Even the best idea can be difficult to turn into a result. Take trying to arrange a housewarming party in your 30s - it’s a great idea but trying to organise everybody into one place at one time is anything but easy. Nevertheless, if all goes to plan, the party is hopefully great! 

Creating a whiteboard animation is also no mean feat. The process of taking your message or idea and turning it into an engaging and memorable explainer video has several important stages, each of which needs to be done well to unlock the full potential of your animation. 

We’re here to help you navigate the whiteboard animation production process and in this blog, we’ll take you through the steps. 

The Whiteboard Animation Process

So, how do you create a whiteboard animation that takes your message far and wide? 

The ground work

The first step in the whiteboard animation creation process is taken by you. BHave a think about your goal, message, the audience you want to share it with, and other stylistic details. It will make every stage smoother, and help you avoid possibly expensive problems later. 

The creative meeting

With this in hand, you’re all set for the creative meeting. In this meeting, you can explain your project and messages to the team creating your whiteboard video. A Scriptwriter will ask a lot, and we mean A LOT, of questions about you and your vision. Then a Senior Creative or Director will get initial ideas from you about how you want your video to work visually. 

The scripting stage

The script is the foundation of any whiteboard animation. It creates the narrative for the explainer video, gives the illustrators something to build from, and sets the tone. Based on all the information you give in the creative meeting, the Scriptwriter creates a first draft which is refined through your feedback until you are happy with the script. 

Story mapping

When you are happy with the script, the visual storytelling can begin. The Senior Creative working on your animation will sketch a basic set of illustrations, a.k.a. a story map, that shows how your message will unfold on screen. 

The animatic

Animation brings all this wonderful visual thinking and visual storytelling to life, and even at this early stage, you can watch a simplified version of the finished video. We call this the animatic, and it lets you see how the different aspects of your story map work together to share your story and connect with your audience. The animatic can give you a new perspective on the story map, and at this early stage of the project, there is still time to make changes. 

Inking

Once you’re happy with your story map and animatic, inking can commence! This phase brings those initial sketches and characters to life - adding rich detail, charm, and relatability. 

Full Animation

With the inks in place, it’s animation time. This step brings everything together, adds extra meaning and storytelling, and allows you to deliver your message at every level - from the smallest details to the big picture thinking. Every animation we create ends by revealing the full story map, what we call the big picture. We love ending this way because it lets your viewer see how each part of your message fits together. 

The Delivery

And finally, our favourite day arrives, when we hand you your finished whiteboard animation. We often get asked to create other visuals for use in marketing and on social media. These might be clips from the animation or illustrations cut out from the big picture. We can work with you to create exactly what you need to create the perfect launch or marketing campaign. 

Important explainer video considerations

The whiteboard animation production process takes your message from an idea to a finished video, but there are extra optional steps you may want to consider. These make your video more accessible, expand its audience and improve its performance. These tips come from the Bureau of Internet Accessibility.

• Contrasting colours - using contrasting colours helps your video to be clear and easy to understand. 

• Font and text size - onscreen text can play an important part in whiteboard animations and explainer videos. By choosing a font that is easy to read and well-sized, you help all viewers to get more out of your video. 
  Captions – this text informs viewers about music, sound effects and other non-verbal sounds. 

• Transcripts - these are a text version of your video and provide people with a transcript of both what is said and what happens on screen. 

• Subtitles - whether you make them optional or make them part of the fabric of the video, subtitles are a must. Subtitles show what is being said by voiceovers and characters, making your whiteboard animation more accessible and helping to deliver your message when your video is watched without sound. 

Something else subtitles can deliver is a translation. Translations help you take your message across the world, boosting your reach and impact. Alongside subtitles, whiteboard animation offer three main translation options - although these can be tailored to your exact needs.

1. Multiple voiceovers - a very effective way to increase the reach of your whiteboard animation is by recording alternative voiceovers. As with subtitles, adding a voiceover in another language means you don’t have to change the content of your video, unless you want to.

2. Using minimal onscreen text and global references - if you know your video will have a global audience from the beginning, you can design it to work across the world by minimising onscreen text and using visual thinking and characters that have broad appeal. 

3. Designing different versions for audiences - the fourth option is the most extensive. By using different voiceovers and tailoring illustrations, visual metaphors, characters, and onscreen text to each audience, you can make sure your message is engaging and memorable for everyone that sees it. 

Visual Thinking

We couldn’t write about the whiteboard animation process without mentioning visual thinking. Visual thinking is one of the ingredients that makes whiteboard animation work so well, and it's what creatives use to transform a message or idea into an illustration or animation. Using tools like visual metaphors, set pieces, icons, humour and charm, an illustrator or animator can make detail-heavy messages engaging and complex ideas accessible. 

Here is our founder, whiteboard animation pioneer and creator of the RSA Animates, Andrew Park, talking about his visual thinking process. 

The whiteboard animation process takes a message and turns it into an engaging and memorable explainer video. It’s a process we’ve been following and improving for almost 20 years, and we love using it to help people share ideas and information with the world. We’re here to answer your questions about how a whiteboard animation could help you share your message. Contact us or book a free creative consultation today.