AI is everywhere these days, with creations like ChatGPT crashing into our lives harder than Miley Cyrus on a metaphorical wrecking ball. In fact, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app of all time, becoming a helpful digital assistant for professionals, a form of entertainment for procrastinators and an invaluable tool for lazy students aiming for that A+. But how is artificial intelligence shaking up the animation industry and what does the future hold for AI generated animation?

Right now, countless new AI models are popping up all over the place, creating detailed animations from simple text prompts—and it’s only the beginning. So, should us animation studios be quaking in our boots? Praying to God that the machines don’t steal our jobs?

Actually, the answer is “no”. 

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How animation studios are using AI Generated Animation?

Animation studios are increasingly using AI to automate the more time-consuming and arduous parts of the animation process. This streamlines projects and allows us animators to focus on the elements of our role more reliant on our creativity and industry know-how. 3D animation is notoriously labour-intensive and costly to produce. Many studios find AI extremely useful for this type of animation, especially for things like 3D character rigging.

AI Generated Animation

Some of the AI models we find interesting are the deep learning models like DALL-E2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. Users can provide a text description prompt of what they want, and the AI will design a detailed image, often producing some very trippy results without the right instructions in place… Adobe also launched its new AI engine, Adobe Firefly, which allows users to generate high-quality images and text effects from its stock library, opening up a new creative world to help inspire our team of expert animators.

Along with this, there are other general AI tools that are also great for the animation industry. ChatGPT has received a lot of press lately – both good and bad – but when used correctly, it can be a very helpful tool. We like to think of it as our little robot helper, assisting with administrative tasks so we can dive head first into the more creative work.

The advantages of using AI in Animation

Making the animation process more efficient –

There is a lot of time and effort that goes into every stage of the animation process, from conceptualising the story, designing the characters, and scripting the video to creating the style frames and producing the animation from start to finish. The use of AI will make the whole process much more efficient and enable animators to create more creative and high-quality work in less time. Sounds great, huh?

AI Generated Animation
AI Generated Animation

Saving on costs –

By allowing AI to automate parts of the animation process, it reduces the overall time and allows budgets to be focused on the more important areas. This means studios can create high-quality animations at a more competitive price and make premium types of animation, like 3D, more accessible to clients.

Creative trial and error-

AI allows for much more creativity through trial and error. Studios can come up with fully visualised concepts much quicker and easier than ever before. This gives us more freedom for creative experimentation that would have been previously unfeasible for client projects. Now, animators can generate multiple creative concepts to ensure they not only perfectly hit a client’s brief, but also match the client’s vision.

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The future of AI animation

Here at The Animation Guys headquarters, we keep our ear to the ground and our finger on the pulse of all the latest trends in the animation industry. AI is advancing at such a rapid rate that it is hard to predict what will happen in the future. But if we take a look inside our magic crystal ball, here are some of the things we see happening in the animation space with AI:

  • AI will push the creative boundaries for animations like never before, allowing people to experiment with the art form and take it to new dimensions of creativity.
  • The better AI gets, the more realistic and personalised animation will become, giving more depth and emotion to animated characters and opening up a whole new world of animated realism.
  • AI will become the ultimate assistant for the future animator, assisting them not only in terms of inspiring ideas but also in the execution of the eventual implementation of our creative ideas.

So, there you have it, our hot take on AI animation. It’s a new creative frontier, and we are very excited to see where it takes us. We are sure that it will revolutionise our industry, with faster, more efficient, and experimental types of animation on the horizon. 

Or we may just be running for the hills as the machines take over.

But until then, hasta la vista, baby.

Want to bring your brand to life with great animation and creative storytelling? Then you’ve at the right place. Contact our friendly team of pro animators on 0207 2886 319 or fill out our simple contact form.