How to Minimize Time, Effort, and Budgets while Creating 3D Animations
Helen Clark, independent content developer
August 24, 2017

How to Minimize Time, Effort, and Budgets while Creating 3D Animations

Many people want to see their business benefit from the possibilities of animation services, including 3D animations. You know, as an  animation services  provider, that good work can’t be created on the cheap, but that isn’t something that many potential clients understand. Animation is labor-intensive work, so if you try to meet the unrealistic budget constraints of many potential clients, you’ll find yourself working long hours at a low rate.

 There is another way to go. If you adopt innovative and practical techniques to streamline your production process, you can get more done in less time. Your clients will be happy, and your bottom line will benefit too.

Cost and benefits

We’ve all seen the high end of 3D animation represented by the work we witness in feature films. Studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, and Disney can open the checkbook to buy the best, and that best isn’t cheap. High-quality, full 3D animation can easily clock in at anyway between $7,000 to over $10,000 per second of rendered animation. And there’s a significant amount of lead time involved in producing this animation. 

The benefit of high-quality 3D animation is quite evident, though. 3D animation does an excellent job of both creating characters with personality or demonstrating product features and concepts. That’s why there’s a high demand for 3D animation services. 

Keeping costs under control

So now we circle back to the primary question. How can animation services produce 3D animation while keeping the budget under control? The answer lies in taking a close look at all the different aspects of your production, and making smart choices along the way.

Ask “Do we really need this?” frequently. It’s easy to get carried away when sketching out ideas and planning the video. If you can get by with two characters instead of three, or limit the action to one location rather than two, you’ve significantly cut down on the time you’ll spend creating disparate elements that don’t necessarily add anything to overall effect of the production.

Keep an eye on the clock. When it comes to animation, the old saying “time is money” has never been truer. Tightening up your story – a few seconds here and few seconds there – will result in significant savings in the overall cost. 

Look for “off the shelf” elements you can use effectively. You don’t need to create all the characters or environments in your animation from scratch. There are many animation services that produce and sell stock models for a reasonable price. Using these can streamline your production process and save time, while still allowing you to create a high-quality project. 

Be realistic about the level of detail required. Not every element in your built environment requires a high level of detail and realism. Prioritize which elements of your production require the most detail, and concentrate on those. 

Know when “enough is enough.” Ask any experienced video producer and they can tell you a story about a project getting totally out of control because of numerous changes and revisions. Ask yourself if what you’ve done is good enough, and then go onto the next thing that needs done. 

Outsource elements of the project. There are numerous animation services that can produce some of the elements of your work that you don’t have time for. This is a great option for when you don’t have all the in-house staff you need to handle a big job. 

3D animation is a powerful way to present the story you want to tell. And while it won’t come cheap, careful attention to the process can help you minimize the time, effort, and the budget required to produce a compelling and successful video.