The 9 best animation styles

An image showing styles of animation with Avatar, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Wallace and Gromit, South Park, Metal Slug, The Simpsons, South Park and the Magic Roundabout
(Image credit: Future / Aardman Animations / 20th Century Studios / The Walt Disney Company / SNK / AB Productions / WarnerMedia)

The best animation styles offer powerfully effective ways to tell stories that captivate audiences, whether it's for non-fiction features and shorts, documentaries or corporate explainers. Different animation techniques have emerged at different times, meaning that today there are lots of ways to create animated video.

Animation is essentially the presentation of images in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement, and there are many ways that this can be done, from traditional hand-drawn animation to stop-motion and digital 3D animation. Each has its own look and feel, and the right type of animation for your project will depend on the look and feel that you want to create, as well as the resources and skills you have available.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

TOPICS
Joe Foley

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
An Aardman animator works his magic on set of the Wallace and Gromit stop motion movie
Stop-motion animation: everything you need to know
Best free animation software; logos
The best free animation software for 2D and 3D artists
Best animation software; app logos
The best animation software: reviewed and tested by professional 3D artists
Best animation software; logos for animation software on a pink background
The best animation software: reviewed and tested for 2D and 3D artists
Walt Disney animation movie posters
How to use Disney's 12 principles of animation
Still from the stop motion movie The House
The best stop-motion movies and where to watch them
Latest in 3D Animation
An image from a Super Mario animation made in Blender
Heartwarming Blender Super Mario animation is so perfect it could have been made by Nintendo
Still from new Shrek 5 teaser
The new Shrek 5 character design proves DreamWorks has lost its edge
An image from Ne Zha 2 Chinese animation
Is Ne Zha 2's box office record really the end of Disney and Pixar's domination?
How we made Ada; A digitally animated scene depicts two women in a grand, antique-style library, with one pointing.
How we made the "lush, handmade look" of animated series Ada
An Aardman animator works his magic on set of the Wallace and Gromit stop motion movie
Stop-motion animation: everything you need to know
Behind the scenes images from the making of a stop motion animation for Humane World for Animals
You have to see how the adorable animals were made for this stunning animation
Latest in Features
Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau; a vibrant, dynamic illustration showcases Spider-Gwen in a dynamic action pose amidst a cityscape, radiating a sense of energy and playful confidence
"Art is not easy. You have to suffer in joy" – Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau reflects on what it takes to succeed in comic art
Your House indie game art interview; A stylised illustration depicts a young woman seated, seemingly contemplative, in a setting that combines elements of a comic book panel and a vintage aesthetic
"This is a game you can read, or a book you can play” – solving the visual design of Your House, a detective game crossed with a Daniel Clowes comic
AI generated images of a male creative director and a female parent
AI's gender bias is even worse than reality
Augustinas Paukšte waving out of a window
"I tried to be a human orchestra": a day in the life of creative director Augustinas Paukšte
Lady Phyll
"She embodies strength, resilience, and pride": Ron Timehin on photographing LGBTQ+ icon Lady Phyll
Atomfall hands-on; various scenes from a video game set in a 1950s England after the apocalypse
"We wanted it to feel big" – playing Atomfall from an art director’s perspective