Animation has to do with motion. Before the coming of cartoons on TV, there were no such animation. Animation involves making motion graphics and this is becoming an integral part of graphic design. There are certain tips that can help you animate your graphic design to make it more entertaining and suitable for your audience. Animation can be a fantastic way to tell stories. They are trending on social media. Animation have been around for up to a decade. The tips below help you animate your design.
What animations do?
Animations tell a particular story or say one thing or the other. Such stories can include animated images, kinetic text or both of them, which can be 3D or 2D. You can add animation to a video. Motion graphics are videos that contain more animations. The following steps will help you create an animation.
One: Write a storytelling script
A storyboard does not begin a motion graphic, like an animation, a story written on on script does. A script is a more comprehensive way to get to story meant for animation. In as much as animations are short, writing scripts is still necessary. Answer these questions to get your story.
- What emotions do I want for my audience?
- What do I want to tell them, or teach them or want to tell them to do or remember?
- Who do I want to communicate with?
Note the word count as you write the script. Be simple in writing your script. Be clear. Motion lets you tell the story in various ways. This is different from static infographics in which you use copy and graphics to tell your story. Use the following mediums to craft your story.
a) Visuals only mediums
You can make a compelling graphics, without adding text. Get the necessary approval for the script.
b) Voiceover and kinetic
Combining visualisation and voiceover well is nice for visualising data.
c) Kinetic text onscreen
You can use text in motion to tell a story in a place like trade shows, especially where the option for sound is not available. People have to read with more attention, when they read a kinetic text.
d) Voiceover
Marketing involves finding a voice for your brand. Voiceover lets you do that. Onscreen animation follows a Voiceover. However avoid over-scripting. Animated data is an effective way of sharing information efficiently on your screen.
Two: Visualise the script in a storyboard
This is the next phase after drafting your script. Bring the visuals and scripts together to arrive at a final product. You can begin your storyboarding sessions with your production team and design. This can involve a sketch artist, producer and script writer. You may sketch out frames and review them before you begin.
Three: Design your story boards
You can use color to communicate style and create visual projects. Note that you can translate your story boards to become designs, this is after sketching out the right details. It is suitable for the person that sketched to be the one who designed. Write visual notes and let your production team review them before animating.
Four: Animation
Consider these when animating:
- Style: Make your story move from one phase to another and make it comprehensive. Be simple with this.
Timing: Don’t be too rushy with your animation and don’t be too slow either. Keep it at a reasonable pace. Use variations to make it exciting.
Sound effects: You can add sound effects. Adding sound effects enhances your animation, but what improves the value of your project, without moving away from the point.
Music: You can add some music too. Music can influence tone, fill up gaps and improve the mood of your story.
