Producing an animated series is very different from producing a single animated video.

A series needs a consistent visual language, recurring characters, reusable assets and a production system that can support multiple episodes. The creative decisions made during development can affect the quality, schedule and cost of the entire production.

At Animwood, we work across the full animation production process, from script development and storyboarding to character design, animation and final delivery. We also develop our own animated projects and series, which means that development is an important part of how we approach animation production.

Our experience includes children's animated series, educational animation and original animated IP. You can see more about our approach to children's series and IP development in our article on building a long-term animated series for children.

The first episode of an animated series usually requires the most development work.

Before animation begins, the team needs to establish the visual style, characters, environments, storytelling approach and overall tone. Depending on the project, this can include script development, character design, moodboards, research, storyboards and animatics.

This stage is particularly important for children's animation. A series needs to be easy to understand, visually engaging and consistent from episode to episode.

The first episode therefore often includes development work that will benefit the entire series.

This was an important part of The God's Story – Season 1, where character design, historical research, backgrounds, storytelling and animation techniques were developed as part of the production process. The later seasons built on that creative foundation while increasing the visual and cinematic quality.

The first episode does more than introduce the story.

It also establishes how the series will be produced.

Characters are designed and prepared for animation. Backgrounds and props are created. The visual style is defined. The animation workflow is tested. The production team learns how much time is required for each stage.

Once these elements exist, they can be reused or adapted for later episodes.

A character designed for episode one may return in episode five. A background may be modified rather than created again. A prop, animation rig or visual effect can be reused across multiple scenes.

This is one of the main reasons why the production cost per episode can become more efficient as a series develops.

For a series with many episodes, production efficiency matters.

One common solution is cut-out animation. Characters are built from reusable parts and animated using rigs rather than being completely redrawn for every frame.

This approach is widely used in professional 2D animation production and can work particularly well for recurring characters and longer series.

Cut-out animation does not necessarily mean simple animation. It can be combined with frame-by-frame or cel animation, camera movement, lighting, effects and detailed compositing.

Animwood has used both cut-out and cel animation within the same productions. In The God's Story – Season 2, for example, cel animation was combined with cut-out character animation to create a more cinematic result.

For a deeper comparison of the two techniques, see our guide What is cut-out animation and cel animation?

The economics of an animated series are different from those of a standalone animation.

When producing a single video, all development work is concentrated on that project. With a series, the initial investment in characters, environments, rigs and visual development can support many episodes.

The production team can reuse character rigs, backgrounds, props, effects and other assets.

This means that the cost per episode can become more efficient as the number of episodes increases.

The effect becomes particularly useful once a series moves beyond the first several episodes. For larger productions, producing 10 or more episodes can create a more efficient production pipeline than commissioning the same number of videos separately.

The exact savings depend on the animation style, episode length and complexity, so there is no universal percentage reduction. The important factor is that the production is planned as a series from the beginning.

There is no single price for an animated series.

The animated series production cost depends on episode length, animation style, number of characters, background complexity, amount of movement, voice-over, sound design, music, revision rounds and development requirements.

At Animwood, animation projects can be estimated per minute or as a larger production package covering a defined number of episodes.

For a series, the price of one episode is not always the most useful number to look at. The more important question is how much the entire production system will cost and how efficiently it can produce the complete season.

A one-minute standalone animation and a one-minute episode from a 20-episode series may have very different production economics because the series can reuse assets and workflows.

The production time depends on the visual complexity, episode length, number of episodes and feedback process.

Scripts and development should be sufficiently advanced before full animation production begins. Once the visual system and assets are established, subsequent episodes can move through production more efficiently.

For standard-quality cut-out animation, a short episode can often take around 4–6 weeks once scripts and development are completed. More complex animation, cinematic styles or extensive custom frame-by-frame work can require considerably more time.

Client feedback also affects the schedule. Fast approvals can keep production moving, while multiple revision rounds at each stage can extend delivery.

A successful children's animated series needs more than a collection of stories.

It needs characters children can recognize, a visual world they can understand and a storytelling approach that gives them a reason to return.

This is where animated series development starts to overlap with IP development.

Recurring characters can become valuable creative assets. A consistent visual world can support additional episodes, social media content, educational materials, websites, apps and other formats.

Animwood explores this approach in its article Animated Content for Churches: Building a Series & IP, which looks at how recurring characters, stories and visual worlds can develop into a larger creative property.

Our own Sportsville project is another example of developing characters and a visual world around a recurring animated concept.

Animation can make a good story more engaging. It cannot solve a weak story.

For children's series, script development is therefore a major part of pre-production.

The team needs to think about characters, motivations, episode structure, emotional arcs and how individual episodes connect to the wider series.

An educational message also needs to work within the story rather than simply being placed on top of it.

One of the biggest advantages of series production is the ability to build an asset library.

Characters, rigs, backgrounds, props, environments and visual effects can be reused and adapted.

This is not only a financial consideration. Reusing assets also helps maintain visual consistency between episodes.

A well-developed character should therefore be designed with future episodes in mind. The same applies to environments and the overall visual language of the series.

When development is done properly, the first episode creates the foundation for everything that follows.

An animated series can become more than a collection of episodes.

When the characters, stories and visual world are developed as an original property, the series can become an IP with potential applications across different formats.

The characters can appear in short-form content, educational materials, games, apps or other digital experiences. The stories can also be expanded into new episodes or formats.

This is why series development and IP development are often closely connected.

At Animwood, we develop both client projects and our own animated concepts. Our approach to building a creative world is described in more detail in Animated Content for Churches: Building a Series & IP.

A professional animated series production usually moves through several connected stages.

At Animwood, this can start with the initial idea and script development, followed by character and environment design, storyboards and animatics. The project then moves into animation, compositing, sound and final delivery.

Our animation production process covers these stages and can be adapted to different types of animated content.

The development stage is particularly important because it allows creative and production decisions to be made before the full animation workload begins.
 

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