Thoughts on the Future of Animators Amidst the AI Revolution Written by a Studio Founder
Will animators be replaced by AI?
In my opinion, the simple answer to this question is no, but it will fundamentally change the way animation is created. Animators must be open to using new the tools. Those that can combine AI tools and traditional software will be able to harness the greatest power. Ultimately, the most important factor will become an animator's taste. As AI speeds up the creative capability in almost every aspect of the production chain, having inspiration, a vision, and great taste will be the most important factors defining the winners as animation enters a new age.
This post will aim to discuss some of the pros and cons of using AI, some of the ways it is currently being used, and what you can do to equip yourself to take advantage of the new technologies.
Key Takeaways
- AI is causing fundamental changes in the animation and entertainment industry, and the process is set to continue.
- Being able to combine AI tools with traditional software is an incredibly powerful skillset.
- Having great taste, finding inspiration and having a creative process are more important than ever.
- AI can assist animators with time consuming tasks, but a great skill will be how to use AI effectively without work suffering in quality.
- Productions that are created by just one person using AI will rarely match up to large collaborations between many humans.
Ultimately, the modern human will always need to consume new entertainment. Businesses will always need to communicate ideas through storytelling. Animation, and great animators, will always be needed, but the ways in which animation is created will constantly change. This is nothing new; the story of animation itself is one of technological change. From Walt Disney personally animating Steamboat Willie with a soundtrack for the first time in film, to the dawn of CGI, replacing blockbuster 2D animated pictures. In the end, the winners will be those that can adopt new technologies, but do so with style, an artistic flare and above all, tell a brilliant story.
"Single prompt animators re-rolling AI videos in their bedrooms late at night will never be able to create The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers; a product of a huge crew, budget, the landscape of New Zealand and most importantly, a legendary 20th Century writer."
The Current State of AI in Animation
Writing in early 2025, the AI revolution is no longer a complete shock for creatives. The use of AI image generators such as Midjourney are fairly commonplace. Currently the big technological advancements are being made in the world of AI video. Naturally, this is the development most feared by animators. However, the tools are largely too inconsistent to create films for a professionally. Furthermore, the legal and ethical frameworks have not been established. It's unlikely that a large brand will have the legal clearance to use any of the existing AI video platforms. Not to mention the backlash that tends to follow when an AI-ad appears, take Coca-Cola-gate for example.
How are Animators Currently Using AI?
n the pre-production phase, AI can be very useful in moodboarding, storyboarding and even some types of asset creation. This section will explore this further.
Moodboarding
The ability to 'mash' concepts together quickly in AI programs such as Midjourney is one of the greatest powers AI unlocks for creatives. Combining old art styles such as 'expressionism' with modern concepts can leas to really interesting new combinations, that can help inspire further work. Using Midjourney for worldbuilding as a preproduction phase can allow you to visualise an idea incredibly quickly and in great detail.
Sketch Storyboarding
Going between AI image generators such as Midjourney and a traditional creative application such as photoshop, animators can create sketch storyboards much faster than a typical hand drawn workflow. AI can sketch suggestions that can be implemented or removed, according to the taste of the designer.
Asset Creation
The ability of AI to generate images opens up the possibility of using it to help speed up asset creation in certain areas. For example, background creation. This does however, require a bit more involvement and understanding than just clicking a few buttons if you want to get good results. Combining a knowledge of how to create the style you want, with some photoshop painting and After Effects animation can be a really powerful way to implement AI technologies into your workflow.
Another area where AI is useful is in creating textures. Platforms such as Midjourney even allow you to create seamless textures, allowing you to tile them over your artwork or 3D materials.
The Impact of AI-Video
The full impact of AI video in the film, TV and animation industries is yet to be seen. The fear of job displacement is real and understandable. Certainly, there will be some studios and brands that will seek to replace humans where possible to save costs.
One potential outcome of this, is that there is likely to be a lot of very average-to-rubbish content saturating the internet. In a world where generating motion graphics and animation is so fast, what types of content will be favoured by viewers?
It will always, to some extent (funny AI cat videos and Will-Smith-Eating-Spaghetti aside), be those that have a deep understanding of emotional intelligence, an area still firmly in the domain where human animators excel.
The important factor here is the human touch. AI tools are just that - a means to an end. The more they are used, the less the 'human touch' can be felt. Therefore, those that know how to harness AI tools in such a way that they can continue to create compelling animations will by definition add the 'human-ness' back in.
One area that will be interesting is in 3D animation. AI Video is not currently high quality enough for use in a professional context for 3D animation, but the potential for companies to want to save costs here are great. 3D animation can be complex and expensive, and in many cases does not require human emotion, for example, in 3D product animations. However, the main hurdles for AI animation here are also great; consistency and precision. Clients need to be able to accurately depict their products, and have full control over the way the camera moves.
Limitations of AI in Animation
While artificial intelligence AI has made incredible progress, there are various aspects that pose some serious limitations to using AI in professional context.
The Human Touch
Human animators bring their own unique touch, specially to areas such as character animation. The creative animation process is - an often fraught and difficult - dance of personal experience, continuous learning and human emotions. But it it is the experience of trying, trying and trying again that is the key to creating believable characters and breath-taking work. Artificial intelligence AI can excel at repetitive tasks, but there are no shortcuts to emotional depth.
Legal
There is still a long way to go before brands fully legally use AI unchallenged in animation production. The machine learning AI algorithms are often mysterious even to their developers, and the intellectual property from which they are trained is undisclosed. This can lead to lawsuits where brands are forced to pay out to artists or models who have had work or photographs used to train an AI.
Ethical Concerns
Of course, once the limitations of AI integration is addressed, there are ethical questions that remain relevant. There are clearly ways in which digital art and the work of artists are used to create animation projects that are clearly unethical. For example, using their work to train a AI algorithms without any compensation or permission. Animation studios must work out where they stand on the ethics of AI, but it is the opinion of Myth Studio that there are certain lines that should not be crossed. For example, the use of living artist's work as a prompt or to train an algorithm. Myth Studio has a promise to it's employees never to replace animation jobs with AI, however we do encourage all team members to find new and innovative ideas to become more productive by using it.
How to stay ahead of AI in the Animation Industry
First and foremost advice to creatives working in the animation industry is to gain an understanding of art history, and experience as much as possible in life. The is in order to create a bank of inspiration to draw upon. In a world where creating complex animations and automating tasks can be done at a click of a button, creating high quality animations will be about taste more than technique.
Animation techniques will involve combining multiple AI's with traditional techniques. Facial expressions, animated characters and character design are creative aspects that will always require a high level of skill development.
Keeping informed with industry trends will always shine light on new areas which require human animators, for example virtual reality and interactive media for museums, where the human storytelling abilities are irreplaceable.
The Achilles' Heel of AI
There is one, huge, irredeemable aspect of AI which - in the opinion of your writer - means that skilled human animators working in the film, TV and gaming industries will always be required. That is that the temptation to reduce team sizes with AI, sometimes down to a single person, reduces the magic that happens when a large team of humans collaborates well together. For example, stop motion productions and great movies can have a quality to them that can be in the realm of legend, and they are never the product of one brain. There are obviously great auteur directors that lend their names, but they are backed up by entire crew, actors and writers. Single prompt animators re-rolling AI videos in their bedroom late at night will never be able to create The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers; a product of a huge crew, budget, the landscape of New Zealand and most importantly, a legendary 20th Century writer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AI a threat to animation?
Animators need to hone their creative vision and style, as AI can automate some of the tasks that are part of animation. This does not diminish the essential role human creativity plays in delivering works with artistic flair.
Is AI the future of animation?
AI has the power to completely revolutionize the animation industry, and despite this great potential, animators' knowledge and experience are still necessary components. Thus, AI will certainly have a major influence on what lies ahead for animation, but it is clear that animators play an important role in all of this.
Will AI replace 3D animators?
In the future, AI technology could potentially have a larger role to play in animation processes, but it is unlikely that these advancements would ever fully take the place of human animators and their creativity. Despite this fact, animators should expect increased collaboration with AI as opposed to replacement by them when working on animations.
How does AI help animators improve their storytelling?
By using AI technology, animators are able to spend more time on the creative side of storytelling, such as character design, and less time dealing with tedious tasks. This might allow them to express their creativity more freely while still bringing vibrancy and depth to whatever story they are trying to tell.
