# Cartoon Animation Services | 2D & Series | Motifmotion Motifmotion offers 2D cartoon animation services: original characters, pilots, episodes and full series, from script and storyboards to delivery. --- ## What we mean by cartoon animation When we talk about cartoon animation services, we mean story-driven animation: characters with personalities, environments they live in, and a narrative that runs across scenes or episodes. It is not motion graphics, and it is not an explainer with a character dropped into it. That distinction is what separates a cartoon animation company from a general video vendor. A cartoon has a world, and the story carries from scene to scene, or across a whole series. If your project is really a product walkthrough or a concept explainer, that is different work; see our [explainer video production](/services/explainer-video-production). - Characters with personalities - Environments and a world they live in - A story that runs across scenes or episodes - Continuity, not a one-off shot ## Original cartoons, pilots, and animated series If you have an original property, a book, or an idea for a show, we can produce it, and we can adapt existing books or characters while keeping the original style intact. Most originals start with a pilot, the first episode where the characters, world, and pacing get locked in. From there, animated series production is built on reuse: once characters are rigged and the backgrounds exist, every new episode gets faster and more consistent. We have produced multi-part series, including a 26-part animated letter program held consistent from the first episode to the last. Episodic work is where cartoon animation services get tested, because the look has to hold across every episode. To see episodic work we have produced, take a look at our [case studies](/case-studies). - Original properties, adaptations, and existing IP - Pilots that lock in characters, world, and pacing - Recurring casts and reusable rigs across episodes - Consistency from episode one to episode ten ## Children's cartoon animation Children's cartoons are their own craft: a clear visual language, the right pacing, and characters a young viewer recognizes and returns to. We produce children's animation for education, family, and publisher properties. Our children's literacy work, a full animated alphabet series and a stroke-by-stroke handwriting course, had to make every letter and character clear enough for an early reader to follow and remember. Children's work is the application our cartoon animation services get asked for most. - Preschool, family, and publisher properties - Age-appropriate pacing and visual language - Recurring characters children come to know - Kids animated series for classroom and streaming ## Storyboards, animatics, and visual development Before a frame is animated, the story gets planned. A storyboard is the shot-by-shot drawing of the whole piece. An animatic is that storyboard timed to a rough soundtrack, so pacing and staging are decided before the expensive animation begins. This is the stage where a real cartoon studio shows itself, and it is what keeps a cartoon feeling like one coherent world. - Shot planning, staging, and composition - Storyboards for the full piece - Animatics that lock pacing and timing - Background and production art ## Our cartoon production process We produce cartoons in ten steps, and our cartoon animation services cover every one of them. For episodic work, reusable characters, rigs, environments, and props carry across episodes, which keeps a series consistent and efficient. ## Discovery and project development We work out the audience, the story, the scope, and what the cartoon needs to do. ## Script We write or refine the script so story and pacing are set before anything is drawn. ## Character and visual development We design the cast and the world: characters, expressions, turnarounds, and environments. ## Storyboards We plan the piece shot by shot, so staging and continuity are decided up front. ## Animatic We time the storyboard to a rough soundtrack to lock pacing before animation begins. ## Backgrounds and production art We build the environments, props, and location art the story lives in. ## Character animation We rig and animate the characters, adding frame-by-frame where the performance calls for it. ## Compositing We assemble characters, backgrounds, and effects into finished, continuous scenes. ## Voice, music, and sound We cast voice, score music, and design sound as part of the production, not a separate vendor. ## Final delivery We deliver in the formats you need, ready to publish, broadcast, or drop into your platform. ## 2D cartoon animation Our technique is 2D. Most of our cartoon work is rigged character animation and cutout-style puppet animation, with frame-by-frame added wherever a performance calls for it. 2D gives you a warm, hand-made look and a production that scales across episodes, which is why it suits story-driven and children's work so well. To see how 2D cartoon animation compares with other looks, read our [animation styles guide](/animation-styles-guide). - Rigged and cutout character animation - Frame-by-frame for key performance moments - Character acting, lip sync, and effects - Compositing and scene-to-scene continuity ## Cartoon character design and development Every cartoon starts with its cast. We design characters from the ground up, keep them visually consistent, and build them as animation-ready artwork, so the character you approve on paper is the one that ends up on screen. - Character design, expressions, and poses - Full turnarounds for any angle - Visual consistency across a production - Animation-ready artwork ## What determines the cost of cartoon animation services Cartoon animation services are scoped, never sold off a rate card. No two cartoons are the same size, so there is no flat rate. These are the factors that move the scope. Tell us what you are picturing and we will scope it and give you a quote. Runtime and number of episodes Number of characters and environments Visual style and level of detail How much can be reused across episodes Rigged versus frame-by-frame animation Voice acting, music, and sound Revisions and delivery schedule Original property versus adapting existing artwork ## Educational cartoons Some learning projects work better as a character-driven cartoon than as a straight instructional video, and our cartoon animation services are often commissioned for exactly that. When the lesson has a story in it, a cartoon is often the right format. For curriculum, instructional content, and full educational programs, see our [educational animation](/services/educational-animations), which is built for exactly that. ## Cartoon animation services FAQ --- ## Additional context ## Page metadata for citation - **Canonical URL:** https://motifmotion.com/services/cartoon-animation-services - **Last published:** 2026-08-19T13:33:58.315Z - **Primary topic:** cartoon animation services - **Type of content:** Service --- *Originally at https://motifmotion.com/services/cartoon-animation-services*