Using DIY Animation Software VS Custom Made Animation

Using DIY Animation Software VS Custom Made Animation

Value your time and expertise, get a custom-made animation by a professional

With the advent of Ai — software, apps, and do-it yourself platforms are proliferating. Each one claiming to offer better quality and user-friendly interfaces. Nonetheless, these services still cost you. They cost you your time and any originality you'd get from a custom animation provider such as Kohlitz Animation & Video Production.

Custom Made for You

At Kohlitz Animation & Video Production, each of our animations (and video) projects are custom made for you. What does this mean? First, we meet with you to get a sense of your project, goals and audience so that we can create a one-of-a-kind product that fulfils your unique needs. We are not using a template and trying to manipulate it to vaguely represent your aims.

Stylistically, we seek to match your company's existing branding and ethos. For example, I had a client, CatalogIt, whose product is an app designed for art museum curators to catalog their institution's works. CatalogIt wanted an animation, that not only communicated the effectiveness of their app, but was aesthetically "artsy" to match their audiences' appreciation for art. You can see that animation here.

The Kohlitz Process vs Do-It-Yourself Animation Software

I have a list of 7 questions I always ask of each new project, and two of those influence the customization done for you:

• Do you have a style you want me to emulate? Such as an example animation, or even still art? For example, CatalogIt had provided me a reference to some hand drawn animations that was in an exhibit of one of their museum clients, so I mimicked it for their animation. (However, it's okay if you got nothing in mind and are looking to me to generate the aesthetics.)
• Can you share your branding guidelines with me? This is typically a company's branded colors, fonts, logos and sometimes a document providing style direction. (For an example of branded guidelines, check out Netflix's branding guide: https://brand.netflix.com/en/assets/logos/ Or see even more branding examples here: https://brandingstyleguides.com/)

I then take this info and any aesthetic influence you like and/or use, and incorporate it into the animated graphics I create for your project. This means I am not reusing the same graphics over and over again, nor am I using them across different clients.

"Easy" animation platforms like Vyond, Canva and Animaker have libraries of animated avatars and graphics that you can select from, but these are the same graphics available to everyone. 

In the case of Animaker, stylistically all the graphics are similar, immediately branding them not as yours, but as an Animaker video, screaming that you opted for the cheap, unoriginal option. 

Here are a few screen shots of Animaker videos on YouTube from a wide range of companies:

See how the characters all look the same? And each still looks like it could have come from the same video?

How would you feel, after working hard on your animation, and discovering later that another company using the exact same graphics for an entirely different product/service? Perhaps even a product/service you don't want to be associated with?

Your Time is Better Spent on Your Expertise

As user-friendly as these sites might be, there will still be a learning curve. As of this writing, there are 66 videos(!) on Animaker's YouTube Playlist, "Animaker Video Making Tutorials."

Were you hired to be an animator for your company? Your time is valuable and you should be able to dedicate it to your field of expertise. Let Kohlitz, who are experts in 2D animation, handle it for you. We've been at this for 15+ years and even 66 tutorial videos won't replace that experience.

The Elephant in the Room

Now, I know what you're thinking. Having custom made animation sounds great, but it will surely cost more. Looking at the cost factor alone, yes, it will cost more for custom made animation. But again, your company's image and your time is worth something too.

We understand clients sometimes have limited budgets (By the way, check out our blog on Time VS Quality VS Cost) However, it doesn't hurt to ask us what is possible within your budget. You might be pleasantly surprised by what is feasible. 

I can promise you this: 

You'll receive a more attractive end-product that takes a fraction of your time.

Save time, and get your original animation customized to your story with Kohlitz Animation & Video Production.