Types of Animation Beginners Should Know (With Fun Example)

In the last blog, we talked about what animation actually is; basically, making drawings move so you can tell a story. Pretty astonishing, right? But here’s the thing: animation is not just one single style. There are so many different ways to bring your dreams (Ideas) to reality (Life), and each one feels a little different.

So if you have ever thought, “How do people make these cartoons?” or “Why does this one look different from that one?” – Let break it down.

Too Long; Drew Rabbits (TL;DR)?

Yes, the pun returns 😆. We are going to cover today:

Animation is not just one thing – it comes in many styles.
The 5 main types are Traditional, 2D, 3D, Stop Motion, Story-time and Motion graphics (wwith stop motion having fun subtypes like clay, cut-out, and object animation).
Other forms include explainer, product, logo, and more.
The best part? You don’t need them all – just pick the style that fits your story and start creating!

A) Traditional Animation (a.k.a. Hand-drawn Cartoons)

This is where it all began. Think of classic Disney movies like Lion King or Beauty and the beast. Every single frame was drawn by hand in a transparent sheet called ‘The Cel’. Yup, thousands of drawings just for one movie, and this is why kids call it ‘Frame-by-frame animation’.

It is super beautiful but also a lot of work. Most beginners do not start here, but it is fun to know this is the ancestor of all animation styles.

B) 2D Animation

When I say 2D animation, I am talking about digital animation or vector-based animation that you actually see on YouTube a lot. 2D {Two-dimensional} means ‘flat’ animation: backgrounds and characters look like drawings on a screen.

This is the style beginners and most story-time animators utilise: simple characters, easy movements, and your voice telling the story. The best part? You do not need fancy tools. Even basic drawing apps can get you started. You know what I used when I began, I used Paint MS.

C) 3D Animation

Are you aware of those Pixar or Dreamworks movies where the characters look so real you feel like they could walk into your living room? That’s 3D {Three-dimensional}.

Instead of drawing flat characters, you build them in a digital 3D space and move them around like puppets. It takes time to get use to, but the results are ultra-impressive. The thing you have to watch out for in 3D is you cannot get away with leaving a scene motionless, and also the other part of the person or an object is always present.

D) Stop Motion Animation

This one’s like magic with real objects. You take something: a toy, clay, paper cut-out, real people – move it a little bit, take a photo, move it again, take another picture. When you play all those images quickly, boom! It looks alive. [It’s alive! It’s alive!]

There are actually 5 fun versions of Stop motion:

TOY/PUPPET ANIMATION – Using dolls or puppets to move around (e.g. Robot Chicken)
CUT OUT ANIMATION – Paper or flat shapes sliding around (e.g. South Park)
OBJECT MOTION – Everyday stuff: like a coffee mug ‘walking’ across the table (e.g. Old Thomas the tank engine)
CLAYMATION – Clay models moving around (e.g. Wallace and Gromit).

Funky facts: Wallace & Gromit, Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas are stop-motion classics.

PIXILATION – Real people moving bit by bit between photos [(e.g. Sledgehammer) Yes, you can stop-motion yourself!]

It takes patience, but the results are quirky and super entertaining.

E) Motion Graphics

This is less about characters and more about design. Think of animated text, logos, and shapes moving around in a stylish way. You have definitely seen this in YouTube introduction, movie openings or explainer videos.

It is clean, modern, and perfect if you’re not into drawing characters but still want cool visuals.

Other Types You Might Choose From

Not everything fits neatly into the big five, but here are some others you might bump into:

MOTION CAPTURE: Actors wear suits with sensors, and their real movements are turned into digital characters. Think Avatar or video game characters.
STORY-TIME ANIMATION: The YouTube classic = your voice + simple drawings. Like the doodle-style cartoons you see on YouTube where creators tell funny or personal stories. (Think: stick figures come to life while you narrate your most embarrassing school story!)
ANIMATICS: These are rough, sketchy versions of animations, often used to test storyboards. Imagine a comic book but with slight movements or timing notes.
CHARACTER ANIMATION: All about making characters feel alive (Used in games/movies). Creating lifelike or cartoonish characters that move, talk, and express emotions – anything from Shrek to Sonic.
WHITEBOARD ANIMATION: A hand “draws” pictures on a whiteboard while a story is being told. Great for teaching or storytelling.
ARCHITECTURAL WALK-THROUGH: Mainly 3D virtual tours of buildings or rooms before they’re even built. Perfect for architects showing off their designs.
EXPLAINER VIDEO ANIMATION: You’ve probably seen this in short business videos where a voice explains a product or service with cute visuals.
SUBJECTIVE ANIMATION: Showing the world through a character’s eye (dreams, feelings, imagination) – like scribbles swirling around a character’s head to show stress. Also, it is used for public or commercial messages.
FORENSIC ANIMATION: Used in courtrooms to recreate events (like a car crash or murder case) to help the lawyer explain what happened.
PRODUCT ANIMATION: Showcasing how a product (like a phone or gadget) works in a fun, animated way to highlight features.
LOGO ANIMATION: Think of your favorite brand logo spinning, bouncing, or glowing at the start of a video.
SIMULATION: Want fire, water, or explosions in your animation? That’s simulation – where computers make realistic physics happen.

What’s Coming Next?

So yeah, animation comes in all shapes and sizes: hand drawn, digital, 3D, stop motion, or motion graphics. The cool part is you don’t need to learn all of them. Just pick one that feels right for your style and start experimenting, then choose what you enjoy the most.

Your Next Step?

In the next blog, we will talk about the beginner–friendly tools you can actually use to start animating (without needing Hollywood money).