Motion designer Jacob Richardson posted an “animation breakdown” in r/Design which illustrates some of the techniques he used to create his videos. In the comments, he explains that he used Illustrator and After Effects, and he very generously provided his source file.
His post led me led me down an internet rabbit whole that introduced me to the many, flourishing motion design communities available to designers (and anyone else) interested in animating their creations. School of Motion’s Great Sites for Motion Design Inspiration lists some of the best.
Motion design is a creative, effective, and engaging way to deliver instruction – see the entire collection of Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell for great examples of this. It’s also a highly specialized craft that requires skill, complex tools, and time to produce well. As a result, it’s not an instructional tool available in most designers toolboxes.
If you want to hire a motion designer for your project, be prepared to pay for quality. Studio Poink is a boutique animation studio that offers their motion design services through the popular freelance marketplace Fiverr.com. Because they do, we can get some insight into how much quality motion design costs. If Studio Poink’s price structure is any indication, it’s about $110-$160 a second.
On Fiverr, the studio breaks their offerings into three categories of animation (click thumbnails to launch video):
There are, of course, less expensive studios and freelance animators. Like most things though, you get what you pay for, and good motion design is really expensive.
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