© 2025 MightyGiant
© 2025 MightyGiant
FAQs
FAQs
FAQs
What impacts the price of an animation?
The main factors are length and complexity. A short animation can still be costly if it is detailed. 2D is generally cheaper than 3D, and the level of detail, number of characters and team size all add hours. As a ballpark, a short animation starts around 10,000 pounds, rising for longer or more complex projects.
Duration
Our base cost is for a minute of animation. But that’s not just for the animation. To start a project we have set up costs; the design process, concepts, storyboards, making artwork and/or building characters. That all takes time, but it also means a 2 minute animation isn’t necessarily twice the price of a one minute. A lot of the legwork has been done setting up for the original work.
Detail
The level of detail and polish requested affects price heavilly. Things like background complexity, number of unique characters, camera movement, particle effects, and fine detail work in textures or shading all add hours. Photorealistic 3D rendering in particular can require significant computing time and expertise.
In summary
To put a ballpark answer on the question, we’d say a good starter point for a short animation is £10,000. If you’re looking for a complex animation that’s either quite long or has multiple outputs and needs the talents of our entire team, the cost get’s nudged up steadily. Now you have the factors though, we can start a conversation about what we can and can’t do for the budget you have.
Complexity
Style and complexity matter a lot. 2D animation is generally cheaper than 3D, since 3D requires modeling, rigging, texturing, and lighting on top of the animation itself. Within 2D, something like simple motion graphics (text, shapes, icons moving around) costs far less than character animation with lip-sync, nuanced expressions, and believable movement. That being said, there are sometimes occasions where the inital cost of a 3D project makes the long term life of it cheaper. There are a lot more re-usable assets. 2D tends to need to be reworked each time.
Team
The size of the team = more people per hour = most cost. A small simple project can have one artist working on it. A bigger more complex production requires 4 or 5 animators all working at once which adds to the production costs.
Duration
Our base cost is for a minute of animation. But that’s not just for the animation. To start a project we have set up costs; the design process, concepts, storyboards, making artwork and/or building characters. That all takes time, but it also means a 2 minute animation isn’t necessarily twice the price of a one minute. A lot of the legwork has been done setting up for the original work.
Complexity
Style and complexity matter a lot. 2D animation is generally cheaper than 3D, since 3D requires modeling, rigging, texturing, and lighting on top of the animation itself. Within 2D, something like simple motion graphics (text, shapes, icons moving around) costs far less than character animation with lip-sync, nuanced expressions, and believable movement. That being said, there are sometimes occasions where the inital cost of a 3D project makes the long term life of it cheaper. There are a lot more re-usable assets. 2D tends to need to be reworked each time.
Detail
The level of detail and polish requested affects price heavilly. Things like background complexity, number of unique characters, camera movement, particle effects, and fine detail work in textures or shading all add hours. Photorealistic 3D rendering in particular can require significant computing time and expertise.
Team
The size of the team = more people per hour = most cost. A small simple project can have one artist working on it. A bigger more complex production requires 4 or 5 animators all working at once which adds to the production costs.
In summary
To put a ballpark answer on the question, we’d say a good starter point for a short animation is £10,000. If you’re looking for a complex animation that’s either quite long or has multiple outputs and needs the talents of our entire team, the cost get’s nudged up steadily. Now you have the factors though, we can start a conversation about what we can and can’t do for the budget you have.
Duration
Our base cost is for a minute of animation. But that’s not just for the animation. To start a project we have set up costs; the design process, concepts, storyboards, making artwork and/or building characters. That all takes time, but it also means a 2 minute animation isn’t necessarily twice the price of a one minute. A lot of the legwork has been done setting up for the original work.
Complexity
Style and complexity matter a lot. 2D animation is generally cheaper than 3D, since 3D requires modeling, rigging, texturing, and lighting on top of the animation itself. Within 2D, something like simple motion graphics (text, shapes, icons moving around) costs far less than character animation with lip-sync, nuanced expressions, and believable movement. That being said, there are sometimes occasions where the inital cost of a 3D project makes the long term life of it cheaper. There are a lot more re-usable assets. 2D tends to need to be reworked each time.
Detail
The level of detail and polish requested affects price heavilly. Things like background complexity, number of unique characters, camera movement, particle effects, and fine detail work in textures or shading all add hours. Photorealistic 3D rendering in particular can require significant computing time and expertise.
Team
The size of the team = more people per hour = most cost. A small simple project can have one artist working on it. A bigger more complex production requires 4 or 5 animators all working at once which adds to the production costs.
In summary
To put a ballpark answer on the question, we’d say a good starter point for a short animation is £10,000. If you’re looking for a complex animation that’s either quite long or has multiple outputs and needs the talents of our entire team, the cost get’s nudged up steadily. Now you have the factors though, we can start a conversation about what we can and can’t do for the budget you have.
In summary
To put a ballpark answer on the question, we’d say a good starter point for a short animation is £10,000. If you’re looking for a complex animation that’s either quite long or has multiple outputs and needs the talents of our entire team, the cost get’s nudged up steadily. Now you have the factors though, we can start a conversation about what we can and can’t do for the budget you have.