If you go through the websites and social media pages of many great animators, you’ll find that they have created and developed their personal animation style throughout the years. This is an important aspect sometimes overlooked by beginner animators.
As an animator, developing an animation style adds value and authenticity, especially in the comparative and dynamic field of animation and content creation.
Chances are that you’ve already developed a style of your own but you’re not yet aware of it. Or maybe you’re looking to switch up your style into something more unique but you are afraid of going against the trending styles online. Or you’re afraid of establishing your own style because it might limit your animation clients.
Whatever the case is, there are fortunately a ton of animation books, articles, and websites that can help you in developing and experimenting with your animation style.
You can even check out our Animation Accelerator Program for the most useful tips and all you need to know as a freelance animator and an animation studio owner. Animation Accelerator is an online program that teaches animators who already know how to animate how to start and grow a successful freelance animation career or studio.
If you aren’t thinking of developing an animation style, your animation studio will miss out on many more opportunities and potential clients. In this article, you’ll learn the top 6 reasons why developing an animation style is important.
Show Growth As An Animator Through Your Animation Style
Let’s face it, people love success stories. It serves as an inspiration and reminds them that every business has started from the bottom; that it takes constant practice and tons of time and effort to perfect even the simplest skills.
As an animator, your animation style can serve as your success story.
In it, you’ll notice subtle hints of your earlier styles. You can also see the various details and techniques that may have been inspired by other animators.
Compare your animation style from time to time and you’ll see your growth as an animator for yourself. Your current animation style is proof of your dedication and growth. This crucial part of your animation studio is something your clients and fellow animators look up to.
If you’ve been working on your animation style for quite some time and you’re active on social media, perhaps you can even upload photos or videos of your progress from past to present.
When people can see your story, they’ll know that you take your craft seriously.
Developing An Animation Style Builds your Branding
GIF by awkwardmarketing via GIPHY
An animation style is a representation of who you are as an animator; therefore, it is a vital aspect of your branding.
A brand is an intangible concept that represents how people perceive your business. Your brand is affected by your company visuals, products, customer services, designs, marketing, and reputation.
So if your animation company creates authentic animated services, fosters a healthy relationship with its animation, and displays a positive reputation within its respective industry, it has a strong sense of branding.
When opening a business, establishing a strong brand will go a long way –– this is especially important for individual animation freelancers and animation studio owners.
Your animation style will make your animation studio more recognizable to potential clients, building your branding in the process. It does that by introducing your animation company, establishing your capabilities, and leaving a striking impression in their minds that sets you apart from animation competitors.
Branding makes your animation company memorable and more impactful. Your animation art style will be the one thing people immediately associate with your studio and your animation skills, so it must have a distinct look. That is what having an animation style offers, a unique look that’s yours to present and constantly work on.
Take the animations of Studio Ghibli, LAIKA studios, and more recently Pixar.
GIF by ghiblifest via GIPHY
These animation studios have had distinct looks that have developed over the years, and people continue to immediately recognize them. They’ve established a solid sense of branding that whenever other animators make something remotely similar, these animation studios are often the first ones in mind.
GIF by disneypixar via GIPHY
Provides Authenticity to Your Animation Services
In its simplest terms, authenticity means being yourself.
So in building and running your animation company, being authentic is all about being true to your studio’s skills, capabilities, and even limits. This authenticity can be best displayed in your animation style.
An authentic animation style is a valuable animation style.
In a fast-growing and oversaturated market, the struggle is real when it comes to innovating unique styles and communicating authenticity with potential clients. It’s normal to feel like everything has been done by great animators and businessmen around you, but one aspect where you can have the upper hand is your animation style.
Your animation style is your genuine and personal contribution to the animation industry, an imprint of your personality. Not only does its authenticity help your animation studio stand out, but it is also a crucial marketing tool in promoting your animation skills.
When your animations are authentic, leads and clients will recognize the effort and energy you put into creating something special, a style that’s yours and yours alone. Your authenticity will drive your animation studio forward and help define your videos and services.
Improves Productivity Within Your Animation Studio
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While it may seem like the purpose of developing an animation style is mainly for branding and aesthetics, it can also benefit how your animation studio operates.
If you have any employees, an animation style will provide them with a sense of direction and motivation. This means that having a specific animation art style is like carving a unique path for your employees to follow and telling them, “This is what my animation studio produces compared to other studios”.
Also, when hiring animators, you can immediately train them or provide a guide on the specific animation style of your studio. Once your animators are familiar with the specific kinds of styles you create, you can soon let them experiment a little and trust them enough when they create their animations.
Overall, this will result in mutual trust and heightened productivity as your employees will know the standards of your animation styles and how to successfully reach them.
Makes Yourself and Your Animation Studio Appear More Professional
GIF by kimsconvenience via GIPHY
Attaining professionalism as an animation studio owner means that you know how to present yourself and your studio. You know how to communicate and you don’t overstep your boundaries. You’re conscious of the image of your animation company in the mind of your audience and how it may come across toward potential clients.
With that, it’s clear that a professional business will lead to a successful business. So in the world of social media and e-commerce, one of the prime ways to convey professionalism is in your animation company’s appearance, like its logo, packaging, and animation style.
Without an animation style, it will look as if your animation business is incomplete and incohesive, making potential clients wonder what it is you specialize in and what you can actually do. This can confuse them and drive them away.
You can attain a sense of professionalism in your animation style because it automatically establishes you and your animation studio as a legitimate business with unique and definitive branding.
Attracts More Animation Clients
Taking everything into consideration, the most significant reason developing an animation style is important for your animations, whether as a freelancer or an animation studio owner, is because it will attract more clients.
Your animation style projects a key visual of your animation company to the world as it communicates your skills and capacity as an animator. With that, it can make your animation company visible even to markets and segments beyond your animation niche.
So even if you are simply targeting a specific market or animation niche, if other people take notice of what you can do through your animation style, they won’t hesitate to reach out to you.
With your animation style, you are establishing your footprint in the animation industry and making your skills known to people. Doing so will expand your animation business and allow it to attract new clients while maintaining those you already have.
What is important now is to keep developing your style. There are going to be more and more animators and animation styles out there so you must continue honing your skills and developing your animation style. That way, you can remain on top of your game despite the ever-changing nature of the animation industry.
So Why Should You Develop An Animation Style?
There are many animation styles out there. If you pay attention, there are different websites and fellow animators out there who exhibit a unique personality and style in their animated products.
But what exactly does it matter whether or not you have an animation style of your own? Does it really help your animation company expand and achieve new opportunities?
This blog article showed you 6 valuable reasons that prove developing your animation style is important for you as an animator, animation studio owner, and businessperson.
First, it’s a representation of your growth as an animator. Second, it builds a strong sense of branding for your animation business. Third, it provides authenticity to your animated services. Fourth, it improves the productivity levels of your employees within your animation studio, if you have one. Fifth, it makes both you and your animation studio appear more professional to potential clients. And sixth, your animation style will help you attract more clients across different markets and animation niches.
Keeping that in mind, it’s important to give yourself the creative freedom and time to experiment with different animation styles and find one that’s genuinely yours. Don’t worry if it takes a little while or if your current style isn’t up to your highest standards yet, animation styles develop over time, so just keep working on it.
Remember, a valuable animation style must represent your animation business, your skills, capabilities, and even your limits.
For more tips on developing your business skills as a freelance animator or animation studio owner, take part in our informative free masterclass and download a copy of our free marketing handbook.
