How to Research for Story-Time Animation

Too Lame; Didn’t Read (TL;DR)!

 

Before starting your animation, you do not need to go outside or interview people. Animation research can be done by observing what already exists – books, videos, thumbnails, titles, and hooks made by others. This is called secondary research. Start by manually studying content in your niche, then utilise tools such as ChatGPT or Perplexity to go deeper and faster. AI helps, but it should support your thinking, not replace it. Research makes your animation clearer, more engaging, and easier to plan.

 

Why Research Is Important Before Animation?

 

If you’re a beginner (or even a kid), animation can feel confusing:

• What should I animate?
• What my thumbnail should look like?
• What should I write in a title?
• What should the story be?
• How do I make people interested?

Research answers all these questions before you even open your animation software.

Think of research like this:

-> You are gaining motivation or learning from people who already tried and tested things.

This saves time, reduces confusion, and makes your animation better from day one.

 

You Don’t Need Primary Research for Animation

Many beginners think research means:

• Going to the field
• Interviewing people
• Conducting questionnaires

You do NOT need this for animation.

For animation, primary research is not required.

Instead, you use secondary research.

 

What Is Secondary Research?

 

Secondary research means:

• Reading books
• Watching videos
• Studying thumbnails
• Observing how other creators tell stories
• Learning from what already exists

You are not creating new data.

You are learning from existing content.

This is perfect for:

• Animators
• Storytellers
• YouTubers
• Absolute beginners

 

How to Do Research for Animation

(Step By Step)

 

I) Watch Animations Similar to What You Want to Create:

Go to YouTube and search for:

• Story-time animation
• Animated stories
• Cartoon explanations
• Educational animations

While watching, ask yourself:

• How the story starts (the hook)?
• How long scenes are
• How simple or complex the animation is
• How emotions are reflected

You are not copying. You are learning patterns.

 

II) Study Thumbnails (Very Important):

Studying thumbnails are part of research.

Look at:

• Colours
• Simplicity
• Facial expressions
• Text used (or no text)

 

Ask yourself:

• Why did I click this?
• Why I did stop to look at it?
• What did I watch the video
• What made it interesting

This  helps later when you design your own thumbnails.

 

III) Read Books or Simple Articles (Optional but Helpful):

You don’t need heavy books.

Simple books or articles on:

• Storytelling
• Visual communication
• Animation basics (recommended: Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams)

Even children’s books are useful – they teach clear storytelling.

 

Why Title Research Should Happen NOW?

 

Most beginners think:

-> I will think about the title and thumbnail when I am uploading the video.

That is a big mistake – especially for animation.

Here‘s why title and thumbnail research helps earlier:

• The title and thumbnail shapes your story
• The title and thumbnail is what people see first
• They define what the animation is really all about
• It helps you decide:

-> What to include

-> What to remove

-> What the hook should be

For beginners, this is even more important since:

• It gives direction
• It prevents confusion
• It helps with going off-track
• It stops over-complicating the animation

So yeah. Title and thumbnail research is part of story-time animation research, not just an uploading task.

 

Where Title and Thumbnail Reseach Fits In the Process?

Think of it like this:

1. Research animations, videos, thumbnails
2. Research titles and thumbnails people already click on
3. Type in the first word of your video in YouTube and Google, and see the suggestions
4. Add _ (hyphen) before a word to see prefix of that word in YouTube and Google search.
5. Plan your animation story
6. Animate
7. Upload (where you refine, not invent, the title)

By the time you upload, your title and thumbnail should already be 100% ready.

Why You Should Research Titles Before Making Your Animation?

 

Titles and thumbnails should be researched much earlier, during the research phase.

A title and thumbnail are not just labels. It is a direction.

When you research titles early, you understand:

• What people are curious about
• What language beginners understand
• What kind of promises attract clicks

For animation, especially story-time animation, the title and thumbnails helps you:

• Decide the main idea
• Create a strong hook in the first few seconds
• Avoid adding unnecessary scenes

You don’t need to finalise the title and thumbnail, but you should:

• Look at titles of similar story-time animators on YouTube
• Notice common words and patterns
• Ask why certain titles and thumbnails feel interesting

Later, during uploading, you can improve and polish the thumbnail and title – but the foundation should already exist.

This makes animation planning easier, clearer, and more focused.

 

Using AI for Research

(The Smart Way)

 

If you have read my precious blog on how to use ChatGPT, this is where it connects: The same way ChatGPT helps improve writing, it can help improve your thumbnail and animation research. Now we are going to learn about Perplexity, which is an AI search tool that:

• It summarises answers.
• It shows sources.
• It helps you understand topics faster.

Think of Perplexity as:

-> A smart researcher that explains the internet to you.

 

Important Rule: Do Research Yourself First

 

This is very important.

Before asking AI:

1. Watch some videos
2. Observe thumbnails
3. Think on your own

Then use AI.

Why?

• AI works best when you already have context.
• You understand answers better
• You don’t blindly trust AI

-> Human thinking first, AI second.

 

Even when using AI for thumbnail and title ideas:

• Do your own thinking first
• Use AI to improve, not replace, your idea.

This habit will aid you not only with story-time animation, but with any creative work.

 

How Perplexity Helps After You Do Manual Research?

 

Once you have done basic research, AI can assist you:

• Suggest better hook
• Simplify complex ideas
• Find patterns you missed
• Improve your story structure

This is where Perplexity shines, or ChatGPT.

 

Bonus: AI Prompts You can Use for Animation Research

(These are advanced helpers – use them after manual research)

Prompts:

 

1. What mistakes do beginner story-time animators make because they skip research.
2. Analyse popular animated videos for beginners and tell me what kind of hooks they use in the first 10 seconds.
3. Based on simple animated storytelling, what structure works best for explaining ideas to teenagers.
4. Study successful story-time animation titles and thumbnails, and explain common design patterns in simple words.
5. Help me simplify this story-time animation idea so even a 11 years old can understand it.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Research is not scary and not complicated. And for animation – it does not require fieldwork.

You just need to:

1. Observe
2. Think
3. Learn from others
4. Then use AI wisely

This process makes animation easier, clearer, and more fun.