What are the best ways to make your animations engaging and visually appealing?

Knowing your audience is crucial for creating animations that not only attract but also communicate effectively. This involves understanding their tastes, expectations, and cultural context. As a post-production specialist, I've seen that tailoring the style, tone, and content of the animation to the audience ensures not just their attention but also their appreciation and respect. A great animation speaks directly to its audience.

Some pointers I find really useful when creating visuals for animations is to develop a compelling story or concept that resonates with your audience - the people you intend to reach with your animation. A well-crafted narrative keeps viewers engaged and interested in the animation. Knowing the purpose of the animation is also crucial - whether it's for entertainment, education, or marketing, clarity in your objectives and messaging helps maintain your viewer's interest.

Understanding your audience is a crucial aspect when crafting an animated short, yet I view animation not merely as a medium for catering to a specific audience, but as an art form that possesses boundless potential. It serves as a canvas teeming with endless creative possibilities. Weaving together the tapestry of art, design and music, one can create a harmonious symphony that captivates any observer. Embracing animation not solely as an extension of cinema but also as a conduit for showcasing art allows us to transcend conventional boundaries, defying rules and ratios. In doing so, every animation becomes a masterpiece, appealing to a diverse audience and fostering a deep appreciation for the medium itself.

I totally agree with it! When it comes to creating animations, knowing your audience is crucial. Understanding who you're making the animation for helps you tailor your style, tone, and message to their expectations and preferences. It allows you to create content that resonates with them and captures their attention. By considering their needs, you can create animations that are engaging, relatable, and visually appealing to your audience. So, knowing your audience is definitely an important perspective when it comes to animation! ????

When "Troy" was released I saw a screening for non-westerns. At one of the peak drama moments, Brad's Pitt character Achilles, got a slap from his mother. BUT the entire theatre burst in laugh. Obviously that scene didn't land as expected for THIS audience. Knowing your audience is one of the key requirements for any successful storytelling - especially in animation as its so imaginative! In order to convey any story and to create relatable characters the storyteller has to know with whom he's communicating. Otherwise, how can one connect with the audience?:) That's exactly what happened in that Troy screening. It wasn't made for that audience. There's no perfect story, there's a perfect match between storytelling and an audience!:)

Oh, if you don't plan ahead -don't get into animation! Animation is such an imaginative and boundless realm, any creator can easily lose control over crucial storytelling elements such as tone of voice, pacing, humor and more. This is why you should really plan ahead story, and production. Storyboarding is imperative for animation. Unlike in live-action where storyboards use as a reference, in animation storyboards are an integral part of the animation itself. It allows you to have control and to foresee the next production steps. So, if you're starting any animation, save time and effort and plan out your story!

Absolutely! Planning the story is a crucial step in animation. It helps you create a cohesive and engaging narrative that will captivate your audience. A well-structured story with interesting characters, conflict, and resolution can make your animation more compelling and memorable. It's important to consider the pacing, character development, and visual storytelling techniques to effectively convey your message. So, I completely agree with this that story planning plays a vital role in creating impactful animations!

Creating a mood board is also a good way to make your animation more visually impactful. A mood board A mood board is a visual tool that helps express and organize ideas for a creative project. It consists of a collection of images, text, colors, materials and other elements that represent the concept, style and mood of your animation.

story, as Dan says, and Character. Character is not just about the dialogue, but motivation, and how they react to everything in the world and how they drive their own story - so this is as much visual as anything. We love Shrek because, green ogre or not, his funny, loveable face expresses everything we empathise with. Fall in love with a character and you will follow them anywhere

Once you know your audience it gets easier to plan your story. It's true until you start researching. There are plenty of ways to tell your story. One most important thing to keep in mind is that our cognitive ability is versatile. Some of us catch the words, some images and some catch the sound better. Animation is syncing all of these together. So plan accordingly where you can use words that will compliment the other parts so the audience engages better. Same with the other two aspects.

Yes. But, knowing when not to use them is just as important. Want someone to look robotic, don't use overlap or arcs. I deploy the principles in execution, but I also use them as a troubleshooting device. If a performance looks off, I run through the 12 and ask myself, is it using arcs, or do I need squash and stretch... Deeply understanding these 12 principles will allow any animator to adapt to any style of animation. Limited, full, indy/ choppy. Cause no matter the style, a person can use the 12 principles to reverse engineer the motion.

Beginner animators-- and even some seasoned ones!-- can forget their principles often. Arcs, overlap, and exaggeration seem like minor additions, but they do all the heavy lifting in any impressive animation you've seen. Don't worry about making your animation "realistic"- make it *art*.

Learning the principles by heart is the key to the best animation. You then can play with it. Use, twist and break the principles as your story demands.

Siempre que veo o doy clases sobre los 12 principios de la animación me maravillo muchísimo, son muy útiles y es difícil estudiarlos por separado. Realmente están muy relacionados entre sí y les dan mucha vida a las animaciones. Me parece que así sea animación 2D frame by frame, 3D o stop motion los principios siempre están presente y debes tomarlos en cuenta a la hora de animar.

I disagree with this. The 3rd step would be to start designing. Styleframes, characters, environments. Who are the drivers to tell your story? From a character perspective- Who are they? What is their history? What do they need to achieve? Design with that in mind. Animation/performance comes later.

Your story will dictate which colors you use. Create a color script, go through your script and scene by scene create small thumbnails (like storyboards) but you are only focusing on colors. The Incredibles do a great job of this. The "Yester-years". The colors are bright, when we come back to the present, Bob's office is dull, monochromatic, muddy whites, grays. The Neighborhood is grey, the Par's house is warm browns, but still on the dull side.

Evidemment, tous ces conseils ont du sens. Mais je remarque qu'à force de bon sens et de bonnes pratiques commerciales, trop souvent, la créativité et l'originalité disparaissent. Il y a une forme de professionnalisme qui détruit toute forme artistique en animation ou dans le cinéma, j'entends par là un formatage qui permet à des artisans de l'industrie de trouver facilement leur place au sein d'un système de production fatigué et radoteur. Le professionnalisme est devenu l'aptitude à donner exactement ce qu'une industrie frileuse et des clients trop souvent aux manettes créatives attendent d'eux.

A good way to choose good colors is to do visual research, which is a way of seeking inspiration and references for your animation project. Search for visual references that relate to your theme and genre. You can seek inspiration from other animations, films, books, comics, art, photography, etc. See what colors, shapes, textures, perspectives and movements are used to create different effects and sensations. The images you select can show you which color combinations work well, which shapes are best suited to your characters and settings, which textures create different sensations, which perspectives enhance your space and which movements are most dynamic and expressive.

Mucho muy importante, trabajar bien las paletas, los colores, saturación, hay paginas que nos facilitan el trabajo como Adobe Color, que incluso son super entretenidas y uno suele pasar mucho tiempo jugando a probar distintas paletas! Pruébalo te lo recomiendo!

Color theory is also important to know as an animator. That way, your characters can look more presentable and appealing to your audience. The colors of the characters and/or props should not clash with the colors of the background. For me, selecting the best color for my characters can, at times, be difficult, but it’s fun at the same time.

Para quem n?o trabalha com anima??o pode parecer que existe um exagero no polimento e na aten??o com os detalhes que cada cena tem. Mas mesmo quem n?o entende de anima??o ao comparar a mesma cena com e sem os polimentos finais, é nítida a diferen?a e a melhora, mesmo a pessoa n?o tendo ideia do que mudou na vers?o final.

Os detalhes dentro de uma anima??o est?o relacionados à todos os departamentos. N?o se limitando apenas ao que se vê. Gosto muito do Visual Storytelling, pois ele engloba a constru??o de uma história narrada silenciosamente. A disposi??o de objetos de forma inteligente é uma maneira, mas também existem outras: Varia??es de cor acompanhando o viés narrativo; Ilumina??o direcionada para guiar o olhar; Formas dominantes presentes no enquadramento, seja no cenário ou nos próprios personagens; Silhueta; Linguagem fotográfica, etc. Meu ponto aqui é que os detalhes n?o se limitam apenas aos poros da pele de um personagem ou pedrinhas de poeira no ch?o. Na verdade, o detalhamento contribui para a constru??o de profundidade e propósito da obra.

Dicen que en los detalles está Dios, me parece que es importante todo lo que menciona. Pero todo depende del estilo de animación que se desea realizar. Si se desea hacer hiper realista es importante preocuparse de las iluminación y sombras, en cambio si es más experimental otros detalles serán necesarios. Me parece que un trabajo de animación siempre es un desafío a nuestras capacidades y que es importante experimentar.

Yes , By creating animations with intricate details, you can capture your audience’s attention and keep them engaged with your work , that’s what separates professionals from hobbyists.

Mirar y mirar y volver a mirar los trabajos para encontrar detalles, pulirlos y mejorarlos es fundamental, otra cosa fundamental es que todo debe fluir seguir el estilo de animación elegido!

The best animations start with the well executed scripts. Get the script as concise as possible first, even before you create animation concepts. Test the script, don't wait to test the animation - too much time could be wasted. Animation is at its best when it clearly conveys a message with the fewest words possible.

If we are talking about an animated series with a budget prepared for audience testing, this would be an important step to take. Audience tests are usually carried out when the first episodes of a first season are finished. They are carried out this way so that there is time to adjust something at any other stage without many extra costs. But when we are talking about a feature film or a short film, tests can generally only be done when the film is ready. And if any adjustments need to be made, it will certainly cost more to fix, depending on the type of adjustment. There are also tests during the process, and this happens through specialized consultancy. I always think this is the most efficient way.

Artwork does not often get created in a perfect linear timeline. Things evolve and get shaped with iteration. In animation, I often block things out several times and experiment to find the look I am after. You see a similar process with painters and sculptors. Be comfortable testing lots, and throwing away concepts that don’t work to tell your story.

This is also a very important step. Once you’ve finished animating your scenes, be sure to test them, just to get the same look and feel you got in the animatic. Very important! But, since this is the final animation, you want to make you’ve applied the right principles in the right place, just to see if your animation is very sophisticated and entertaining. That’s where the true quality lies in-the performance! This is mentioned in “The Animator’s Survival Kit” by Richard Williams and “The Illusion of Life” by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

Gostaria de pensar nesse tópico do ponto de vista do profissional que está na produ??o... Como você sendo um animador vai saber o seu potencial se n?o fizer tentativas? é muito vantajoso no ambito do crescimento pessoal de um profissional da área que ele busque o além dos seus limites técnicos e que também busque feedback para entender se está no caminho desejado.

Use the right tools: Have you ever had a feeling that you know what you are doing but somehow the delivery is not projecting your ideas? It can be frustrating really! Having the right tools to execute your scripts and intentions can go a long way to make your animation more appealing to the viewers. In my early days in the animation career, I learned that having the right tools for delivery is as important as all what you know about the project. I hope someone finds this helpful

KISS. Keep it simple stupid. We sometimes want to polish too much and overcomplicate things just keep it simple and eligant. If you know your limitations work to exceed it. To allow your simple skills to one day become your master skills.

Observe, Draw, Repeat! I could not see the emphasis on observing and drawing mentioned in any of the contributions so far therefore I decided to put in my words. Animation is all about the ability to create visualisation. Unless you own good observation skills back with continuous practice of drawing it is not possible to achieve quality

Take your time , every single detail of your work is important , even if it’s not noticeable. The little details adds beauty to your work , it’s what makes you different and pushes you forward

One thing I've learnt with experience is that you can go on editing, erasing, creating to make your animation better but it's never enough. What can you do? You have to put a deadline. What you can do in that time, is your final project. Evaluate it later. In the next projects you will not make the same error. This is how your skill gets better, not just one work.