#2D cel animation

[animatedvideoss]

What Is 2D Animation? A Beginner’s Guide to This Classic Art Form

In the fast-paced world of digital content, visual storytelling has emerged as a powerful tool for brands and creators alike. Among the various animation techniques, 2D animation continues to be one of the most popular and accessible forms. But what is 2D animation, and why is it still relevant today?

This article explores the basics of 2D animation, the unique appeal of 2D cel animation, the benefits of professional 2D animation services, and how industries are leveraging it—especially through solutions like explainer videos Toronto companies offer.

What Is 2D Animation?

At its core, 2D animation is a type of animation created in a two-dimensional space. It involves moving characters, backgrounds, and objects in a flat plane, typically using height and width dimensions. Unlike 3D animation, which gives depth to characters and objects, 2D animation maintains a traditional, flat look.

The process involves drawing individual frames that, when played in sequence, create the illusion of movement. Originally done by hand, modern 2D animation often incorporates digital tools to speed up production and enhance precision. Still, the essence remains the same—it's all about breathing life into static images.

The Legacy of 2D Cel Animation

One of the earliest and most influential forms of animation is 2D cel animation. This traditional method uses transparent sheets called "cels," where each character or element is hand-drawn and painted. These cels are then layered over static backgrounds and photographed frame by frame to produce animated sequences.

Though time-consuming, 2D cel animation laid the foundation for the animation industry. Iconic films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and TV shows like The Flintstones were created using this technique. Today, cel animation is less common due to digital advancements, but its aesthetic remains widely admired and continues to influence modern 2D animation styles.

Why 2D Animation Still Matters

So, why is 2D animation still so important in 2025? The answer lies in its versatility, affordability, and timeless appeal. Unlike 3D animation, which requires complex modeling and rendering, 2D animation is often more cost-effective and faster to produce, making it ideal for startups, educators, and marketers.

Moreover, 2D animation is highly effective for storytelling. It allows creators to emphasize emotions, deliver abstract concepts, and stylize visuals in ways that resonate with diverse audiences. Whether it's a fun explainer video or an emotional narrative, 2D animation provides a flexible platform to engage viewers.

Professional 2D Animation Services: Why They Matter

For brands looking to stand out, investing in professional 2D animation services can make all the difference. These services typically include everything from concept development and scriptwriting to storyboarding, animation, and post-production.

Working with experts ensures high-quality visuals, smooth transitions, and compelling narratives tailored to your goals. Whether you’re launching a product, educating your audience, or building brand awareness, professional animators can help you tell your story in a captivating way.

Additionally, many 2D animation services offer style customization, so your video can align with your branding—be it playful, corporate, educational, or artistic.

The Rise of Explainer Videos Toronto Businesses Use

One area where 2D animation is thriving is in the creation of explainer videos. These are short, engaging videos that explain a concept, product, or service in a simple and effective way. In particular, explainer videos Toronto companies are producing have gained traction due to their polished storytelling and clean animation styles.

In a city known for its creative industries, animation studios in Toronto have mastered the art of using 2D animation to deliver impactful messages. From tech startups to healthcare providers, businesses across sectors are leveraging explainer videos to increase engagement, improve retention, and drive conversions.

Using 2D animation in these videos offers a friendly and approachable tone, helping viewers understand complex ideas quickly. Whether it’s a how-to guide, product demo, or educational content, 2D animated explainer videos make information digestible and memorable.

Benefits of Using 2D Animation for Your Brand

Here are some compelling reasons to consider 2D animation services for your next project:

Cost-Effective: Compared to 3D or live-action video, 2D animation generally requires fewer resources, making it a budget-friendly option.

Time-Efficient: With modern software, animations can be created quickly without sacrificing quality.

Visually Appealing: 2D animation has a unique charm that resonates across age groups and cultures.

Highly Customizable: You can create characters and environments that perfectly align with your brand identity.

Effective Communication: Especially useful for explainer videos, 2D animation helps break down complicated ideas into simple visual stories.

Key Industries Benefiting from 2D Animation

Many industries are embracing 2D animation to enhance their communication strategies. Here are a few examples:

Education: Teachers and e-learning platforms use 2D animated videos to make lessons more engaging and easier to understand.

Healthcare: Medical concepts are complex, but animation simplifies information for patients and staff.

Finance: Animated explainer videos help demystify financial products and services.

Technology: Tech companies often use 2D animation to demonstrate how software or apps work.

Marketing: From social media ads to landing page videos, animation boosts campaign effectiveness.

Final Thoughts

Understanding what is 2D animation is the first step toward appreciating its impact on modern communication. With roots in traditional 2D cel animation and growth through digital innovation, this art form continues to shape the way we tell stories and share ideas.

Whether you're a business owner in need of explainer videos Toronto professionals can create, or a marketer exploring cost-effective content strategies, 2D animation services offer a versatile and compelling solution. It’s more than just moving images—it's a gateway to engaging your audience, clarifying your message, and standing out in a crowded digital space.

[capsyst]

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately. I’m working on a new project. Here’s a sneak peek of what I’m doing!

The idea I had was that in the original NES manual there are these gorgeous anime cel illustrations highlighting some of the action you’ll get into playing the game.

However, these are not actually part of any long lost anime or anything. They were single images produced to look like an anime by hand painting cels and placing them over backgrounds.

So my thought was… why don’t I actually animate these scenes and try to make them look like true hand painted 80’s anime?

To help with this project I’ve identified a number of factors that go into what makes 80’s anime look the way it does. Take a look at the example:

SHADING: Unlike a lot of American productions where the shadow layer is a separate animation pass overlayed on top of the original through a composting effect, Anime is done much cheaper. Artists would actually ink the colors of where shadows are supposed to be on the cels themselves, and then paint the shadows onto the cels using a different color.

BRUSH WORK: 80’s anime has a rougher edge to it. Either through using the xerox method or by hand painting the ink lines with a dry brush, the one point that is clear is that the actual linework of each stroke is often broken up and brittle.

CEL LAYERS: Anime cels are actual sheets of celluloid painted and layed down on top of a background painting. No matter how flat you try to make it, the more layers you introduce the more likely cel shadows will start to pile up, and the foggier the background gets.

MY PROCESS: So this is what I’ve come up with as my method of reproducing this digitally.

1) I’m going to use a dry brush that cracks and will intentionally try to make the animation a little messy. I won’t be trying to clean it up much (if at all) and if I make a mistake it stays in. Anime was often produced very fast and very cheaply so I am trying to replicate that effect.

2) I’m going to use multiple shades of colors to represent the flats, shadows, and the painted lines depicting where shadows will go.

3) I will include a shadow layer underneath the animation to give it a traditional 2D effect of having multiple cels piled up on top of each other.

4) When all is said and done I will run the whole thing through a VHS filter to really sell the idea this is a long lost animation from a bygone era.

I hope you like the results, I think all this attention to detail has really paid off and makes it look like an old 80’s anime of Link tossing a boomerang. I hope to make more of these and stitch them all together to make a commercial for the NES Zelda.

[art-appreciation-dog]

Monkey Wrench !

[lovewritteninthestrands]

finished storyboards for the armored core 6 ibis fight animation. im calling it “red sun over rubicon”

[spraxinoscope]

There's this neat visual effect in Saint Seiya, and I can't figure out how they made it.

I've been interested in lighting effects in cel animation for a while. the stuff they could do with only analogue tools was really cool, and i've never been able to find good writing about it in english. this is an art from that is not practiced any more, and not a lot of writing about it has made it to the internet, so some of the advanced stuff might be lost technology.

this is from 1988. same year as akira, which has a lot of fancy lighting stuff, but well before the pinnacle of technical multiplane tricks in the mid-90s. and it's just a regular-budget tv show. how'd they do that??

I guess it's just multiple layers of film of light caustics from water, like that's where it comes from, sure. but you don't usually see video elements in moving backgrounds. so maybe they used some kind of video mixer masking trick to get it into the shot? but there's bloom on the characters, and you can't add bloom using an 80s video mixer, right? so they must have had some way of printing the video frames onto cels in order to put it in the multiplane? but that sounds so labor intensive. whatever it is, once they figured out this technique they started using it for everything. every character just has this aura all the time now. so it has to be pretty simple. i'm missing something.

famously in Star Trek TNG they also used video elements of swirling water mixed together to make the transporter visual effects, and that was around the same time. But they had way more money, and frankly this is more impressive! the transporter effects were just blurred masks; this is some other shit.

tagging this in the hopes that there's some cel-era animation sicko on tumblr who will see this and know what it is

[jaeharuart]

10 minute garbage. I like Sasuke though. His eyes look like flowers.

[mirartkiki]

My Final Year Project at University!

"We are all of us stardust, held together by love.... for an instant." This quote from the Dragon Prince inspired this short story. And I'm proud of it, as I have learned so much along the way, especially perseverance.

[upsettispaghettivulture]

Animation commission for my friend Vrshaw! He wanted his armor man Rusty. I should animate my armor man at some point as well...

[death-n-scissors]

A gift I made for my best friend! Animation cell of 2D from Gorillaz!

[bryce-bucher]

Been Learning to Paint Old Cel Animation Backgrounds

Lately, I've had the drive to learn and practice creating digital paintings that closely resemble the traditional background paintings found in older anime. As a first step, I decided to grab a Kingsfield 4 screenshot from @moonlightfaust and use it as a reference.

I honestly ended up kinda surprised at how good I think it turned out. I haven't really tried painting a background before, and I think this is a very good first step for where I wanna be.

How I do it

Firstly, I loaded up my reference on my second monitor and started painting away in clip studio paint. I sketched things out at first and then used the default gouache brush for the broad strokes. I made sure to use a nice variation of colors and values on the surfaces to give them texture. After that I blended stuff together using a custom blend brush I grabbed called "wet betty", and then I used the thin gouache brush to work on smaller details. I drew out the caustics and then painted some blue lighting on the walls on a layer set to additive (glow). Here are some wip photos showing all that off.

After creating the base drawing, I brought it into Affinity Photo and adjusted the brightness/contrast and added a softproof adjustment layer to make it look as though it was printed. I also used a white mask of the caustics in order to make those parts of the image transparent.

After that, I brought the image into blender in order to simulate the cel animation look.

I'm using a variation of @jam2go's under-lighting method here in order to get that nice, naturalish glow. I'm using a special compositing setup in order to simulate the little variations in light and lens artifacts you might get from capturing cels that gets processed onto the final render.

I've also given the image cel plane very subtle bumpiness in order to simulate real celluloid not being completely flat. (It's a little hard to see, but I just subdivided it and used a displacement modifier)

The light artifacts and the cell bumpiness are both animated, and I also added very subtle noise to the position of the cell to simulate how each frame in cel animation isn't placed in exactly the same spot. After rendering, it all comes together to simulate a cel animation look fairly nicely I think.

Anyway back 2 gamedev now

[supoysoup]

Got frames for my animation production stuff finally

[lilydotparis]

[bodycatcher]

Gardening the Mind.

Gouache and ink.

[lovewritteninthestrands]

if u followed me for the steel haze ortus animation, get ready for even more ambitious 2D ac6 animation!! here’s a snippet of the storyboards for my new project. it’s the ibis fight, and there’s MUSIC now! currently it’s almost 13 seconds long, but the final should be around 25 seconds total.

(music is “red sun” from the metal gear rising soundtrack)

as always, my asks are open for any art/animation questions or comments, or if you just want to talk mecha!

[tractisvir]

Lunar new year 2025, year of the snake 🐍

[veggiebed]

"spot" - a cel animation assignment made from regular old transparency sheets, acrylic paint, and construction paper for the little dot! this was my favorite process and techniques after paper cutouts so far. :) only three more weeks of this animation workshop :(