Motion Graphics vs Animation & VFX

Motion Graphics and Animation: What’s The Difference?

When you browse through graphic designer portfolios, watch YouTube intro videos or look for new video content for your business you often get confused whether motion graphics and animation should be regarded as the same thing. Well, at first glance there doesn’t seem anything wrong with it since both things have something to do with movement, screen and are types of visual storytelling. However, in case you want to hire a professional or develop one project on your own it’s crucial to know how to differentiate them.

So let’s explain it to you clearly.

What Is Animation?

To say the least, the animation is the art of making static pictures appear in motion by creating an illusion of it. It is used when creating cartoons such as those produced by Disney or 3D animations made by Pixar studios. Usually animations are associated with some sort of characters or story and contain emotions.

Animation is a general field and has many different styles to include:

2D animation – hand-drawn or digitally drawn characters and backgrounds
3D animation – computer generated models with depth and realistic motion
Stop-motion animation – the physical objects photographed frame by frame to give the illusion of motion
Character animation – dedicated to the creation of a believable character with its own life

As you can see, in all of these cases, there is something common between them, which is the narrative. Animation tells a story or gives the emotions or develops a character. Animation is a craft, the performance, because even such a simple thing as a bouncing ball has to obey some principles of weight, timing and expression, which are studied by animators for years.

Motion Graphics Definition

• Motion graphics is the term used to define animation of the graphic design elements such as text, logo, iconography, shapes or infographic etc. Think about animated lower-thirds of the news, animated explainer videos explaining the app functionality and title animations for the corporate presentation.
  While animation is concerned with characters and storytelling, motion graphics is concerned with communication and design. Animation is about creating a story that unfolds via a character whereas motion graphics is about making information clear and interesting to watch. Motion graphic designers usually have a lot to do with graphic design elements like typography, colors, layouts, and branding. And only then do they add motion to their creations.Examples of where you can see motion graphics include:
  Explainer videos
  1.Social media advertisements/promotions
  2.Product demo
  3.Title sequences/lower thirds
  4.Infographic visuals/data visualization
  5.Summary Table: The Key Differences in a Nutshell
  6.Aspect Animation Motion Graphics

  Which One Does Your Project Need?

  When trying to choose, keep asking yourself: do I want to build a story, filled with characters and emotions, or do I want to explain some ideas or features, to promote a product or build the image of my brand?

  Pick animation if your project needs storytelling, emotional storylines, or videos centered around a character your audience is supposed to relate to.
  Pick motion graphics if you need videos that would explain processes, highlight some data, animate your brand or make design-centric videos for marketing.

  Most often, many freelancers or even production studios specialize either in animation or in motion graphics, so knowing which one of them fits your project will help you find the right person and have realistic expectations concerning budget, timeframe and style.

  Wrapping It Up

  Animation and motion graphics should not be considered rivals. They both are different types of visual storytelling, used in different cases. While one type focuses on emotions and character-driven stories, another one is all about design and explanations. Knowing the difference between these two terms will help you choose the right specialist and avoid misunderstandings.

  Next time you plan to shoot a video, try taking a moment to consider whether what you want from your viewer is a story or a message. Your answer will help guide you to the correct craft every single time.