Exploring the best animation style for your next project? Here’s a list of all the stypes of animation styles you can use.
Animation styles shape how a story feels, moves, and sticks with people. Some are hand-drawn. Others are fully digital. Some use clay or paper, while others mix real footage with animation. Each one tells a story in its own way.
Understanding the different types of animation helps you see what’s possible. Each animation technique brings its own look and feel. This is especially useful when creating animated content for business, marketing, animated shows or movies.
This guide walks through the most common animation styles, how they work, and when they’re most effective. You’ll learn what each one does best—and how to choose the right fit for your message.
In this article we’ve compiled 14 of the most popular and best animation styles for marketing, advertising, TV, and movie production.
Traditional animation is the original form of animation—drawn by hand, one frame at a time. Artists sketch each movement, then photograph those drawings in sequence to create motion. It’s a slow, detailed process, but the results can be rich and expressive.
Often called cel animation, it was used to make some of the most iconic animated films of all time. Early Disney classics like Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi were all brought to life using this frame-by-frame method. Each scene involved thousands of individual drawings layered on transparent sheets called “cels,” then photographed over painted backgrounds.
Traditional hand-drawn animation gives characters a certain warmth you don’t get with digital tools. It’s not just about how things move—it’s about how they feel. Even though digital tools are faster, traditional animation set the groundwork for everything that came after it.
You’ll find it in explainer videos, educational content, mobile apps, and social media ads. Its clean look and fast production make it a go-to choice for businesses that want to share ideas quickly and clearly.
2D animation keeps the spirit of hand-drawn work but streamlines the process. You can reuse assets, tweak movement easily, and create animated marketing videos that feel fresh without a massive budget.
This style, often called CGI animation or computer-generated imagery, is used in just about everything: Pixar films, video games, architecture previews, and product animation for marketing. It’s the reason a digital character can walk through a fully rendered city or a toothbrush can spin in slow motion in a commercial.
You’ll find 3D animation in modern children’s tv shows and movies due to the ability to use the same character design in many scenes, without having to redraw the character. When you need realism, control, and flexibility, 3D animation delivers.
Motion graphics combine animation with graphic design. Instead of telling stories through characters or scenery, they use text, icons, shapes, and charts to tell stories. You’ll also see them in title sequences for movies and tv, infographics, user interface animations, and animated commercials.
Most of our client projects use this style because of it’s versatile workflow — explaining stats, processes, and product features. Brands often use motion graphics videos to break down complex ideas or guide viewers through a message step by step.
The animation style is easy to adapt across platforms, from social feeds to big-screen presentations. When you want visual storytelling without characters, motion graphics are the best alternative.
Most of the projects we’ve worked use this style in one way or the other. These include SaaS videos, marketing videos, and corporate videos.
Whiteboard animation is an animation technique that reveals hand-drawn visuals on a white board over time. The illustrations appear as if they’re being drawn by hand, often synced with a voiceover.
This style had a major moment in explainer videos, thanks to how easy it made us learn complicated concepts. It’s still widely used in educational videos and business training.
Whiteboard animation works because it captivates the viewer by keeping our eyes interested in seeing the graphics being revealed. For companies, it’s a go-to style when simplifying a process, service, or strategy. Whiteboard videos are still common in onboarding, sales, and internal training content.
Whiteboard animation is an animation technique that reveals hand-drawn visuals on a white board over time. The illustrations appear as if they’re beSome of the most memorable animated films weren’t drawn or rendered—they were built by hand, piece by piece.
Stop motion animation brings physical objects to life by photographing them one frame at a time, moving them slightly between shots. When played in sequence, it creates the illusion of movement.
From clay figures to paper cutouts to household items, nearly anything can be animated using this method. Sub-genres include puppet animation, object animation, and even pixilation, where real people are animated like props.
Films like Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox showcase how detailed and expressive this frame-by-frame animation can be. You can see the textures, the imperfections, and the artistry in every shot. That tactile quality is what gives stop motion its charm—and makes it stand out among different kinds of animation.
Brands have used stop motion in short-form ads and social posts to create quirky, eye-catching content. When done well, it feels personal, handmade, and unlike anything else.
Image: Laika
Claymation is exactly what it sounds like—animation made with clay. Artists sculpt characters and props from plasticine or similar materials, then move them ever so slightly between frames. It’s a hands-on form of stop motion animation where everything is built, posed, and adjusted by hand.
You’ve likely seen it in films like Chicken Run or Wallace & Gromit, where the fingerprints and hand-crafted detail are part of the charm. Movements feel slightly imperfect, and that’s the point. The wobbles, squishes, and subtle shifts give clay animation a warmth and personality you don’t get from polished 3D.
It works especially well for character animation. Faces stretch, bodies morph, and scenes come alive with physical texture. Because of its playful look, claymation is often used in content for kids—but it also finds a place in quirky ads and offbeat storytelling.
Cutout animation uses flat, movable pieces—think of paper characters with hinged joints or layered graphics with simple pivot points.
In traditional versions, arms and legs are literally cut and repositioned. In modern digital tools, the same effect is created by animating layers in 2D space.
It’s a fast, efficient animation technique that has a distinct charm. Shows like Monty Python’s Flying Circus used the cutout animation style to absurd effect. The early seasons of South Park mimicked the handmade look using digital software, giving it that jagged, lo-fi energy.
Because it’s lightweight and easy to produce, cut-out animation is perfect for projects with tight timelines or modest budgets. Its raw, collage-like feel makes it a great fit for content that leans playful, satirical, or self-aware.
Image: South Park Studios
Ever wondered what it takes to bring legendary animators’ storytelling magic to your brand? At Creamy Animation, we’ve spent over a decade weaving narratives that resonate—creating explainer, corporate, and training videos for clients like Fujitsu, Logitech, NFL, and RBC.
Our team draws inspiration from animation pioneers, blending emotion, precision, and clarity to craft visual stories that engage and convert. Ready to captivate your audience with the same creative spark? Let’s bring your story to life—together.
Creamy Animation is an animation studio with 15+ years of experience producing animated videos for business, explainer videos, corporate videos, training and educational videos.
Classic live-action animation examples include Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, where animated characters move through real-world scenes with perfect timing. More recent films use CGI to insert lifelike creatures—like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings—into live action without breaking the illusion.
In animation advertising, this hybrid animation technique is used to add energy, humor, or visual flair.
Image: Warner Brothers
Rotoscoping is a technique that turns real video into animation by drawing over it—one frame at a time. The result moves like live action videos but looks like a painting in motion.
The animation style has been around for decades. Disney used it in films like Snow White to capture realistic movement in characters. A Scanner Darkly also used rotoscope animation to give scenes a surreal, dreamlike effect.
Because it’s based on real footage, rotoscoping captures natural motion without the time and cost of animating from scratch. It’s a popular choice for stylized animation techniques in music videos, brand spots, and hybrid films.
The look is familiar but strange—real movement wrapped in hand-drawn lines. And that’s what makes it stick.
Vector animation uses math—not pixels—to draw movement. Instead of redrawing every frame, it builds images from points and curves that can scale to any size without losing quality. The result: smooth, crisp visuals that stay sharp on any screen.
This form of 2D animation became popular through Flash, and now HTML5. It’s commonly used in banner ads, mobile apps, interactive infographics, and explainer videos—anywhere you need fast, flexible visuals with clean movement. Since the artwork isn’t tied to resolution, vector animation works perfectly across web, mobile, and desktop without bulky files or blurry edges.
It’s also efficient. Movements can be built on timelines or controlled by scripts, making it ideal for digital animation projects that need quick updates or modular design. That’s why scalable animation is a go-to for corporate tutorials, UI animations, and web-based learning tools.
Kinetic typography brings text to life—letters slide, pop, or fade in sync with visuals or sound. It’s a common choice in lyric videos, TED Talk intros, and short explainer clips.
Since about 85% of videos are watched without sound, animated text becomes essential to keep messages clear and attention-grabbing.
This technique dates back to Saul Bass’s animated titles for Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959), laying the groundwork for motion and text to carry tone and intent.
Well-timed text animation doesn’t just inform—it adds rhythm, emphasis, and emotion. In animated marketing videos, it acts as both voice and visual, highlighting stats, taglines, or key points without needing characters or complex scenes.
Anime refers to animated works that originate from Japan, known for their distinctive character designs—think expressive eyes, bold lines, and detailed settings.
Unlike many Western cartoons, anime often focuses more on atmosphere, complex narratives, and cinematic techniques like dramatic camera angles and zooms. This style was pioneered by famous animators like Hayao Miyazaki.
Films from Studio Ghibli, such as Spirited Away, helped establish its emotional depth and global appeal—Spirited Away even became Japan’s highest-grossing film for nearly two decades and won an Academy Award.
Anime’s global popularity has since surged, generating nearly $20 billion in worldwide revenue in 2023 alone.
Anime spans genres—from fantasy and sci-fi to romance and psychological drama—making it a flexible storytelling tool. Its art style blends realism with visual flair, enabling narratives that range from heartfelt to surreal.
Beyond films and series, anime aesthetics are used in marketing. Brands take advantage of its emotional resonance and iconic visuals to connect with younger audiences in ads or merchandise campaigns.
Image: Studio Pierrot
Some of today’s most memorable visuals come from blending styles—mixing 2D, 3D, live action, and graphic elements into a single scene that surprises and delights.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse did this masterfully, pairing 3D CGI with hand-drawn lines, Ben-Day dots, and comic-inspired effects. It’s what gives the movie that living comic-book feel, blending motion and echoing print techniques in perfect harmony.
Hybrid animation isn’t just for features. Ad campaigns and short films use it to stand out. Clips can layer digital illustrations over real footage or splice animated elements into physical environments. The contrast makes each visual detail pop.
What makes mixed-media work is pairing each style with what it does best. Rendered depth from CGI meets emotional warmth from hand-drawn touches. Color, texture, and motion bring an imaginative edge to any storytelling or brand message.
Image: Marvel Studios
The most widely recognized categories include traditional (hand-drawn), 2D (vector/digital), 3D (CGI), and stop-motion animation. Each has its own visual character and production method.
Both 2D and 3D animation consistently rank as the most popular styles. They appeal broadly—from younger to adult audiences—and offer a balance of storytelling and visual appeal.
Your choice depends on the message and tone you want to deliver:
Stop-motion animation, especially using simple materials like clay or paper, offers an accessible entry point. It lets beginners explore animation through hands-on experimentation without needing advanced software.
Choosing the right partner to produce an animated video is importnat. Here’s what Creamy Animation brings to the table:
The outcome is video that engages viewers and compel them to take your desired action. It may be to buy a product, support your cause, or understand your message.
Animation styles offer endless creative possibilities, from the charm of hand-drawn frames to the polish of motion graphics. There’s no single best animation style for marketing videos—each one excels in different contexts.
Try a style that best suits your story, your tone, and your audience. Experimenting not only sharpens your message—it can spark ideas for entirely new visual paths.
