It’s hard to admit that you would be unaware of 3D character animation. You probably have already seen a bunch of animated movies as well. The interesting fact about them is that they captivate children a lot. Well, not only children but adults are also big admirers of 3D character animation.
You might be wondering how you can be able to produce a 3D animated character. Or how much is the difficulty level of the entire process? Can you become a pro animator from a beginner in no time?
What if the answer to all these questions is yes?
The purpose of 3D animated characters is to share a visual message in a unique way. Imagine a tangible cartoon character talking with you on a roof at night. Sounds interesting, no? The best part about these characters is that everyone relates to them with the least effort.
You must consider some crucial stages that lead to a convincing 3D animated character. During this onset, you should avoid going deeper into the technical aspects. This blog is going to answer all of your questions in further sections.
Continue reading to find out your answers and say goodbye to second thoughts!
What does the term 3D Character Animation mean?
If you are a fan of Disney and Pixar movies, you would be already familiar with 3D animated characters. The first thought that hits your brain is “Why do these characters look so real”? The answer lies in the entire process of character animation.
So why would a 3D animation company use such videos for landing clients? The best implementation of 3D animated characters is in marketing. You can merge some animated characters in a whiteboard explainer video. In some cases, video ads help a lot. Some people rely on motion graphics as well.
These animated characters have no limits to flexibility. The agile nature of these characters would help you share your brand’s message with the multitude. Animated characters reduce almost half of your workload.
It means you do not have to worry about the desired results. A 3D animated character is sufficient enough to generate leads and make you land prospects in no time.
How does 3D Animation benefit a business?
So far, you know what exactly 3D character animation means. Now, you are about to learn the major benefits of 3D character animation for a business.
It will also make you understand, why different brands are gravitating toward such animated characters for their brand’s message.
1. Catalyze SEO: If you are a digital marketer, you might have an idea about how videos work during marketing. Different surveys tell that about 80-90% of the audience spends time on the videos. It means neglecting the 3D character animation videos would be the wrong move.
But how does this link to SEO? Well, Google has the ability to rank potential videos as well. If you manifest 3D animated videos on your socials and website’s homepage, you will have increased the chances of more visitors on your platform as well.
2. Inevitable for Marketing: 3D animated videos are among the highest selling channels for your brand. These are equally important as your website, social pages, contact information, and other aspects. An outstanding animated video will sell your service or product like nothing else.
3. Follows Three Es: What are the three Es of marketing? Your brand should be able to explain, educate and entertain your audience. People love something that is visually and textually appealing. This way, they can stick to it for a long time. Why? Because the collateral impression is impetuous.
4. Quick Message Delivery: Your audience’s attention span is getting shorter day by day. You cannot afford to bore them. You have to be crisp and clear with your message. Animated videos can do this impressively. These can convince your audience. By saving their time and getting your message to them simultaneously.
Create attractive 3D Character Animation video in 9 steps
You have approached the most exciting section of this blog. Just 9 steps and your 3D animated character is all set to create its magic! These will serve you as an outline that you always have to follow to acquire your imagination in real form.
Let’s see what these steps have for us down here!
1. Brainstorming and observation: The first step is to brainstorm an idea. What character exactly do you want to animate? Is it recreation or your original? Brainstorming extracts the most enticing animation ideas buried in your brain.
The next step is to observe your target audience. Make sure that your ideas should be relevant to your findings and observations. Here you can find almost everything you need for observations in form of a checklist.
● What your audience is in need of?
● What kind of animation they are fond of?
● How you will execute your ideas?
● What gear do you need for your work?
● Does your idea match your findings?
2. Create a Storyboard: The next step is to craft a storyboard. A storyboard contains all of your concepts and idea. The combination of your brainstormed ideas and observations produces sketches on a storyboard. So that you will get to know how everything is looking in a sketch formation.
3. Start 3D Modeling: Now is the time to change your storyboard into a 3D model. It will have a goal of a good-looking 3D mesh of all the characters you want to include. You have to design the characters and determine their details as well. The best way to do this is to use 3D animation software. You can go for any free version.
4. Texture the Designs: Till now, these steps might sound dull to you. But texturing can be your favorite step in the process. It is when you enhance the physical appearance of your characters. It includes shading and texturing with clothes and skin. These layers collectively form a map as well.
5. Proceed with Rigging and skinning: Rigging your characters is about giving them a skeleton-like appearance. The step of rigging is for improving the quality of the character depending on its muscular and bony movements. Skinning is to control what you just created with 3D rigging.
It can also set the orientation for the characters while different movements. Skinning links the digitally crafted bones and skeleton of the character in this phase.
6. Get Animation done: The step of animation can be the defining step in the whole process. It is where you have to animate the characters present in each sequence of the video. You can consider it similar to the primitive way of making cartoons on paper with a pen or a pencil.
You have the complete liberty to alter the intensity of this step according to your comfort. Different animation techniques can make your task much more effortless.
7. Maintain lights and Camera Angle: You cannot ignore the lights and camera in your action. Make sure to adjust the lights of each scene. A perfect light balance perhaps seems impossible to maintain but it is crucial. It can make important actions tedious. If increased more than normal, it can exaggerate the characters.
Try to include good-angle views in the entire movie or the video you are working on. The camera adjustment also tells the audience about an important happening in the video.
8. Render and composite: The function of rendering is to combine all the scenes into a single file. Since all the shots are scattered into individual frames, rendering makes it easier to make corrections all at once. Then comes compositing.
It is where you have to make sure that all the slides are well-produced. Check out small details and each corner of the video that needs reconsideration.
9. Brush up final product: By the end of these steps, you will be having your desired product. You have to make sure that you have polished the final product completely. It should depict perfection from every aspect. You can take advantage of several checking tools in this regard.
Closing Remarks
There is certainly no doubt that a 3D animated character demands hustle. But a defined process will help you set smaller to bigger goals. You should not try to include everything in your 3d animated character all at once.
These steps will allow you to take little steps. Complete all the requisites of each step. Do not forget to polish what you have created. In any case, you can seek guidance from BuzzFlick, video animation company. They can help you with quality video production that will escort you for queries.
Now, it’s your time to step into the versatile domain of 3D character animation with new hopes and confidence.
