Character animation. Give the campaign a personality.
Build an advertising performance around a character, not just a moving product. Mimic Advertising scopes character animation for brand films and campaign shots, from acting references and rig requirements to motion reviews and final delivery. Characters can be stylised, robotic or based on a person, with the production stages agreed for each brief.
Make the action serve the idea
Start with the character’s role in the campaign. What should the audience understand from its pose, reaction or movement? Send the treatment, animatic, acting references and any approved dialogue so that the performance can be planned around the message.
Include duration, shot count, aspect ratios and placements. A short social reaction, a dialogue scene and a longer commercial sequence need different timing. Agree which character choices are open for exploration and which parts of the brand design must stay fixed.
Plan the wider campaign
Prepare the character for performance
Share the model, rig and a test scene where available. Confirm the controls, deformation range, props and receiving workflow before animation begins. Character creation, grooming and rig development can be scoped alongside the performance when those assets are not ready.
Keyframe animation and captured movement are production choices, not identical packages. Identify the need for body performance, dialogue, facial expressions and interactions. Review a motion pass before final detail, then agree the lighting, rendering and compositing stages required for the campaign.
Explore the broader digital-character offerCommission a talent likenessCharacter work with specific credits
For Samsung’s Willow commercial with Kingdom of Something, Mimic Productions contributed character creation, modelling, grooming, keyframe animation, look development and rendering. The rabbit’s gestures and prop interactions were developed as part of that character performance.
The Etisalat campaign records rigging and animation through UPP.cz, with Big Kahuna Films and IMPACT BBDO as production and agency partners. Swatch records motion capture and animation for a robot. These references describe Mimic’s contribution within each wider campaign.
Samsung Willow character productionEtisalat rigging and animationSwatch motion capture and animation
Agree the shots and handoff
Specify whether the output is animation scene work, rendered elements or finished shots. Include resolution, frame rate, colour requirements and any edit or sound dependencies. Character model approval, performance approval and final image approval should each have a named reviewer.
Send the treatment, asset status and dates to the Potsdam studio. US and UK teams should include review availability. Product-only motion belongs in the product-animation service; this page focuses on character acting and movement.
For product-only animationSee CGI productionDiscuss character animationFrequently asked questions
01Can you animate an existing brand mascot?
Send the model, rig, character guide and usage rights for review. The available controls and required poses determine whether the asset can be used directly or needs preparation.
02Does character animation include modelling and rigging?
Only when included in the brief. Character creation, a usable rig, animation and rendered shots are separate stages that can be commissioned together or handed between teams.
03How is character animation different from product animation?
Character animation centres on acting, gesture and performance. Product animation centres on the object, its features and camera or mechanical movement. The services use different review criteria.
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