Do It Yourself Animated Business Explainer Videos for Marketers

Can VideoMakerFX and EasySketchPro
turn you into an Animated Video Producer?

Animated Business Explainer Videos are going from strength to strength as THE marketing tool for just about anything. Anyone who has done the research knows that hiring a studio to create animated videos is expensive. Whilst there are cheaper options, like my own Animation 4 Business service the promise of being able to make an animated video yourself isn't one to be ignored.

You can try online services such as GoAnimate, PowToon, Moovly, Wideo and others but most have ongoing fees and won't turn you into an accomplished video director without some serious time spent learning their studio.

Two software products that I came across recently and purchased are being promoted to marketers as the ultimate tools for creating animated business explainer videos, Video Maker FX and Easy Sketch Pro.

Full disclaimer: As I said I purchased both these products but I am not an affiliate. Clicking my links to these products won't earn me a cent. I will also say that I haven't used either since my initial purchase and general exploration of how each allows you to create animated video.

My general impression of both tools is that they're both good at what they do. Both will let you work from templates and clip-art to help you produce professional looking animations. Both are very easy to grasp the basics of quickly. Both are affordable and have after sale ongoing up-sells that are optional.

Video Maker FX is a more general purpose system based around customizing existing animation templates with your own information and images. There are a number templates styles including the currently popular whiteboard style. You can also pick and choose from different templates just the bits you need. If you do have a creative flare you could go fully custom and produce something from scratch.

Sample Video created with Video Maker FX.

Easy Sketch Pro is specifically designed to create whiteboard style animations. Instead of templates it gives you access to an extensive library of clip art and animations optimized to work well with the studio. They also show you how to create your own clip-art images making it possible to create completely custom animations from scratch.

Sample Video created with Easy Sketch Pro.

I'm actually quite impressed by both systems and I'm not disappointed I bought them. If you just wanted to create whiteboard animations then Easy Sketch Pro does that better than Video Maker FX (as you would expect of software dedicated to that style). If you see yourself looking to create videos in several styles then Video Maker FX will probably serve you well.

The one thing neither software will do is turn you into a video designer within minutes.

The reality is, no matter what do-it-yourself system you ultimately choose, you won't make an effective animated video quickly... and, if you don't have any sense for design, you'll be stuck with trying to adapt templates to your needs. Which can actually be more time consuming than time saving if you're struggling to adapt something suitable.

However, if you take the time to write a script, plan a storyboard, and then put some care into creating your video, either tool could give you effective animated videos for a fraction of the cost. They are worth looking into if you have some talent for design and/or film making and you don't mind putting in a few hours to learn the basics of the software.

Comments

Eight 2D Animation Apps For Your Phone or Tablet Mobile Device

M obile productivity apps have become so capable that they can be great alternatives to their PC/MAC equivalents or serve as great tools in their own right when you're away from your desk. While some apps simply mimic their desktop counterparts, others offer well thought out, touch-friendly interfaces that are easier and more fun to use. Every so often I check out what's available for 2D animation for Android devices, since that's what I use, that can complement my workflow with Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5. Some may be available for Apple devices as well. Below I've listed six free (F) apps (with optional paid (P) upgrades) on the Google Play Store that you might want to explore. Some are just fun apps on their own while others may be useful as part of your workflow on bigger animation projects. Not all are exclusively animation apps and could be used on any production. JotterPad (F/P) The name JotterPad makes this sound like a notepad application but it's ...

Inochi2D - Free Open Source 2D VTuber Avatar Rigging and Puppeteering Software (Part 1)

Inochi2D Creator - Free Open Source VTuber Software. If you've been looking for a way to live perform as a 2D cartoon avatar on camera, whether it be for a live stream or for pre-recorded content like educational videos, then VTuber software is a low cost (or even no cost) option worth looking into. In my previous post, How to Become a VTuber - 2D and 3D Software for Creating and Controlling Your Avatar , I took a brief look at the relatively new but completely free and open source Inochi2D which I thought showed great potential for my own needs of creating a live performance character rig for my own TET Avatar that I use for all my promotional materials. While it is possible to live perform my character using Cartoon Animator itself, Reallusion's MotionLive2D capture system isn't great - with lip sync in particular. More importantly though, I can't exactly teach people how to use Cartoon Animator if I'm using Cartoon Animator to control my Avatar. What is Inochi2D...

Koolmoves Tutorials for GoAnimate - Parts 1 and 2

Quite a few people on GoAnimate have asked me to make a Koolmoves tutorial for creating flash props and characters suitable for use with the GoAnimate Studio. Well that day is finally here with this series of four videos that will give you more than enough learning to at least be making your own flash props - and will give you a kick start for animating characters too. Tutorial 1 The first video will step you through the process of setting up a template file suitable for using as a starting point for all your flash props and backgrounds. More than that, the way the template is set up is exactly how you need it for creating your own GoAnimate Community Characters - a feature that is currently only available to GoAnimate Beta Users but, if GoAnimate makes it widely available, you'll be ready. The tutorial finishes with showing how to upload your flash props/backgrounds/characters etc. into the GoAnimate Studio. Tutorial 2, Part 1 In part 1 I show you how to import a trace i...

Wonder Unit Storyboarder - Free Storyboarding Software for People Who Can (or Can't) Draw

Wonder Unit Storyboarder. As an independent and solo animator I'm always tempted to try and skip storyboarding my animated shorts because they're usually only single scene sketch comedy type jokes. As a result I have many unfinished projects that kind of petered out due to having no clear finishing line. Storyboarding your productions, no matter how small, gives you a step by step guide of every shot that needs to be completed (no planning shots as you animate). It also allows you to create an animatic that gives you a rough preview of the finished production. In short, you shouldn't skip storyboards as they, generally, increase the chance of the project being completed. Disclaimer - I'm Not a Fan of Storyboarder Upfront, Wonder Unit's Storyboarder is not my preferred storyboarding software. However it's completely free, has a number of very compelling featu...

The Ultimate Independent Animator's App and Resource List - Animation and Video Life

Image created with Cartoon Animator 4. Being an independent animator is not like a studio animation job. There's so much more to do that is indirectly related to the actual task of animating. Over the years I've sought out many apps, tools, and services that can help me achieve that one single task, expressing myself through animation. Below is my Ultimate Independent Animator's Resource List for 2024 (last updated Oct 2024). It started out as a list of free or low cost apps that could help you in every stage of producing either 2D or 3D animation, and then just kind of grew from there. You may not have been looking for a Time Management App as much as you needed something to get you started in 3D animation but when those commissioned projects start coming in you'll have a head start on maximizing your time. All the apps and services on this list had to meet two main criteria: They had to be useful and relevant to an Indy Animator/artist. The base app/se...

Prome AI Sketch Render Tool - Your Tradigital Clean Up and Colorist Artist for Character and Background Design

Random character head, Biro sketches drawn by TET (left). Render by PromeAI (right) using Prome's Sketch Render tool set to 'Comon:Cartoon, Render Mode: Outline'. W hile I don't do New Year Resolutions, one of my plans for the year ahead is to do more of my own art. Specifically character design drawn in an actual, physical sketchbook. To that end, I have been spending the last half hour of most days drawing a page or two of random biro sketches in my sketchbook and posting the pages to my Instagram account (this link will take you to one of my posts). These sketches are mostly practicing my skills because I don't really draw regularly anymore. Here is a tip, if you do this kind of sketching, and push yourself to keep doing it, you will see many drawings that could be taken further, even if you don't have anything they're suited for just at the moment. Which is where my second favorite AI Image Tool (after Leonardo.ai ) PromeAI comes into play. PromeAI ...

Follow Me As I Build My Two Cartoon Web Series So You Can Build Your Series Too

Bat Storm and TET from Resident Dragon, Behind the Scenes on these two series. Image by Gemini AI and TET. M any cartoonists, authors, short story writers, and other types of creators find themselves aspiring to make an animated cartoon web series because, although a challenging task, it's seen to be achievable by a team of one. You don't need a big studio, a killer pitch, or a big budget, (which would all be nice) you can just start making something yourself, in your spare time, on a shoe string budget. That's what this blog, going forward, will be focusing upon. I'm going to document the behind the scenes on how I'm making my two web series, which will hopefully inspire you to say, if he can do this with almost no budget, then maybe I can too. Along the way I plan to create guides and tutorials, so you aren't just seeing behind the scenes, you also have the option of following some of my processes step by step. Full disclaimer. This is just my process. I'm...

Animation and Video Life

Search This Blog