How long does it take to produce an animation? For a number of reasons, animated videos are a great way to sell or convey your message: they can help explain difficult ideas in a fresh way; you can make things that are either impossible to replicate in real life or don’t exist in real life; they have a longer shelf life and are simpler to update than a live-action video.
Most likely, you’re curious about how long it will take to finish. The timeline for making an animated video is covered in this article, along with some things you should think about before starting your next project.
How long does it take to produce an animation?
Briefing, idea generation, scriptwriting, key illustration/concept art, storyboard, illustration, animation, and sound design are a few of the stages that make up the normal 8-week timetable for finishing the full animation production.
Your animation’s success depends on each step of the process. The method’s overarching goal is to realize your creative idea.
A few days will be set aside during the initial preproduction phases for briefing, ideation, script writing, and concept art. Then, the script-writing process takes about a week (voice-over and picture description). Customers’ prompt feedback is essential from the start to keep the project moving forward.
The storyline and illustrations will be completed in the following 7 days, and the illustration itself will take 10–12 days to complete. We can work on the voiceover recording, music, and animatic in the interim. We will need about two weeks to complete the actual animation after the illustrations are ready.
We work on the sound design, SFX, and final render throughout the post-production phase. You will have a high-quality animation that lasts 60 to 90 seconds once the animation process is finished.
Animations can be finished more quickly if time is of concern, but doing so frequently requires a lot of resources and raises the project’s overall cost. However, the project can go twice as quickly if more individuals are involved. Each step will be delivered on time if there is an open line of communication between the client and the design studio.
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Timeline Segments for an Animation
Briefing and creative offer
Creating a creative offer is the first step in creating an animation. Your designers will be better able to understand your goals for the project and take notice of the stylistic components you want to see in your film if you provide them with a clear brief.
The target audience will be taken into account by a well-defined brief, which will aid in concentrating the remainder of the project on the intended demography. A creative offer will be finished in 3–6 days.
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Brainstorming and Script Writing
Following that, the studio will conduct a brainstorming session to realize the client’s concept. Before the rest of the team starts on the concepts, copywriters and art directors collaborate to choose the stylistics for the entire brainstorming process.
The creative team, which consists of animators, illustrators, and art directors, will suggest potential aesthetic elements and creative options to realize your vision.
The script will then be written. Your script will have a significant impact on how your animation is received, whether you’re doing a marketing animation or an emotive story.
The script will describe the entire animation and convey your point. The process of coming up with ideas and drafting the script will take 5-8 days.
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Voice Over
Projects involving narration and/or dialogue will now be given to the VO artists once the script is complete. The voice-over should be recorded as soon as possible. It determines the final effect’s appearance, affecting the animation’s length and rhythm.
This stage takes about 1-3 days to complete, but it can be handled concurrently with the key illustration stage.
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Storyboard
A storyboard will be created after your script has been roughed out to describe the visual elements of the video scene by scene. You will be able to see how the overall framework of the animation is put together, right down to the layout of the scenes and the way the plot develops.
Before the specifics are worked out, you can see a basic outline of the finished product at this point. The majority of storyboards can be completed in 4–7 days.
Key illustration
Key illustrations will begin to depict your message once the foundations of your artistic statement have been established. Prior to being incorporated into the finished project, the key illustration, also known as concept art, strives to produce a rough visual representation of your ideas.
The goal of illustrators and art directors will be to produce crucial illustrations that offer a quick glimpse at the animation studio’s visual concepts.
Your project will have a united visual vision if you use key illustrations, and your designers will be on the same page. This stage of the procedure usually takes 2-4 days to complete.
Animatic
It is an image sequence made up of every frame you have previously seen in the storyboard. They are displayed as a video in an animatic. Usually, we combine it with the music and voiceover recording proposal.
An animatic lets you check the transitions, and evaluate the pace of the scenes, the climax, and the artistic expression of your animation for the first time.
We can work on the animatic and illustrations simultaneously, and it takes about a week to complete.
Illustrations
Your initial key illustration sketches will be turned into comprehensive images once you’ve approved a storyboard that adheres to your brief. Here, the nuances of your character’s appearance and traits will be honed in.
One of the early phases of the realization of your artistic vision will be this one. In about 10 to 12 days, the illustrations will be completed.
Animation
The project’s primary phase, the animation stage, has officially arrived. The design firm will now start producing dynamic animated scenarios using the earlier storyboards and images.
In order to provide character designs and other models with realistic movement and articulation scene by scene, the company will use animation software. It will be necessary to carefully go over each scene to make sure it flows. This may take 12 to 16 days.
Sound design
It’s time to add sound effects and a soundtrack to finish your animation. To add audio to your animation, the design team will employ production software, music, and sound effects.
Your target audience is put in the right mood by good sound design. In 1-3 days, the sound design can be completed.
F.A.Q.s
How long does it take to create a 30-second animation?
It often takes 5 to 15 days, depending on how long the movie is. How much time is required to create a 2D animation? It will take roughly 5 days for a 30-second movie and 15 days for a 2-minute video. Keep in mind that the success of an animation depends on the quality of the graphics and character designs.
Why is 2D animation so time-consuming?
The rendering process is what causes the animation to take so long. After your scene has been animated, it must be rendered out, which is the process of turning your keyframes into a video that can be viewed on any device. While 2D animation can take a lot of time, 3D animation can be on an entirely different level.
How long does it take to create an anime with 12 episodes?
Depending on the production, it could take anywhere between 15 days to roughly a year. Using footage from earlier episodes, they could produce a Sailormoon or Gundam episode in the good old days of stock animation in less than a week. Minor productions, usually kid-friendly anime like Pokemon and Cardfighters, still do that.
Conclusion
So, now you have already known: How long does it take to produce an animation? The 8-week animation process is sufficient to create a premium result that enthralls viewers and effectively conveys your message. There is a narrow line between expediting the animation process and sacrificing your artistic vision.
It can be beneficial to participate in the process and express your needs to the design team in detail because the sooner the animators are aware of the impression you’re trying to achieve, the sooner they can make the necessary adjustments to produce the content you’re seeking for.
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Animost – Vietnam 3D Animation Studio
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