How can you create timeless, relevant animations?

In my experience, the secret sauce for timeless animation boils down to a few key ingredients. Start with an epic tale and characters as relatable as your quirky neighbors. Make sure your visuals are more than just eye candy; they should be integral to the story. Innovate technologically, but don't let it overshadow the emotional core of your work. Mix in humor and sentiment like you're crafting a fine cocktail. Focus on quality like it's going out of style, because in a timeless animation, it won't. Lastly, keep your themes universal and don't shy away from revisions based on feedback. Voilà, you're on your way to creating something memorable.

To create timeless, relevant animations, establish a clear purpose, considering message, audience, and emotions. Embrace universal themes, quality design, and animation techniques. Balance innovation with classic elements while staying updated on industry trends. This ensures enduring and impactful animations.

Timeless animation comes from the timeless stories we can tell through it. A production can possess beautiful artwork, incredible worlds, and diverse characters. But if the story doesn't contain themes with depth, relatable and realistic scenarios, or the messaging of a frontier that pushes us to look within ourselves and regard the world around us, it is essentially worthless. You can produce a fa?ade of charm, but if there is no substance to support that illusion, the work will be forgotten and it will fail to be regarded as "Timeless."

Visual storytelling, such as animation, has the ability to convey stories that are best told through timeless narratives. Therefore, to create a timeless animation, one must consider transcending cultural boundaries and incorporate universal themes such as love, relationships (human to human, human to animal, human to object, etc.), and stories with inspirational endings to be considered timeless. Character simplicity and the use of simple colors are also important aspects to consider in classic animation. For instance, 2D animations like Tom and Jerry have stood the test of time and remain popular even after decades.

Over my years in the animation production field, I've learnt that what makes animation timeless is how it connects with the audience and how the viewer relates to the story. For a lot of people, the first time we ever consumed any content it was in animated form. This takes us back to cartoons we grew up watching and the feelings of nostalgia they left us with. We create timeless animations by revisiting our childhood and capturing the essence of storytelling from a childlike/playful perspective. And this will also inspire your style of animation, and your imagination.

Absolutely, discovering and developing your unique animation style is crucial. Experiment with various techniques, tools, and genres to find what resonates with your personality and purpose. Adapt your style to suit your intended audience and project goals, whether it's realistic 3D or whimsical 2D animation.

Creating your own style is an important task for a unique timeless animation. Realizing the power of your style and properly managing its individuality help you to stay in people's minds. At the same time, the experiment should be part of the time in which it will be released. Identity will help you to be more recognizable and confident in your abilities, because it is your brainchild. Understandable to people style - become automatically closer, and unusual leads to elevated thoughts - the main thing is to be able to hold the bar. Overweighing in either direction can lead to a breakdown of expectations.

The search for a personal style is perhaps the journey that connects all artists, regardless of the medium. As a general rule, mastering the fundamentals and the constant search for expanding the visual and cultural repertoire are the pillars for developing your own style.

Mastering animation fundamentals is paramount. Understand principles like timing, spacing, and storytelling basics such as plot and character development. This knowledge is the bedrock of creating compelling and expressive animations, regardless of your chosen style.

Learning and mastery of the fundamentals of animation are essential to creat quality work in the field of animation. This doesn't mean that everything we'll produce needs to be "Disney Style", but rather that we have a broad and consistent understanding of the visual decisions and animation style of each project. Animator David O'Reilly reinforces this by saying that the most important aspect of any animation is coherence.

Like building a house, you need a strong foundation, which in animation are principles like timing, spacing, and squash and stretch. These basics give animation life and make it feel natural. Storytelling, with engaging characters and a compelling plot, is also crucial. Without it, animation may look good but lack impact. Focus on mastering these fundamentals through observation, practice and application to create believable, strong and memorable animation.

The simpler the storyline, the simpler the illustration-style, and the simpler (and minimal) the words... The more timeless your animation will be.

Absolutely, simplicity is essential in creating enduring and relevant animations. Eliminate unnecessary details, distractions, and maintain focus on the core message. Clear, concise, and consistent visuals enhance understanding, making animations more memorable and impactful. <3

Part of the action should be simple ideas that everyone can understand. Ideas that can build up the hearts of both youths and adults regardless of time. Short or easy to understand way - will help to bring out of the maze of complex ideas while maintaining animation. Simplicity is ready to express your or the character's thought more intelligently. To indicate how simple but accurate it is.

While I agree on sending a clear message, I don't totally agree with keeping the whole production simple. Instead, I believe that focusing on small details can enforce the message or carry a hidden message. This can be achieved through a variety of means, such as character design, background art, sound effects, key visuals, and even composition and camera angles. All of these elements can carry subtle cues that can influence the subconscious and stimulate the viewer's intuitions. Here are some examples : Spiderman across the Spider-verse - Attack on Titan - howl’s moving castle -Rick and Morty -love, death robots

Being clear, direct and objective is essential in communication, and animation is no exception. This does not mean that the animation needs to be simplistic to the point of compromising its quality.

Timeless to me, is keeping the themes and the overall message of the story front and center. Stay away from pop culture references as this can date your project quickly. I worked on a show where a computer hacker type character had a fidget spinner. This scene now stands out to me so much.

Being original is related to your visual and cultural universe. The broader and more diverse it is, your critical and creative capacity will be favored and may lead to the creation of more original animation works.

To achieve timelessness, prioritize emphasizing the overarching themes and core message of the story. Steer clear of incorporating pop culture references, as these can swiftly date your project. Reflecting on a past experience, I recall working on a show featuring a computer hacker character wielding a fidget spinner. In retrospect, this scene stands out vividly as a reminder of the potential pitfalls of incorporating trendy elements that may quickly lose relevance.

Indeed, originality is crucial for timeless and relevant animations. Avoid clichés and stereotypes, and express your unique perspective. This authenticity leads to distinct, impactful animations that stand the test of time. So Yes "Be original" :)

Regardless of the time, the key is originality. The uniqueness factor will allow you to make it very clear - you have never seen anything like it before. You can create something absolutely unprecedented, you can introduce originality in your work. Small advances (creativity) for the viewer can be a string playing on the notes of the soul. Just like a big splash that touches everyone with the thought, "Wow, what was that?"

I want to offer this exercise. Watch "Shark Tales" and "Finding Nemo". Write down what is similar in both these films. Then outline what sets them apart. Would you consider both these films timeless? If not, how does one succeed in this task and one does not. I would love to see everyone's thoughts in the comments!

Acquire a solid understanding of animation fundamentals before innovatively bending them to enhance storytelling. Maintain a distinct vision for the animation's intended message. Seek a style that aligns seamlessly with the story's purpose. Prioritize simplicity in conveying complexity, and introduce a novel, fresh, and unique element to elevate the animation.

Master the fundamentals of animation then after that you can break it in the best way to serve the story. Have a clear vision of what you want to convey from the animation. Finding the relevant style that serve the purpose of the story. Keep it simple Bring something new, fresh, and unique to the animation.

Probably another unpopular POV; Is not really possible. Animation for how free it could be is still a child of its time, from all the socio-cultural factors which happen while it gets developed and influence the director and all the team. the topics, yes, those could probably be timeless. So not stories about one specific event, a place, a person, but stories about the human condition, the big questions which spin around life and existence. All those stories which touched ppl during the centuries, stories about those questions we don't have answers for, but just speculations.

"How can you create timeless/relevant animation"? Well, the first step is to be human. Relevance is based on creating meaning and providing value, in one of two ways: 1) Fostering connection through reframing shared experiences, and showing people that superficial differences are only skin-deep. Below the surface we're all the same, and we are better off when we recognize that. 2) Exposing people to universal ideas that maybe their culture or upbringing did not include, resulting in a stronger bond between them and those around them, and a greater understanding of those who might appear different at first glance. We're all on the same planet together. Relevance begets timelessness. Now is the time for us to get on the same page.

? It's tricky to create a truly timeless animation. a major issue being most animation is created on a timeline and follows a very liner format, and often has a timecode attached. Something to perhaps to consider then is collaborating with 4th or even 5th dimensional beings. Us being 3rd dimensional residents, there's no limitations when crafting something 2 dimensional, heck I do it every day. I'm sure a higher being would have no troubles creating something out of time. Failing that I'm sure some hopped up art student could figure out something weird and experimental.

Fully embracing the latest animation techniques or styles could compromise the timeless essence of a project. Opting for a more minimalist, personalized, and stylized approach, with a focus on storytelling over hyper-realism, has the potential to yield animations that endure over time. Similar to the realm of movies, animations that withstand the test of time and appeal to multiple generations often possess the quality of inviting viewers to project their own stories and realities onto them. This interactive and interpretive element contributes to the lasting impact of the animation, creating a space for personal connections that transcend the era of creation.