Making a 1-minute 2D animation is not just a matter of pressing play on your favourite cartoon and going on a mesmerising ride. It’s more like cooking a gourmet meal, where each ingredient (or frame) needs time and attention to get just right. So, how long does it take to make those 60 seconds of magical animated brilliance?

The answer is that it depends! At Frame Makerzzz, we’ve perfected the formula for balancing creativity with efficiency to deliver animations that will make your audience go ‘Woah!’ Whether it’s a corporate explainer video or a goofy ad, there’s more to making it than just waving a magic wand. But don’t worry, we’ll break it all down for you—no complicated jargon, just a simple, relatable guide to help you understand what goes into making that one-minute marvel. 

Factors Affecting the Production Timeline: 

Making a one-minute 2D animated film might seem simple enough, but several things can lengthen—or shorten—the timeline. 

Complexity of the Animation: 

Animation is a recipe: the more ingredients (or elements) you have, the longer it will take to cook. A complex show with elaborate design, detailed backgrounds, and lots of FX can take 6 to 8 weeks per minute. In 2024, shows such as Arcane pushed the envelope, as scenes with thousands of frames can take significantly longer to produce.

Style of Animation: 

This depends on the style you choose. Traditional, hand-drawn animation, where every frame has to be drawn, was slower than cut-out animation, which is faster to produce. In 2024, conventional 2D animation usually took between eight and 12 weeks per minute, whereas a cut-out style could be made in half that time. For example, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, a film produced in traditional 2D animation, is exceptionally time-consuming. 

Frames per Second (FPS): 

FPS is the pulse of your animation. For 2D standard animation, you’d typically shoot at 24 FPS (24 frames per second). That’s 1,440 frames for one minute. The higher the FPS you work at, the smoother the motion, but the more time you need to put in. As the deadline neared in 2024, most good animations were still at 24 FPS, just like Spirited Away. However, some anime productions for TV had to kill the animation’s pulse at 12 FPS to save time (at the expense of smoothness). 

Revisions and Feedback Loops: 

Revisions can be the project’s most challenging deadline. Every round of notes from the client can mean heading back to square one. In 2024, 38% of animation projects took 15-20% longer than expected because of multiple rounds of revisions. Pixar, long known for its perfectionism, will sometimes add weeks of work to scenes to ensure they are just right. 

Also Read: – Top 10 Types of 2D Animation

Step-by-Step Breakdown of the 2D Animation Timeline: 

Planning and producing 1 minute of 2D animation is like planning the perfect road trip. Every stop is necessary on that journey, or you will never make it. 

Concept and Storyboarding: 

Like plotting your route on a map before you journey there, every great animation begins with a killer concept and storyboard. This is where your story will take shape and act as a guide for your entire team throughout the production process. For example, the show Rick and Morty started with highly detailed storyboards. This phase can take up to 20 per cent of the production time. This is the blueprint for ensuring everyone is on the same page, and the animation trip can start on the right foot.

Design and Asset Creation: 

After that, to the design and asset creation phase – the fashion week of animation, if you will. Here is where the style and personality of a character or background are created. For The Simpsons, for instance, creating the perfect character designs took months of artistic effort. This step alone can consume 30 per cent of a production’s time, depending on the design’s complexity. You’re not going out on a trip without your toothbrush and underwear; you’re getting nowhere in animation without your design elements.

Animation: 

Here’s where the magic happens: the animation stage is the drive through your planned tour – the part where everything you’ve created starts to move. This is the stage where animators do their work, frame by frame. On average, 1 minute of 2D animation at 24 FPS will take around 2-4 weeks to produce in full, depending on the team’s complexity and efficiency. The action-packed, cartoony, psychedelic style of Adventure Time required meticulous animation work. This phase is the heart of production: the more frames per second you have, the smoother the movement is, but the more work you need to put in. 

Post-Production: 

Then there’s post-production: the topping on that fancy animation road trip sundae. A time for sound effects, music and (thankfully) final polish. Here’s where the creators of Gravity Falls spent a little extra time, adding in all that quirky sound stuff and those hidden treasures their fans love to discover. All told, about 10 to 15 per cent of the time is spent here, polishing off that final sundae so that the reveal can happen.

By understanding each step, you’re not just learning how it’s done; you’re learning that every 1-minute animation Frame Makerzzz creates is thought through step by step. 

Also Read: – What is the 2D Animation Production Pipeline

Typical Timeline for a 1-Minute 2D Animation: 

Do you want to know how long it takes to make a 1-minute animation in 2D style? Get yourself a coffee and take a seat. Here is the scoop! A 1-minute 2D animation. 2 to 6 weeks on average. Not a sprint, but a creative marathon.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Simple Animations: 

If your project is simple—a talking character, for example, against simple backgrounds—like the bite-sized animations used in Twitter’s “Twitter Moments” or simple explainer videos like those from Dropbox—it will take around 1 to 3 weeks, like a quick road trip.

Complex Animations: 

For animations with intricate scenes, detailed characters, and multiple revisions—think of the elaborate explainer videos by companies like HubSpot or the intricate ads by the likes of Nike—you’re looking at 4 to 8 weeks. It’s like taking a cross-country trip.

At Frame Makerzzz, we’re all about efficiency without cutting corners. We’ll run you through a smooth production process so that not only will your animation be on time, but your animation will also be on point. With us, you don’t have to worry about your animation sucking, it’s guaranteed to be damn good. And it’s going to look so good that your audience is going to do a double-take. 

Conclusion: 

And that’s a wrap! Creating a one-minute 2D animation is like baking a cake. It takes time, a lot of technique, and a lot of love. Whether it takes us two weeks or six, every frame is carefully crafted so you can tell your story exactly the way you imagined. At Frame Makerzzz, we’re all about turning your ideas into animations that look and feel good. 

Are you ready to bring your vision to life? Connect with Frame Makerzzz. Whether a personal project or a professional undertaking, our creative team is happy to help get your concept from the drawing board into reality. Not only will we create a masterpiece that will dazzle your eyes, but one that will capture your heart. Every great story deserves its ending and a movie poster that tells it.