5 Ways to Optimize the 2D Animation Production Time

The 2D animation process can be divided into four key stages, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. Although each stage has its unique benefits and challenges, it is only with great attention to detail that this process can be optimized from start to finish. 

Each stage of the 2D animation production process has individual hurdles to overcome. Still, with these five tips on optimizing your time and money in the 2D animation industry, you’ll have no trouble getting your project out on time and within budget.

With so many businesses relying on animations to promote their products and services, they must be of high quality. Fortunately, with today’s emphasis on efficient and cost-effective workflows, making top-notch animations isn’t difficult.

Here are five ways to optimize your production time while still delivering an outstanding result.

• Plan your approach

Before starting work on any production, it’s important to develop a strong plan and clear vision of what you want your end product to look like. In the case of short films or corporate videos, it means coming up with creative storyboards. For an animated explainer video, it could mean working out how many characters you need and what they’ll say or do in each scene. Outsourcing 2D animation services to a reputed provider can help you get professional assistance.

• Draw storyboards

Drawing storyboards can help you figure out how long your final video will be and what scenes you’ll need to create. Storyboarding also helps avoid wasted time by allowing you to figure out beforehand if certain storylines work. If they don’t, you can rework them or cut them altogether because every second counts when it comes to telling a compelling story with animation! The more work you put into planning, the less time you’ll waste down the line.

• Block out key poses

By planning key poses, you’ll be able to produce a sequence with fewer drawings and less production time. Once you’ve blocked out your key poses, you can add secondary and complementary poses that help further define the movement. Think of it as building blocks for animation—once you have your foundation in place, it becomes easier to build on top of it.

This technique is useful when animating sports or action sequences. For example, if you were animating a character running across the screen, it would be helpful to identify what parts of their body should be in motion at any given moment: arms pumping forward? Chest forward? Legs? Where are they leaning into each step? What part of their foot hits first when they run downstairs? Identifying these key moments helps ensure everything moves smoothly from one frame to another. 

• Use a good, flexible, and reliable rig

Using a rig is essential to produce animation precisely and accurately. Having access to good rigging tools will help you complete the work that much faster, no matter your goal. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are in animation if you can’t show your talent. Investing in great rigging tools can help you achieve more with less time spent on production.

With so many options available, choosing a reliable graphic design services provider may seem overwhelming.

The most important thing to consider when choosing a rig is whether or not it fits your project’s needs and requirements. While most rigs offer similar features such as bone structure, control curves, facial controls, etc., each comes with its own unique set of characteristics depending on its target market and user base. For example, if you are working on an indie short film, you probably don’t need a rig that offers full-body deformation options since your character will be sitting down for most of the movie. 

• Record voice-overs before the animation

Fixing animation in post-production leads to a lot of waste of time. Recording voice-overs before animation saves time and money while adding consistency to your animations. If you’re creating an explainer video or a series of videos for an online course, consider recording all of your voice-overs first to create video after video without worrying about the audio quality. You’ll be surprised how much time you save by doing so!

With so many businesses relying on animations to promote their products and services, they must be high quality. Fortunately, with today’s emphasis on efficient and cost-effective workflows, making top-notch animations isn’t difficult.

To Conclude

Hiring a company that offers creative design services has several advantages. These providers are experts in their fields, having designed and created animations for many different businesses and companies. They understand how to make visuals interesting, understandable, and easy to watch, making them a valuable asset for business owners.