn animation is one of the classic animation style of our favorite classic cartoon. One of the best animation example is Disney princess movie. Snow white Cinderella, Sleeping beauty are all example of classic hand drawn animations. To make a hand drawn animation video, an animator needs to draw every single aspect and detail of the character and background.
Then the animator re-draw everything in the same way. This sequence series of frames made by animator then show one by one that displays a smooth movement. Overall, the animator need to draw every single animation by hand to make a hand drawn animation.
7. Stop Motion Animation
Stop motion animation is an engaging animation technique that involves bringing life on the screen through inanimate objects. The process of making stop motion animation begins with pre-production, where the story, characters and setting of the animation are developed. Next, the animators design and build the puppets and set by using materials like clay, wood or metal.
The animation involves the posing the puppets in precise positions, capturing the frames and then making a small adjustment to the puppets before capturing the next frame. This process is repeated hundreds even thousands of times to make the illusion of the movement. Stop motion animation has also been used in television, advertisement and music videos.