What Is Collage Animation? Complete Guide

A collage animation is the process of turning a series of cut-outs of images and photographs into a story by adding animations, backgrounds, and transitions. It is a highly dynamic and innovative approach to animation that is seen as incredibly success in marketing, education, and social campaigning. In this article, we'll go over everything you need to know about collage animation.

Collage Animation - A Brief History

Collage animation invention dates back to as far back as the invention of paper in China before the Georgian calendar. Throughout history, it has been used as a way to propagate and communicate ideas, and it has been featured in virtually every corner of the world, today, it is heavily used in prominent areas such as marketing, film, art, and more!

The Process of Creating a Collage Animated Video

Creating a collage animation is a complex, multi-step task, and each studio has its own unique approach to the task. Here's an inside look into how we approach collage animations at Pigeon Studio:

1. Storyboarding and Conceptualization

The process of creating any animated video begins with storyboarding and conceptualization. It's here where our team, after an extensive talk with the client and grabbing our cups of coffee☕, will sit down and brainstorm an approach to the project.

Here, important elements of the collage animation are decided: The main focus of the collage animation, the characters featured, the tone and broad colour schemes, the writing outlines, and more. Proper storyboarding is essential for the success of the project, and as a team, we make sure we are very thorough and the client is fully on board before we proceed.

2. Creating, Collecting and Sorting the Images

The images represent the heart and soul of a collage animation, and whether they are real photographs, hand-drawn, or CGI, great care must be taken when selecting, placing, and handling them.

Following storyboarding, the images are collected/created and chronologically sorted. These act as the building blocks of the rest of the animation.

3. Adding Animation and Background

A series of rotating images a collage doesn't make, that's a slide show. Animations and dynamic backgrounds are necessary to turn the images into a proper story that poignantly communicates our client's message or shines a light on their product.

After the images are chosen, suitable backgrounds are drawn and animations are added both to the images themselves and transitions between different images. Getting this process right is very vital when trying to create a cohesive and engaging video that viewers can enjoy.

4. Music and Voice Acting

After the visuals are finished, proper music and voice acting (if necessary) are added to round out the experience. These are not always necessary, for example, if the clips will be shown as banner ads. However, they are highly important if the videos will be used as part of social media campaigns, landing pages, or TV commercials, etc. Music is important to establishing the right atmosphere and voice acting can be key to communicating your message.

5. Finalising the Video

After all the elements come together, it is time for a final review of the collage animation. Here, any last-minute inputs from the client are taken into consideration. Animators check for any oversights in an image or a texture to ensure there are no mistakes. Only after everything has been okayed by both our team and the client do we consider the project finished!

5 Reasons Why Collage Animation Could Be Ideal for Your Project

#1 It is Highly Innovative and Creative

Collage animations are a highly versatile and innovative medium that's not only used to create highly successful commercials and explainer videos, but is also used in art pieces and exhibitions. It has even seen extensive use in cinema, with the most famous example being the highly regarded and iconic Monty Python's Flying Circus.

This versatility stems from the flexibility of every element of a collage animation. The basic collage elements, for example, can be black and white images, CGI cel animation, real photographs, etc. The animations can be muted or lively. The transitions can be simple or elaborate. The backgrounds can be sombre or colourful. Carefully fine-tuning each element allows you to create a unique collage that's perfect for your task.

#2 It Is Truly Expressive

Collage animations' use of and focus on static images might appear restrictive at first. Still, as schools of art throughout history have shown, "restrictions breed creativity," and this is certainly true when creating a collage animation.

The static images, the linear flow, and the clear typography, if leveraged properly, can create highly poignant and expressive sequences that truly shine a light on the subject of the collage and communicate both simple and complex concepts with ease, whether it is a product, an environmental message, an educational subject, etc.

#3 It Is Suitable for Both Commercial and Non-profit Purposes

The collage style is considered timeless by many. It appeals to a wide variety of audiences from kids to business managers. This is why you'll find both animated cartoons and business-to-business commercials making use of collage animation.

Talented animators and artists can use collage animation to tell the story you want to communicate to the audience you want to communicate it to. Whether this is a video that focuses on your brand's identity using real-life images of your products or stores or whether this is an explainer video that relies on abstract and colourful characters for a classroom, an animated collage is an excellent tool for the job.

#4 Affordable

Due to the use of still images, a collage animation can be relatively affordable and easy to create, especially with the use of high-end animation software. Though it can incorporate both, it neither requires lengthy, professional real-world footage nor complex animation work. This gives the creator of a collage animation a lot of flexibility regarding how to approach the project depending on the amount of money allocated to it. If you want an animation with excellent visuals and artwork that appeals to a large audience while spending a limited budget, a collage animation is perfect for the task!

#5 Ideal for Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are a fast-paced environment where complex visuals and ideas are often ignored or lost. Many people quickly scroll by and won't pause unless they see illustrations and visuals that grab their attention. This is certainly true for many members of our team.

Our selected examples of collage animation

• The Rule of Law i U.S Embassy
• First Home
• Honda Civic 50th anniversary
• Blood donors