COMMISSIONING ANIMATION

[gtranslate]

Commissioning illustration or animation can be simple. 

Please have a look at my guide below so we can get the best out of your project.

1. Know what you want

By this, I mean, know how long the animation needs to be AND specifically what you want it for. 

2. Be clear about what style you like

Would you like a custom style which we can develop together? Something unique? Great. Collect some images that inspire you and we can go from there.

If you only want to copy someone else’s work, we will not be a good creative match. 

3. What comes next?

We talk!  We have a conversation,  and share ideas and try to move the project into production. Simple.

If you have never made an animation before, please read on, to understand what is involved. Thank you.

4. What does production involve?

This can vary depending on the complexity of the animation. But there are always these general steps.

Pre production

  1. Character design
  2. storyboard
  3. possible voice record / guide track

Production

  1. character and set creation
  2. animation

Post-production

  1. sound and edit
  2. export for various formats

5. How much does it cost?

Again this can vary depending on the complexity of the animation.

Some people are surprised by the price. But consider this. Each second is either 12 or 25 images, each one planned and considered carefully.

Different styles can cost different prices.

Generally, the more things there are to animate, the more complicated the process, so therefore, it takes longer, and costs more. It’s all fairly logical.

Here is a general guide:

STYLE GUIDE

Style A: 2.5 D

This style is a lot of fun and a great way to directly translate a 2D design into moving images.

I call this 2.5D animation because it is created using flat shapes in 3D space. It’s my personal favourite!

It can be the fast too, but it needs careful planning due to it’s viewing angles. Not sure what I mean? Take a look at the video below.

Play Video

Click video to see the mechanics behind the image above.

He looks like he’s built in 3D but it’s just clever perspective in the drawing. He was built to be photographed from the angle we see him. There is no option to change the angle afterwards. This is what I mean by careful planning.

This is generally in the region of 200euro a second for a completed animation. This includes all production stages excluding sound recording.

Does that sound expensive to you? Consider all the stages in the production and you’ll soon understand that it’s a very reasonable price.

And it’s a lot of fun. You’ll enjoy it too. Let’s do it!

Style B: 3D Toon rendered

This is 3D animation in disguise. It’s made by creating 3D models, rigging and animating them, then in the final stages they are rendered using a technique which makes them appear very different from a typical 3D image.

The wonderful thing about this style is the versatility, as the character and scenes can be photographed from any angle, but can be rendered to look flat. A great way to tell a longer story.

This is generally in the region of 300euro a second for completed animation. This includes all production stages excluding sound recording.

If this is what you want then let’s get started!

Style C: Full 3D

This is all singing, all dancing, (literally) 3D animation. 

It’s very time intensive through each stage. Full rigs, lots of painted textures, lighting and special techniques. The fur on that bunny took hours just to render one frame.

To get complicated animation like this produced you need time, or a bigger team which of course costs. Your end result however is a stunning piece of 3D animation you can be very proud of. Worth every penny. 

This can be anything in the region of 500euro a second for final animation, up to, well, the sky is the limit with this one if you start adding dragons and battle scenes and fur… 

If this is what you want, then that’s great! We just need to plan it stage by stage. Let’s start.

Style D: 2D hand-drawn digital

Hand-drawn or rotoscoped, painted techniques and moving line work. This is 2D digital animation.

This is labour intensive, but high on the creative spectrum. With this technique you can go anywhere in the world and is great for abstract flights of fancy, illustrating conversations and handling sensitive subjects. 

Each second of animation needs between 12 and 25 hand drawn images to help it to flow so that’s where the budget goes. 

Imagine a finished drawing takes 10 minutes. You can make 6 in an hour. In an 8 hour day one person can create 48 drawings or 4 seconds of film at 12fps. And that’s just the animation stage.

This technique is usually in the region of  150 euro a second to 300 euro a second, depending on the precision of the finish  ( how long one drawing takes) and, as always the number of characters and different elements required. This includes all production stages excluding sound recording.

It’s a wonderful way to work and your final product will have an extremely unique feel.

If this is what you would like for your story, then let’s chat!

Sign up to my newsletter!

No ham spam I promise! Just blogs, news, and occasional freebies!

By subscribing to this newsletter you agree to my privacy policy. I NEVER sell your data to anyone. You can unsubscribe at any time.

error: Content is copyright protected Dotti Colvin 2024