2D animation is a powerful medium for storytelling, but it can also benefit from the addition of sound effects and music to enhance the mood, emotion, and impact of the visuals. In this article, you will learn how sound effects and music can improve 2D animation storytelling in different ways, and how to use them effectively in your own projects.
Sound effects are the sounds that accompany the actions, events, and environments in your animation. They can help create a sense of realism, immersion, and continuity in your story, as well as emphasize important moments, transitions, and contrasts. For example, sound effects can make your characters more expressive, your settings more vivid, and your action scenes more dynamic. To use sound effects well, you need to consider the timing, volume, quality, and variety of the sounds, and how they match the style and tone of your animation.
Music is the background or foreground sound that sets the mood, emotion, and rhythm of your animation. It can help convey the theme, message, and atmosphere of your story, as well as support the character development, plot progression, and emotional arcs. For example, music can make your scenes more dramatic, humorous, or suspenseful, your transitions more smooth or abrupt, and your endings more satisfying or surprising. To use music well, you need to consider the genre, tempo, melody, and harmony of the music, and how they fit the genre and audience of your animation.
Music in animation is a potent tool. It sets tone instantly and conveys emotions words can't. It syncs with action, heightens suspense, and defines eras. It creates atmosphere and deepens character connections. This synergy is essential for a compelling animation video.
When creating an animation, you can use various types of sound effects and music to achieve a certain purpose and effect. Diegetic sounds originate from sources within the story world, such as dialogue or footsteps, and help establish realism and context. Non-diegetic sounds, which do not belong to the story world, like narration or soundtracks, can create the mood and emotion. Synchronous sounds match the timing and movement of visuals, such as a punch or a crash, to create impact and continuity. Asynchronous sounds, on the other hand, do not match the timing and movement of visuals and can create contrast and tension. Lastly, leitmotifs are recurring musical themes or motifs associated with characters, places, or ideas that help create identity and consistency.
Using sound effects and music effectively in animation requires following some basic principles. Less is more; use sound sparingly and selectively, and avoid overloading or distracting your audience. Quality over quantity: use high-quality sound effects and music that suit the style and tone of the animation. Also, create variety and interest with a variety of sounds. Balance and harmony: balance and harmonize the sound effects and music with the visuals and story of the animation. Avoid sounds that clash or compete with each other or with the visuals. Use sounds that complement each other and the visuals, creating a cohesive soundscape for your animation.
To create or find sound effects and music for your animation, you need to use some tools and resources. Software programs such as Audacity, GarageBand, or FL Studio can help you record, edit, mix, or synthesize sound effects and music. Plugins or libraries like Splice, Kontakt, or Soundtrap can provide ready-made sounds or instruments. Hardware devices like microphones, speakers, headphones, or MIDI controllers can capture, manipulate, or play sound effects and music. Instruments or objects like keyboards, guitars, or percussion can also produce sounds or noises. Online platforms such as Freesound, YouTube, or Spotify can help you find, download, or stream sound effects and music. Online communities such as Reddit, SoundCloud, or Discord can help you share, collaborate, or learn sound effects and music.
Beside all the above you should consider that audio is probably more important than your 2D animation, and I m saying this as a creative, art and animation director. We are "creatures" with imagination and we have the tendency to create associations, what I mean can be explained in this simple example: We listen "Vroom vroom" from outside the window and we think that a fast car is passing by, even if we can not know it, cause we are not actually seeing the car. In film is the same, audio is so strong that can suggest motion, actions and an entire story even if you use just stills, a good example is: La jetée, short from the '62. Next time you need to cut some budget in your production cut the catering not the audio.