How to Create a Good Animated Film

Co-authored by Melessa Sargent

Last Updated: December 24, 2023

Want to create a quality animated film? Although it may sound hard, the animation industry is constantly evolving and creating easier and better ways to animate.

Steps

Download Article

^{[1]
X
Research source} First of all you need to find your vision and write it down. Brainstorm your characters and develop a plot for your story. Sometimes it's easier to focus on a good main character and revolve everything around them. Who would be this character's friends/enemies? Who would be their parents? What are their goals in life? What is their everyday attitude? Try to add a theme to this character's life. Will this be comedy or tragedy?
^{[2]
X
Research source} Draw a summary of what will take place in your movie. This can be simple sketches since it won't be in the final movie and might even be replaced or cut. Think of these as each page of a book. Don't draw every detail but express the point of each part.

Advertisement
Be sure to include everything, especially dialogue. Every detail counts.^{[3]
X
Research source}
Include lots and lots of details. You can even include traits about your character. Is your character the comedian of the movie or is your character something else?
^{[4]
X
Research source} You should have decided what animation technique you will use by this point. Flip books are cheap and funny, but have several downsides (no sound, limited film length). Traditional animation has great quality, but takes a long time, is not very efficient, and is quite costly. You could always use animation software as well. It's all up to you, the creator!
^{[5]
X
Research source} Decide if there is anything you would like to change about your film or something you don't like about your film. Cut it out if so.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

What kind of software do I need to make cartoons or 3D movies?

Community Answer

Cartoon: ToonBoom, Flash, etc. 3D: Autodesk Maya (used by Disney and such, costs money), Gimp (no actual animation, most toturails require it though), Blender (a free master of animation).

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 11 Helpful 65
Question

I made my characters, but how do I animate them?

Community Answer

It's not cheap, but Adobe After Effects is a great program for animating, and it will be a professional tool for a future career. If it's 3-D, use Maya.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 9 Helpful 35
Question

How do I make a music animation video?

Cataclysmic Creations

Community Answer

Usually you should write the song or pick your music before you animate. After that, match your music with other sounds in case if it's a music video. Once that's done, create an animatic (a quick sketch of your animation) and try to match movements, lip sync, and beat marks in order to match the music. Once you have the animatic matched with the music or song, start the final animation process for the sequence. Most animations that have music in them usually have the character move in motion with the music. So if you use a software, try using a scrubbing tool to play the music while your animating.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 6 Helpful 30

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Tips

Look at other animator's styles, such as facial features, shapes, and colors. It might help you to develop your own style.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Make sure that you shade properly, Make sure you know where your light source is.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Show your finished product to your family, friends, teachers or mentors. Ask for their constructive criticism. It should not be enough for them to say they liked or disliked your film. Have them tell you why. If they have any suggestions as to how you can improve your film, take the ideas to heart and seriously consider making the necessary changes. Make those changes as you see fit.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Show More Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

Creating a film can be stressful and time consuming no matter what method you use.

Thanks
Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
Flipbooks lack in sound and length.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Traditional animation is costly.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0