What’s the most exciting thing about digital art today? For many, it’s the versatility and creativity that 2D animation brings to the table.
Whether you’re an artist or a brand looking to captivate your audience, 2D animation can be a game changer. But why is it so powerful?
Think about it from your perspective – you want to create something that resonates, something that moves your audience, quite literally.
Static, 2D graphics are great, but in a digital world full of distractions, adding that layer of motion and storytelling can be the difference between blending in or standing out.
This guide will dive into the essentials of 2D animation in digital art, showing you why it’s not just about movement, but about creating impact.
Let’s explore how to make your visuals unforgettable.
What is 2D Animation?
At its core, 2D animation is the art of creating movement in a two-dimensional space. It’s like watching a flipbook come to life.
Animators draw individual frames, and when these frames are played in rapid sequence, it creates the illusion of motion.
This technique has been around for decades, with famous examples like Disney’s Snow White and Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.
But here’s the catch – today’s 2D animation isn’t limited to hand-drawn frames on paper. Thanks to modern technology, we now have digital tools that make the process more efficient, versatile, and accessible.
Key Elements of 2D Animation
Before diving into the animation process, it’s crucial to understand the foundational components that make up 2D animation.
These elements work together to create the illusion of motion and bring your characters, scenes, and stories to life.
1. Frames
At the heart of 2D animation are frames—the individual static images that, when played in quick succession, create the appearance of continuous movement.
Think of each frame as a single snapshot of an action. When these snapshots are strung together, they simulate motion, much like a flipbook.
Frame Rate
The number of frames displayed per second is called the frame rate.
Commonly, animations are created at 24 frames per second (FPS), meaning 24 individual images (or frames) are shown every second.
The higher the frame rate, the smoother the motion appears. However, creating more frames takes significantly more time and effort.
Full Animation vs. Limited Animation
Full animation refers to highly detailed movement with a frame rate close to 24 FPS, as seen in classic Disney films like The Lion King. In contrast, limited animation uses fewer frames per second, often repeating frames to economise work.
An example of limited animation would be older cartoons like The Flintstones or Scooby-Doo, where certain movements (like walking or talking) are simplified to save time.
Beginners can start with a lower frame rate, such as 12 FPS, and still create a visually appealing animation. This reduces the workload while keeping the action fluid.
2. Timing
In animation, timing is the length of time each frame is shown, influencing the movement’s rhythm and speed. The audience’s impressions of the action and feeling in your animation depend much on the timing of your frames.
Fast vs. Slow Movements
When frames are displayed for a shorter amount of time, the movement appears faster, giving a sense of urgency or excitement.
Conversely, when frames are held longer, the motion slows down, conveying weight, lethargy, or anticipation.
Emotional Expression
Also influencing the emotional tone of a scene is timing. For example, leisurely, flowing motions represent peace or grace; fast, abrupt motions can suggest anxiousness or stress.
While in more tragic times slower tempo lets the spectator absorb the character’s feelings, in battle sequences fast movements may heighten excitement.
Example: In My Neighbor Totoro by Studio Ghibli, the timing of Totoro’s slow, heavy breathing after he falls asleep communicates his large size and calm, gentle nature. A faster pace wouldn’t have had the same emotional impact.
3. Keyframes
Keyframes are the critical frames where major actions or poses occur in your animation. These are the starting points and endpoints of movement, laying the groundwork for the overall sequence.
Defining Motion
Keyframes define the extremes of a movement. For example, in a walk cycle, the keyframes might show the character’s legs fully extended in both forward and backward positions.
Once these key positions are established, animators can work on the frames that fill in the gaps (inbetweens) to complete the motion.
Animating Key Actions
Suppose you are animating a character that jumps. The first keyframe can show the character crouching before the leap; the second keyframe shows the top of the jump; the third keyframe shows the landing.
By emphasising these pivotal events, you establish the most crucial poses of the action.
Straight-Ahead vs. Pose-to-Pose Animation
Creating keyframes can be done mostly in two ways. Straight-ahead animation is the flowing and usually erratic motion created by an animator drawing frame by frame from start to finish.
More controlled and planned animation results from pose-to-pose animation, in which the keyframes are first drawn and then filled in the inbetweens.
Example: In character animation, keyframes might be set for when a character reaches out to grab something and when they pull their arm back. These two points are crucial moments in the action, and the inbetweens will smooth out the motion between them.
4. Inbetweens
It’s time to fill in the gaps with inbetweens—also called “tweens”—once your keyframes are established. The frames in between the keyframes, inbetweens produce more natural movement and smoother transitions.
Smoothing Out Movement
Inbetweens are essential because they prevent the animation from looking stiff or robotic. They add subtle details like the slight bounce in a character’s step or the gradual acceleration and deceleration of an object in motion.
Controlling Pacing
The number of inbetweens between keyframes can control the pacing of the animation. For example, if you want a character to punch quickly, you would have fewer inbetweens between the keyframes, making the motion swift and powerful.
If you want the same character to raise their hand slowly, you would add more inbetweens to stretch out the movement.
Ease-In and Ease-Out
Movements in animation seldom start and stop at a steady pace. Ease-in is slowing down at the beginning of a movement; ease-out is slowing down at the finish.
A ball bouncing, for instance, should move fast when it strikes the ground and gently ease to a stop at its highest bounce.
Example: Keyframes will highlight the start and end of the reach if you are animating a character reaching for something. The inbetweens will progressively move the arm from the resting position to the fully extended one, therefore producing a natural rather than abrupt movement.
When it comes to creating 2D animation, you will need a range of different graphics design elements. It is where you can browse through the digital art section of DiziShore, offered by talented artists like you.
The 2D Animation Process in Digital Art
Now that you understand the basics, let’s dive into the actual process. Here’s a simplified version of how 2D animation works in digital art:
1. Storyboarding
This is where your animation starts. Storyboarding is like creating a rough draft or blueprint of the animation.
You’ll sketch out the key scenes or actions to visualise how your final product will look. It’s all about planning at this stage, so you don’t have to worry about details yet.
Example: Think about the animation in Adventure Time. Before the characters ever moved, animators drew rough scenes to map out how each episode would unfold. This step ensures that everyone involved knows what the final animation should look like.
2. Creating the Keyframes
Defining the keyframes, or significant animation events, comes next once you have your storyboard.
This entailed hand-drawing every frame in conventional animation. In digital animation, though, you can create keyframes using programs like Toon Boom Harmony or Adobe Animate.
Tip: If you’re working with character animation, focus on the most dynamic points – like a character raising an arm or turning their head.
3. Adding Inbetweens
This is where the magic happens! After setting the keyframes, you need to add inbetween frames to make the movement look smooth.
In digital art, some software will automatically generate inbetweens for you (known as “tweening”). But in other cases, animators still draw inbetween frames manually.
Fun fact: Disney’s animators used to do this manually, creating thousands of drawings for even short films. Fortunately, digital animation tools have made this process much faster!
4. Color and Detailing
Once your animation’s flow looks good, it’s time to add colour, shading, and finer details. Digital tools offer an advantage here because you can easily change colours or add effects without redrawing the entire frame.
Example: Take the colourful world of Rick and Morty. Once the initial animations are ready, colorists go in and add the vibrant palette that makes the show stand out. Digital animation software allows for quick colour adjustments and consistency.
5. Finalising with Sound and Effects
You’re almost done! The final step is to add sound, background music, and any visual effects.
Tools like After Effects can add things like glowing lights, particle effects, or even camera zooms. Matching the animation with appropriate sound adds depth and makes the final product more engaging.
Popular Tools for 2D Animation
There are countless software options for animating digitally, but here are some of the most popular ones:
Adobe Animate
Image via Adobe
Formerly known as Flash, Adobe Animate is a vector-based animation software that has been a mainstay for digital artists and animators for decades.
It allows users to create 2D animations that are scalable, meaning they can be resized without losing quality, making it ideal for both web and video content.
Toon Boom Harmony
Image via ToonBoom
Professionals working in TV shows, feature films, and even video games use the industry-standard animation program Toon Boom Harmony.
Studios like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network that create top-notch 2D animations especially find it rather popular.
Harmony is meant for serious animators who want complete features to bring difficult storylines to life with its potent set of tools.
Krita
Image via Krita
Originally intended for digital painting, Krita is a free, open-source tool that has been developed to incorporate simple animation tools. It is therefore a perfect starting-level tool for someone just beginning with 2D animation.
Krita is a great option for individuals on a budget who wish to play around with animation even if it lacks the depth of functionality of products like Toon Boom or Adobe Animate.
Procreate (iPad)
Popular for its easy UI and strong illustration capabilities, Procreate is a drawing tool for iPad.
Although Procreate wasn’t originally intended for animation, it has included simple animation features, which makes it appealing to individuals who like to play around with animation on a tablet.
Why Choose 2D Animation?
With 3D animation becoming more widespread, you might wonder why you should still consider 2D animation. Well, here’s why:
- Simplicity and Creativity: 2D allows for more abstract and stylized art. You aren’t limited by realism, and the flat art style often lets your creative imagination run wild.
- Nostalgia and Charm: There’s a timelessness to 2D animation. Think about how beloved shows like The Simpsons or movies like Spirited Away are. The flat aesthetic evokes a certain charm that’s hard to replicate in 3D.
- Cost and Resources: 2D animation often requires fewer resources compared to 3D animation. You can create something impactful with a smaller team or even as a solo artist.
Challenges of 2D Animation
Although 2D animation is a rich and fulfilling artistic medium, it presents particular difficulties much like any creative endeavour. Obstacles that can slow down the manufacturing process or force animators to learn new skills and techniques exist.
Knowing these difficulties will enable you to better prepare and work faster, thus enhancing the quality of your output. We will explore some of the most often encountered challenges by 2D animators below more closely.
Time-Consuming
The sheer time commitment needed to bring an animation to life presents one of the toughest obstacles in 2D animation.
Every frame in classic 2D animation must be hand-drawn; even in digital 2D animation, you still have to create unique frames or employ keyframing and in-betweening to smooth out the action. Animation that is more fluid and detailed calls for more frames, so more work is involved.
Requires Strong Drawing Skills
While 3D animation lets you handle and animate pre-made models, 2D animation mostly depends on your drawing ability.
Fundamentally, 2D animation calls for the hand creation of graphics even with digital tools providing conveniences. Animators who do not have great sketching abilities or a solid knowledge of anatomy, perspective, and motion will especially find this difficult.
Limited Depth
The flat character of 2D animation is one of its natural constraints. Unlike 3D animation, in which you may interact with objects in three-dimensional space, 2D animation sometimes seems limited by the absence of depth.
Particularly difficult in 2D animation are building the illusion of depth, accurate camera motions, and dynamic perspective changes.
Conclusion: Start Small, Dream Big
In digital art, 2D animation presents countless avenues for narrative and artistic expression. Whether your experience is minimal or you have a substantial background, the secret is to constantly explore and learn. Using digital tools at hand makes making amazing animations more easily available than it has ever been.
Recall that animation is about realising your ideas, not only about drawing. So grab your tablet, launch your preferred programme, and start animating!
