2D animation studio built for your brand.
Magic Motion Studio creates custom 2D animated videos with original characters, hand-crafted environments, and fluid motion that brings your brand story to life. Pricing published upfront. Delivered in 14 business days.
beautifully.
All animation. One studio.
beautifully.
All animation. One studio.
Over 1,000 videos. See a few.
Every video is 100% original. No stock assets, no recycled characters. Below is a selection of 2D animation projects across different styles and industries.
Our Specialties
Six styles of 2D animation. One studio.
2D Character Animation
Custom-designed characters with expressive movement, lip sync, and emotional performance. The most powerful format for brand storytelling and campaigns that need a human connection. Each character is designed from scratch around your brand identity, then animated with fluid, natural motion.
Most popular styleSee character animation examples
Motion Graphics Animation
Animated icons, typography, data visualizations, UI walkthroughs, and kinetic text. The go-to format for SaaS product demos and fintech explainers that need to communicate complex data quickly and clearly. See how we use it in our motion graphics service.
Best for SaaS and TechCut-Out Animation
Characters and props built from layered, movable digital parts animated like puppets. Produces expressive character performances with faster turnaround than frame-by-frame, ideal for ongoing series and budget-conscious multi-episode productions.
Best for series contentFrame-by-Frame Cel Animation
Every frame individually hand-illustrated for the smoothest, most premium quality available. This is the format behind classic Disney productions and modern anime, producing organic, tactile motion that rigging or AI tools cannot replicate.
Premium qualityVector and Flat Design Animation
Clean geometric shapes, bold colors, and scalable vector artwork animated with purpose. Looks perfect at any resolution and communicates clearly, the most popular style for corporate explainers and app demos.
Best for corporate brandsAnime-Style 2D Animation
Authentic Japanese anime aesthetic with dramatic line work, expressive eyes, cinematic camera angles, and speed effects. One of the only US-based studios producing genuine anime-style content for commercial brands. See our anime animation studio for dedicated production.
Unique to MMSWhere It Works
Where 2D animation delivers the highest ROI
Homepage and Landing Page Hero Video
A 60 to 90-second 2D animated explainer video placed above the fold is the single highest-ROI placement available. It explains what you do, who it is for, and what action to take, without requiring a visitor to read a word. Landing pages with video convert at 80% higher rates than pages without. For SaaS, fintech, and service businesses where the value proposition requires explanation, a 2D animated hero video removes the primary conversion bottleneck: visitor confusion.
B2B Paid Advertising and LinkedIn Campaigns
2D animated video ads stop the scroll in a feed of static images and text posts. Animation is inherently motion-first, meaning it demands attention before a viewer consciously decides to engage. For LinkedIn, YouTube pre-roll, and programmatic display, animated video consistently outperforms live action on cost-per-click because it is unexpected in professional feed environments. We produce 15, 30, and 60-second campaign versions of every animation, ready to activate immediately.
Product Onboarding and App Tutorial Videos
New user onboarding is the moment where the highest percentage of SaaS churn occurs. A 2D animated onboarding video that walks new users through core features and first-time actions has been shown to reduce support ticket volume by up to 40% and improve day-7 retention. Because the video is animated rather than screen-recorded, it remains accurate even as the UI is updated, without reshooting.
Internal Training and Corporate Communications
2D animated training videos dramatically outperform text-based manuals and slide decks on knowledge retention. Visual storytelling, voiceover, and motion design activate multiple cognitive channels at once, producing retention rates of up to 95% versus 10% for text alone. For compliance training, HR onboarding, and process documentation across distributed teams, it is scalable, consistent, and available on demand.
Investor Pitch Decks and Fundraising
A 60 to 90-second 2D animated product demo embedded at the opening of an investor pitch instantly elevates the perceived quality of the pitch. It demonstrates product vision, market opportunity, and execution capability before a single data slide appears. For early-stage startups pitching a product that does not yet exist at full scale, an animated vision video communicates what a prototype cannot: what the product will feel like when finished. We have helped startups close seed and Series A rounds this way.
The Craft
What is 2D animation and why does it work?
2D animation is the art of creating movement through digitally illustrated characters, environments, and motion design in a two-dimensional plane. Every element, from how a character turns their head to how a product slides into frame, is crafted frame by frame or through digital rigging to produce the illusion of life.
It is the most widely used commercial animation format in the world, and for good reason. 2D animation combines the warmth of human storytelling with the precision of great visual design. A 60-second 2D animated video can communicate what a landing page takes 10 minutes to read, and it does it in a format that viewers actually finish.
Unlike live action video, 2D animation has no limits. It can show a product that does not yet exist, visualize a process that is invisible to the naked eye, simplify a concept that is impossible to film, and adapt a character to speak any language for any market. This is why SaaS companies, healthcare brands, fintech platforms, and enterprise businesses consistently choose 2D animation over live action for their core marketing and educational content.
At Magic Motion Studio, every 2D animation project starts with a strategy conversation, not a style conversation. We identify what your audience needs to understand, what they need to feel, and what action you need them to take. The animation style, character design, and motion approach all flow from that foundation. The result is not just a video that looks good. It is a video that works. See how we approach explainer video production.
2D animation is also the most versatile format across business size and budget. An early-stage startup can produce a high-quality 2D explainer video for the same investment a larger company might spend on a single day of live action filming. And because the source files are digital, updating a 2D animated video as your product evolves costs a fraction of reshooting live action footage.
Why Magic Motion Studio
What makes us different from every other 2D animation company
Toon Boom Harmony — the professional standard
Magic Motion Studio produces every project in Toon Boom Harmony, the same software used by Netflix, Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. This is not a minor point. The software determines the ceiling of animation quality. Most freelance animators and budget studios use Adobe Animate, After Effects, or consumer tools. Toon Boom Harmony is a professional production environment built for the output quality required by broadcast and streaming — and it is the tool our animators use daily.
14-day delivery, not 6 to 12 weeks
The average 2D animation studio quotes 6 to 12 weeks for a 60-second explainer video. Magic Motion Studio delivers in 14 business days from approved brief. This is not an estimate: it is our guarantee. We achieve this through a parallel production workflow where scripting, character design, and storyboarding happen simultaneously rather than in sequence, as is standard. Fast delivery without cutting corners is a structural advantage, not a marketing claim.
100% original assets — no templates, no libraries
Every character, environment, prop, and motion element is built from scratch for your brand. We do not use stock character libraries, Vyond template characters, or asset packs. This matters because template-based animation looks like template-based animation. Audiences recognize stock characters across different brands, which undermines trust and brand recall. When you receive your animation from Magic Motion Studio, nothing in it has appeared in any other brand's video.
Published pricing — no quote wall, no discovery call required
Most animation studios hide their pricing behind a sales process. You fill a contact form, wait 48 hours for a response, have a discovery call, receive a custom quote one week later, and often find the price is completely outside your budget. Magic Motion Studio publishes all pricing at magicmotionstudio.com/explainer-video-pricing/. You see what is included, make an informed decision, and start immediately.
Specialist team — not a generalist freelancer
Your project is handled by a specialist production team: a strategist for the script and messaging, an art director for the visual style and character design, a team of professional animators for the motion production, a professional voice artist for the audio, and a sound designer for music and effects. At most budget studios, one or two people handle all of these roles. Specialist teams produce measurably better output at every stage of production.
20+ language voiceover from one production
We have professional voiceover artists covering 20+ languages and accents. Multilingual versions of your 2D animation are produced from the same source file: we substitute the voiceover track and update on-screen text, then re-export. No redesign, no re-animation. This makes scaling a US animation production to international markets practical and affordable. Brands targeting US, UK, EU, MENA, and APAC markets can be served from a single production order.
Production Tools
The professional 2D animation software stack
The tools we use determine what is possible. Our stack is the same one used by the world's top animation studios, not consumer tools dressed up as professional software.
Industry-standard software used by Netflix, Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. Supports frame-by-frame animation, advanced rigging, cut-out production, and broadcast-quality compositing.
The standard for motion graphics, VFX compositing, and kinetic typography. Used for all motion graphics work, UI animation, data visualization, and compositing with live action or layered backgrounds.
Used for vector-based animation requiring scalable, file-size-efficient output for web and interactive media. Ideal for flat design animation and HTML5 Canvas or WebGL export.
Used for advanced rigging requiring complex bone structures, physics-based secondary motion, and smart bone actions. Produces fluid performances with a smaller frame count for ongoing series.
Toon Boom Harmony is the production tool of choice at Disney, Netflix, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon, and it is what our team uses for every project. The software determines what is achievable in animation quality. Most budget studios and freelancers work in After Effects or consumer tools like Vyond, which sets a ceiling on output quality that is visible in the final video. Working in Toon Boom Harmony means your animation is produced in a professional broadcast environment, with the frame-level precision and compositing depth that mass-market tools cannot replicate.
How We Work
From brief to broadcast-ready in 14 business days
Every 2D animation project follows a structured five-phase workflow developed over 10 years of production. Each phase has defined deliverables, a fixed timeline, and client approval gates so you are never left waiting or guessing.
Strategy and Script
Days 1–2After you submit your project brief, our strategists develop the messaging architecture for your 2D animation. We identify your core audience, the one message that drives action, the emotional tone, and the CTA. From this foundation, we write the full production script. The script is the most important document in any animation project: a weak script produces a weak video regardless of animation quality. We write conversion-focused scripts, not descriptive ones. Voiceover timing, scene transitions, and pacing are all built into the script before any artwork begins.
Art Direction and Storyboard
Days 3–5Once the script is approved, our art director defines the visual style guide for your animation: color palette, character design direction, illustration style, typography, and environment aesthetic. We then produce a full storyboard showing every scene, camera angle, character pose, and motion transition in the video. The storyboard lets you review and adjust the visual story before any animation is produced, which eliminates expensive revisions at the animation stage. We submit storyboards as annotated PDF files with voice track reference.
Voiceover Recording
Days 4–6Voiceover recording runs in parallel with art direction, not after it. We send you a selection of three to five professional voiceover samples matching the tone and accent brief you specified. Once you approve a voice, the recording session is scheduled. We use professional voiceover studios with broadcast-quality microphones and acoustic treatment. The final voiceover file is delivered as a studio-clean WAV file with calibrated levels. This becomes the timing track around which all animation scenes are paced.
Animation Production
Days 6–12The animation team builds every scene in Toon Boom Harmony, character by character, frame by frame or via rigged puppet systems depending on the chosen style. Character rig construction, environment design, and key animation all happen simultaneously across a team of specialist animators. Lip sync is applied to every character who speaks. Motion curves are manually adjusted for organic, non-mechanical movement. A senior animator reviews every scene against the storyboard for compliance before compositing. All scenes are then assembled in sequence and composited with audio.
Sound Design and Final Delivery
Days 12–14After client approval of the animation draft, our sound designer adds the final audio layer: background music licensed for commercial use, sound effects timed to motion events, and audio mastering to broadcast loudness standards. The final mix is reviewed against the animation at full resolution before export. You receive your final deliverables as a complete package: 16:9 MP4 web-optimized, 16:9 MOV broadcast quality, 1:1 square cut, and 9:16 vertical cut, all on the same delivery day. Full commercial rights transfer on payment confirmation.
Who We Serve
2D animation across every industry
We have produced 2D animation for clients across more than 50 industries. Here are the eight sectors where we work most frequently and where animation delivers the strongest measured results.
Software products with complex feature sets need animation to communicate what screenshots cannot. We produce product demos, onboarding flows, and explainer videos that reduce churn and increase trial-to-paid conversion.
Financial products carry regulatory complexity and trust barriers that animation uniquely solves. We produce clear, compliant animation explaining investment platforms, insurance products, and banking apps.
Medical and health technology products require clear visual communication of processes invisible to the eye. We animate drug mechanisms, device functions, patient journeys, and clinical trial results.
Educational animation has been shown to increase knowledge retention versus text-only instruction. We produce curriculum content, course intros, concept explainers, and eLearning animations.
Developers and property technology platforms use animation to visualize developments before construction, explain investment structures, and demonstrate platform workflows.
Mission-driven organizations use animation to communicate impact, attract donors, and educate communities at a scale live action budgets could not achieve.
Product animation on e-commerce listings has been shown to lift conversion significantly. We produce product explainers, unboxing animations, and brand story videos.
We produce original animated shorts, series pilots, animated trailers, and brand mascot content for entertainment companies, game studios, and IP developers.
Questions Answered
2D animation frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before commissioning a 2D animation project. Can't find your question? Ask us directly.
How much does 2D animation cost?
Magic Motion Studio publishes all pricing transparently at magicmotionstudio.com/explainer-video-pricing/. Our packages cover 60-second, 90-second, and up to 3-minute productions at clearly stated price points. Every package includes script, professional voiceover, animation production, sound design, and full commercial rights.
There is no quote wall. You can view all pricing without filling a contact form or booking a discovery call. If your project falls outside standard packages — a multi-video series, a long-form educational series, or an entertainment production — contact us for a custom proposal.
How long does 2D animation take to produce?
Our standard delivery is 14 business days from approved brief to final delivery of all files. This covers the full production pipeline: strategy and script (days 1–2), art direction and storyboard (days 3–5), voiceover recording (parallel with days 4–6), animation production (days 6–12), and sound design plus final delivery (days 12–14).
Rush 7-day delivery is available on Pro and Enterprise packages. The industry average for comparable quality from traditional studios is 6 to 12 weeks, so our 14-day timeline is a structural competitive advantage, not a corner-cutting claim.
What 2D animation styles do you produce?
We produce the full range of 2D animation styles in-house: frame-by-frame character animation, rigged cut-out animation, vector and flat design animation, motion graphics, anime-style 2D animation, whiteboard animation, mixed-media animation, and motion comics.
Every style is produced by our specialist team in Toon Boom Harmony or the appropriate professional software for that style. We help you select the right style based on your audience, message, and budget — we never push clients toward a style for production convenience.
What software do you use for 2D animation?
Our primary production tool is Toon Boom Harmony, the industry-standard software used by Disney, Netflix, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. Our team works in Toon Boom daily — it is not a tool we pull out for select projects.
We also use Adobe After Effects for motion graphics and compositing, Adobe Animate for vector animation projects, Moho Pro for advanced character rigging, and Adobe Audition for voiceover and sound design. The tool is always selected based on what produces the best result for the specific project — not what is easiest for production.
Do I own the 2D animation after delivery?
Yes. Full commercial rights transfer to you on final delivery and payment confirmation. You can publish the animation anywhere: your website, YouTube, LinkedIn, paid ads, broadcast television, presentations, trade shows, or any other media, with no licensing fees, usage caps, or time restrictions.
Source files in Toon Boom Harmony format are included in Pro and Enterprise packages and are available as an add-on on all other packages. Owning the source files means future updates — new products, new pricing, new markets — can be made at a fraction of the cost of a new production.
Can you produce 2D animation in multiple languages?
Yes. We work with professional voiceover artists in 20+ languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Hindi, Korean, Dutch, Russian, and more. Multilingual versions are produced from the same source file by substituting the voiceover track and updating on-screen text.
A multilingual add-on does not require re-designing or re-animating the video. For brands targeting multiple international markets, this makes 2D animation the most cost-effective video format for global scale.
What is the difference between 2D animation and motion graphics?
2D character animation uses custom-illustrated characters with expressive movement, emotion, and narrative performance. It is best for brand storytelling, explainer videos, and content where a human connection drives the message. Motion graphics use animated shapes, icons, typography, and data visualizations without characters. It is best for technical product demos, data-driven content, SaaS walkthroughs, and B2B corporate presentations.
Many productions effectively combine both formats: a character-driven opening that transitions into a motion graphics feature explanation. We advise on the right balance for your specific use case.
What is the difference between 2D and 3D animation?
2D animation creates movement in a two-dimensional flat plane using illustration, motion design, and color. 3D animation builds three-dimensional models that exist in virtual space and can be lit, textured, and rendered from any camera angle. 2D is faster to produce, more cost-effective, and produces a warmer visual aesthetic that works well for storytelling and brand content.
3D animation is better suited to product visualization requiring realistic surface rendering, architectural walkthroughs, complex mechanical demonstrations, and game cinematic production. If you are unsure which format serves your project better, we are happy to advise based on your brief.
Do you write the script for the animation?
Yes. All packages include professional scriptwriting as standard. Our strategists write conversion-focused scripts based on your project brief, target audience, core message, and desired action. You receive the script with two revision rounds for approval before any artwork or animation begins.
If you already have a script you are happy with, we can work from it directly and adjust the production timeline accordingly. We always review and provide feedback on client-supplied scripts before production begins to ensure the pacing, word count, and CTA structure will produce an effective video.
What file formats will I receive?
Every delivery package includes: MP4 (web-optimized H.264), MOV (broadcast quality ProRes), 1:1 square cut for Instagram and Facebook, and 9:16 vertical cut for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. All four aspect ratios are delivered on the same day at no additional cost.
Available as add-ons: animated GIF versions, WebM format for web embedding, transparent background MOV with alpha channel, and Toon Boom Harmony source project files. Pro and Enterprise packages include source files as standard.
Can you produce anime-style 2D animation for commercial brands?
Yes. Magic Motion Studio is one of the very few US-based 2D animation studios that produces authentic anime-style animation for commercial brands using genuine frame-by-frame production techniques in Toon Boom Harmony.
We have completed anime short films, anime-style brand campaigns, and entertainment IP projects. Our anime animation capabilities are showcased at our dedicated anime animation studio page with portfolio examples and production details.
Where should I use my 2D animated video once it is delivered?
The highest-ROI placements for a 2D animated explainer video are: above the fold on your homepage or landing page (80% conversion lift on average), on your product features page, inside your app onboarding flow, in cold email and LinkedIn outreach sequences, and as YouTube pre-roll or paid social ads.
Every delivery includes 4 aspect ratios ready for immediate deployment across YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and paid ad platforms. We also recommend including the video in your investor pitch deck, your email signature, and at trade show booths.
How do I start a 2D animation project with Magic Motion Studio?
Start by reviewing our pricing at magicmotionstudio.com/explainer-video-pricing/ and selecting the package that fits your project. Then book a free 30-minute strategy call at magicmotionstudio.com/contact/ or submit your brief directly.
After the strategy call, we send a project brief form covering your product, audience, core message, tone, and creative references. Once the brief is approved and the deposit is confirmed, production begins immediately. Day 1 of your 14-business-day timeline starts the next working day.
What happens if I need revisions?
Every production stage includes two client revision rounds: two rounds on the script, two rounds on the storyboard, two rounds on the animation preview, and two rounds on the final audio mix. Revisions within scope — timing adjustments, color changes, text edits, voiceover retakes — are covered within these rounds at no extra cost.
Revisions that require rebuilding an approved stage (changing the script after storyboard approval, adding new scenes after animation begins) are scoped separately. Our approval-gate process is designed to surface these decisions early, before they become expensive.
Is Magic Motion Studio based in New York?
Yes. Magic Motion Studio is based in Woodhaven, New York, and has been operating as a professional 2D animation studio since 2014. We work with clients across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the UAE on a fully remote production basis.
All strategy calls, brief reviews, and production updates are conducted via video call and asynchronous communication tools. Time zone differences have never been a barrier to production quality or delivery timeline for our international clients.
Client Reviews
What clients say about our 2D animation
"We needed a 2D animated explainer for a product that was still in development — no prototype, no screenshots, nothing to show investors. Magic Motion Studio built a full visual concept from our brief and turned it into a 90-second video that communicated exactly what we were building. We screened it at our Series A pitch and closed the round within six weeks. The quality was at a level I would have expected from a much larger production company."
"We commissioned a training animation series for our compliance program across three countries — English, German, and Arabic versions. Most studios we spoke to said multilingual would require a full re-production for each language. Magic Motion Studio produced the English version, then delivered German and Arabic in four additional business days each. The quality across all three versions was identical. Our compliance completion rates went from 61% to 94% in the first quarter after deployment."
"I had worked with five different animation studios before finding Magic Motion Studio. The common problem was always the same: the quote was reasonable, the process took twice as long as promised, and the final video looked like it was made from a template. With Magic Motion Studio, the production timeline was exactly as quoted, the characters were designed specifically for our brand, and the animation quality was genuinely above what I expected at this price point. We have now ordered four videos from them and the consistency is remarkable."
Start Your 2D Animation Project
Ready to commission your 2D animation?
Magic Motion Studio delivers broadcast-quality 2D animation in 14 business days. Produced in Toon Boom Harmony. 100% original assets. Full commercial rights included. Pricing published — no quote wall.