hen 3D animation is mentioned, most people think of its use for entertainment purposes, but over the past few decades, it’s actually become integrated into so many industries. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how product animation is being implemented in a few other forms of commercial activity and why businesses are in favor of this advancement in digital technology.
Engineering Industry
The engineering industry is one of the largest users of 3D design and animation. Whether you’re in the development stage or the testing phase, there’s almost always a justifiable reason to have a digital rendering of the project’s functionality. Before the improvement of 3D technology, these plans would have to be meticulously hand-drawn throughout what could be a tedious and very time-consuming process. Now, with 3D CAD software, product development has never been more intuitive. Work that might have taken weeks to do could now be completed in a fraction of the time. When it comes to civil engineering, different disciplines can rely on 3D rendering to coordinate work such as refining the layout of the building, laying out the electricals, pathing the pipelines within the structure, and even running real-time simulations to ensure the structural integrity and safety of the plans. By having a 3D animation ready, these teams can have a quick overview of their scope of work that’s both easy to understand and interactive.
Interior Design & Architecture Industry
A significant aspect of interior design and architecture is the visual appeal. When a design is being shown to a client, it’s crucial for them to be able to visualize how it will actually look when completed. This is where 3D animation really shines! Interior designers can have a room realistically rendered with computer-generated imagery (CGI) and highlight their work without the client being able to distinguish it from an actual photograph. The same goes for architects being able to display their vision for the project in a way that looks incredibly realistic. With every element being made within 3D software, lighting and materials can be adjusted as needed and a 3D animation can bring the work to life for a complete overview of the project from different angles.
Education and Training Industry
Compared to a block of text, people are much more likely to remember the information given to them in a video format. Not only can animation help students understand difficult concepts that would have been hard to visualize otherwise, it can even aid both trainees and teachers! Many companies convert training manuals into 3D animations to teach new inductees and even existing employees how to perform certain tasks, use software, or operate machinery. 3D animation can allow a company to train its entire staff even in a remotely operated work environment.
Marketing & Advertising
One of the most prominent uses of 3D product animation is in the marketing and advertising industries. A huge convenience of working in 3D is that a product can be showcased exactly how a business wants without worrying about any visual limitations. A digital model of the product can remain extremely photo-realistic while being able to have complex sequences like break-apart and exploded views made so that the audience can better understand its functionality. As good as still images are, some products are best explained when they’re in motion. Having the option to have an animation created where the product is placed in its appropriate environment also helps the audience visualize the benefits of them purchasing it. In addition, it’s much cheaper and more efficient to have a 3D rendering studio create this visual content if you take into account the time and money needed to schedule multiple photoshoots as edits to the product are made. The sooner there’s visual content created, the sooner a marketing team can incorporate this into their strategy to increase awareness of the product. As soon as this content is up, it promotes your product 24/7! Businesses and marketing agencies may also use this content as a way to increase their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because having a high-quality animation made can engage a target audience and set their brand apart from the competition. If the video is properly embedded into the website, Google may also reward this and help to generate more organic traffic.
Medical Industry
Similar to previously mentioned industries, the medical industry uses a lot of complex equipment and machinery that can be very technical to understand. 3D product animation can benefit marketing efforts by helping to explain how a specific piece of equipment functions and why it’s needed. With devices as complex as medical equipment, simple manuals just sometimes aren’t enough to describe how they thoroughly work. 3D product animation can be a highly effective training tool for medical colleges and hospitals and can ultimately improve the care for many patients in need.
Animation either helps to tell a story or provides a target audience with knowledge in a visually appealing way. As 3D modeling technologies continue to improve, it’s likely more and more businesses will choose to invest in this content format. If this sounds like something your business could really benefit from, here at Go3DViz, we strive to help you bring your visions to life and would be happy to discuss this further with you!
