10 2D/3D Animation Tips & Tricks to Bring New Ideas to You

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Animation is a skill that you need years to practice. However, the learning process can be boosted if you master some animation tips. If you’re looking for great 2D/3D animation tips and tricks, this is what we will offer here.

There are some overlaps between 2D and 3D animation tips like practicing and object pose, but in essence, animation tips can be learned commonly.

These animation tips will help you make your 2D and 3D animations as bold and creative as possible, while reduce your workload and enable you to get your work out into the world quicker with excellent animation software. Let’s take a look at the top 10 2D/3D animation tips and tricks right now.

• Part 1: 2D Animation Tips for Beginners
• Part 2: 3D Animation Tips for Beginners
• Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions about Animation Tips

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Part 1: 2D Animation Tips for Beginners

1. Find a reference in the real world

This first 2D animation tip is to find a reference. Using a real-world reference can help you animate faces effectively. When studios work with voice-over artists, they often record their facial movements so 2D animators can work with them and ensure their expressions are captured convincingly.

If this isn’t possible, consider using your face, so you have something to refer back to. You could use a mirror and speak the words your character will be saying into it. This can help you get the animated expressions just right.

2. Observe real life

The second animation tip is about observation. One of the key aspects of 2D animation is bringing life to animate objections. You need to think hard about how emotion can be portrayed and choose each movement carefully.

Spend time watching how people in real-life environments talk and interact with each one another, how they move, and how they express emotion. People-watching can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to preparing animations for 2D. Don’t be afraid to spend a great deal of time doing this, as it can be counted as valuable research.

3. Simplicity is the key

2D animation is never complicated compared with 3D. Think carefully before making a scene too complex. If there is too much information to digest, the overall effect can be one of confusion, and you may even find yourself compromising the realism of the scene. Try not to litter the scene with too many pose changes or other elements, and keep it authentic.

4. Draw animation again and again

Drawing animation takes a lot of time. It can't be finished within one day, so you better know deep down that one piece of work only can be done after you have revised it many times. For 2D animation, it means you need to draw objects on paper many times.

In other words, the animation is a skill that needs practice and time. You can't master it quickly. Luckily, all pains will be rewarded someday.

5. Feedback is crucial

Feedback is an essential part of artistic development. It’s wise to actively seek out commentary from knowledgeable figures who can help you improve. Naturally, we may see work we have invested a great deal of time and effort indifferently to someone not so involved in the creative process. Feedback can equate to a valuable learning opportunity that will help you make the result hit the spot much more convincingly.

Part 2: 3D Animation Tips for Beginners

Speaking of 3D animation, we think it is not easy to start at first. In this case, you need more tips and tricks.

6. Carefully use keyframing

3D Animation is all about poses. Remember, this animation tip is crucial. Individual frames come together to create movement and tell a story. The keyframes in 3D animation videos are the first and last movements in any sequence. You need to create strong first and last poses for your movements before deciding what happens between them. You must make these poses as memorable and powerful as you can.

7. Evaluate constructive criticism

It’s vital to pay attention to constructive criticism rather than simply choosing to ignore it. Most examples of constructive criticism aren’t about offending you, and friendly advice can play a pivotal role in helping you get the results that you are looking for.

This 3D animation tip can take years to reach the level you want to when it comes to the animation industry. Even if you don’t receive a great deal of or even any positive feedback, the people offering their comments may simply be trying to help you so you can improve. You may find that the criticism is being made purely because of personal preference on the part of the commentator.

8. Take the rhythm in animation

For 3D stop motion animation video, rhythm is an element to do storytelling. The best 3D animations have a strong sense of rhythm and a natural movement flow. Many inexperienced animators have found themselves animating too fast or slow. Don’t worry if you have this problem in the early days, as chances are you’ll start to get it right with time. Timing and spacing between your frames create movement in your animation. With time, you will get a better idea of how many frames you need to move the object from point A to B.

9. Basic model

You may see your system working too hard when you use a high-res model, and this can dramatically slow down the animation process. When you playback the animation in real-time, you may not see every frame. If you are working on the motion of a character, use a simple proxy 3D model to prevent this problem. You can then work more effectively with movement and return the more complex model to the process later.

10. Use ‘shark fin’

This is a advanced 3D animation tip for you. A curve known as the ‘shark fin’ is often used for facial animation processes. This can help you represent rapid facial movements, including those involving the lips and eyebrows. Faces can move very quickly, so it’s wise to make expressions occur within just one or two frames, or three if the spacing demands it.

Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions about Animation Tips

Below are four FAQs about 2D and 3D animation tips that people have asked many times. Hope they are helpful.

1. Are there any animation tricks to use?

We must say muting dialogue is one trick you should know. If your audio is on, you need to listen to it again and again. Thus, audio can disturb your creating process. After you finished the animation, you can turn audio on to revise the animation.

Besides, when you do animation, another trick is you can pause the post before the character goes into the next pose. It is a commonly used trick used by professionals, so you might think it is useful.

2. Is animation hard to learn?

Many beginners are wondering is it difficult to learn animation. The answer is NO if you are about to learn 2D animation. Many tutorials and lessons are easy to find in the market. However, if you start on 3D animation, it will be much harder than you thought. In this case, we recommend you learning 2D animation first.

3. Can I learn animation on my own?

You can learn animation on your own, but that's not the best way. We recommend you learning animation by attending a training class, especially if you are a starter. You can build a solid animation knowledge base fast compared with learning on your own.

4. How can I get better at animation?

The best answer to get better is to imitate and practice. This tip is the most useful, practical, but difficult to complete one. If you can practice like half a year, you will get much better at animation.

Conclusion

By taking the above animation tips, you can create engaging, inspiring, and unforgettable animations that will captivate your audience. Why not get started following these animation tips right now?

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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