What's the Difference Between 2D and 3D Animation?
LIGHTS. CAMERA. ANSWERS.
All animation is the same, right? No way! There are some differences between 2D and 3D animation that could help you determine which is right for your project. Let us explain.
Video Transcript
Welcome back to another episode of Lights. Camera. Answers. I'm James and today we're answering the question of "what's the difference between 2D and 3D animation?" So this is a really good question. To break it down 2D animation is two-dimensional animation. So it animates along an x-axis and a y-axis. That's where all that kinetic animation is happening, mostly along those axises. But 3D animation adds another dimension to that, literally. 3D adds a z-axis where things can move far away or close to the camera. So you have the x-axis and the y-axis from 2D along with the z-axis. So this really adds a lot of dynamic movement.
But overall 2D animation can still be really useful a lot of times 2D animation is helpful in animating pre-existing 2D elements like a logo or something like that into a video 2D animation. It's also really good to give a simple minimalist look that's great for explainer videos, where you just want the audience to see sort of abstract or even complex visual representations of what you're trying to show. That's why it makes it so great for any sort of explanation video that you're just looking to get information to the viewer.
3D animation on the other hand adds again another dimension to that making things a lot more action heavy when you want them to be a lot more realistic when you want them to be. Overall things are going to move like how they move and look to your eye in real life so this is why they're super useful for sports or even for product renderings in order to make the viewer see something in a more realistic, engaging view.
To reiterate, there's a lot of specific avenues you can go with 2D animation or 3D animation and even some avenues you can go where the two are being combined for example you could take 2D animation and still move it within 3D space to give it a more lifelike more dynamic look. You can also combine animation with live action footage to get some unique results where you're seeing animation mixed with real life.
So these are just a couple of the differences, a couple of the aspects. You can find more information about this and also other things relating to video or other content on our website, or on our social media. So be sure to check us out there, and until then thanks for watching.
