Top 5 Whiteboard Drawing Animation Examples & How to Make a Great One!

01/11/18         Author: Carmen Coto         9 min reading



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When it comes to explainer video styles, there are a lot of types to choose from. Motion graphic videos, cartoon videos… they all work well for different marketing goals. But when you need a video style with a high synthesis power and a highly engaging nature, then whiteboard presentations are the best option!

These types of videos are famous for turning any kind of complex message into a simple and entertaining one. Why? Because they’ve got an aesthetic style that puts people in an ‘educational mood’ – what could be more educational than scribbling over a whiteboard with a marker?

.spigit explainer video by yum yu 10

Whiteboard drawing animation has the power to make any topic really interesting. And that’s why we love it so much! This style is one of our favorite ones to make, because it’s fun and looks great – but also because it’s very effective for educational purposes.

Today, we want to share with you this treasure: five of the best whiteboard animated videos, so you can get inspired to make your own! Let’s get to it!

The Best Hand Drawing Videos Out There

1. McKesson Corporation 

Yes, it’s a little bit narcissistic to start with one of our own videos, right? 😉 But don’t worry, to be fair, we truly believe that this is one of the best whiteboard presentations out there.

We created this video for McKesson, which is one of the most important companies in the world – it ranks #5 in the Fortune 500 rank.

It’s a digital hand drawing video, which is a growing trend: not only because it looks nicer and of higher quality, but also because it’s very difficult and expensive to create a traditional whiteboard presentation (and it’s also very hard to correct any mistakes on it after it’s recorded!).

.health mart mckesson corporation

case study mckesson

2. Changing Education Paradigms 

Just like the first one, this is a digitally-animated hand drawing video. RSA (Royal Society of Arts) is a charity committed to solving social challenges, and they created this video to speak about the reform of education.

It’s a very complex topic, and it’s very probable that not all viewers are familiar with it! So they chose whiteboard drawing animation, as it’s the video style that’s best suited for educational purposes.

A little bit of context for this video: around the time YouTube started, in early 2005, whiteboard presentations started to be ‘a thing’. RSA was one of the first big organizations to get on board with it, and they began to convert selected lectures into compelling hand-drawing videos.

Just like this one!

.rsa animate changing education p

3. The Story of Stuff 

Another complex topic made simple with the power of whiteboard animation! The Story of Stuff was one of the first hand drawing videos to get viral, and right now it has more than 5 million views on YouTube alone.

It’s a little bit longer, but that’s fine for some kinds of videos, like purely informational ones ( if you’re making a whiteboard drawing animation that’s a bit more commercial, then you should stick to 3-4 minutes).

This whiteboard presentation tells the story of production and consumption, and their connections to environmental issues. It’s truly fascinating!

.the story of stuff

4. Where Good Ideas Come From

This one is a strictly informational whiteboard animation video that helps us understand where good ideas come from. One of the things that makes it really interesting (for us, video makers) is that it looks like a traditional hand drawing video (even though it’s probably edited on video software afterward).

It’s only four minutes long – which makes it perfect in order to hold the audience’s attention – and it’s interesting enough to keep you hooked.

.where good ideas come from by st 1

5. Elevations Credit Union 

Again, we come back to the complicated topics made simple: rising energy costs! This is a fun hand drawing video that’s very well-aimed to a target audience: homeowners everywhere can relate to this message.

It also tells a lot of information in a short period of time, so that makes it great for commercial purposes!

.how to save energy money with el 2

2. How to Make Whiteboard Drawing Videos for Your Business

There are a couple of elements that are essential in order to make a whiteboard presentation that works correctly. So, if you want to create one of these videos to include in your marketing strategy, let’s take a quick look at their basic elements!

2.1. The Hand Drawing Video Triad: White Background, a Continuous Black Drawing, and a Drawing Hand!

As you’ve seen in all of these videos, there are three things that are essential in whiteboard animation: a white background (posing for the whiteboard itself), a continuous black line, and a drawing hand.

Those are the basic characteristics of this kind of video: it’s what gives it a recognizable style, and even though you’re allowed to add some personal details (we’ll talk about that in a minute), you should really try to keep things traditional.

So don’t forget any of them! And please, don’t forget the drawing hand: it’s what ties it all together – the point of a whiteboard presentation is that there is an ‘artist’ drawing the story as it unfolds. If you have no hand, it’s not you’ve got no whiteboard drawing video.

.viglobal explainer video by yum 1 5

2.2. Remember to Use Interconnected Whiteboard Drawings

A high-quality video made with whiteboard drawing animation will keep your audience wondering what comes next, at every moment. Why? Because they’re watching how the story is being drawn (in ‘real-time’, or at least, synchronized with the narration), so there’s a spark of interest in your viewers that will only create excitement and anticipation for what comes next.

So, for this particular style of video, the best thing to do is to use interconnected drawings instead of individual ones!

2.3. Use Emotional References

One of the great things about whiteboard presentations is that they’ve got the possibility to deliver a complex message in a simple way. Of course, you already know that! But the greatest part of it is that because of its simplicity, you can also add emotional cues without overwhelming your audience!

So, you could make a hand drawing video that’s informative, but also happy, light, funny; nostalgic, empathetic, or emotional. If your video is simple to understand, it can be whatever you want it to be!

Storytelling is powerful, so take advantage of this tool to use your audience’s emotions in your favor. This could be done, for example, by adding elements to your story that connects your audience to things of their past (references to classic movies, music, or whatever your target audience is interested in!). It will make your video much more memorable!

Appeal to your audience’s emotions to generate identification.

2.4. Always Customize Your Hand Drawing Video!

Even though it’s important to keep the whiteboard drawing animation triad (white background, black interconnected drawings, and the drawing hand), you can always customize your video’s colors and style, so it fits more with your brand.

Think about including characters that look and behave like your target audience (which can be done by modeling them after your buyer personas). This will make your audience feel identified with your message!

You can also include some color in your whiteboard drawing animation – you get extra points if you use your brand colors, of course!

.lurie childrens hospital of chic 3

Don’t get crazy, though. It’s not about making a full-color video; it’s more about accentuating key parts of your message with the use of color. (If you’re looking for a full-color video, maybe you should try cartoon animation instead!).

3. Why Make Your Whiteboard Presentation with Yum Yum Videos?

Don’t be fooled by these videos’ simple facade: behind every great hand-drawn video, there are several hours of thorough work. Trying to cut corners in the production process can lead to a poorly made video that fails to engage and educate the audience.

So, if you are thinking of creating a whiteboard drawing animation, make sure you leave it in good hands a.k.a.: professional hands.

At Yum Yum Videos, we make every one of our projects with a detail-oriented approach, taking extreme care of meeting our clients’ needs. But that’s not all we bring to the table:

  • We offer the best price-quality guarantee.
  • Our production process is outstanding.
  • Our quality is, no doubt, one of the best in the market.
  • We ensure a continuous communication flow, keeping our clients informed during the whole process.

On top of that, we have many years of experience behind our backs, having worked with renowned international companies such as Fox, Red Bull, Wal-Mart, DocuSign, and Heinz, among many others.

.explainer video reel 2023 yum yu 68

Remember the first video in this article? That’s a whiteboard presentation we made for Spigit! See how they felt about partnering with us:

.mckesson testimonial video 23

So, if you want a top-rated hand drawing video that meets your marketing goals and fascinates your audience, feel free to drop us a line!

4. Let’s Wrap It Up!

Whiteboard drawing animation turns messages that could be very boring or complex, into fun and simple ones. That’s their magic!

If you’re interested in creating one for your brand, remember that it should always have the highest quality possible. Even though sometimes, homemade whiteboard presentations could look quirky and kind of cute, it’s not really high-quality contentand a poorly made video will only make your company seem unreliable.

High-quality content sparks trust in your audience. It means that your brand is a reliable one, and this is why they will trust your message. And the best way to create high-quality content is to have a great team of professionals working on it (whether it’s in-house if you’ve got a design team in your company; or by hiring a professional video production company).

If you decide to hire a whiteboard video production company, make sure that they can meet your needs correctly! Take a look at their portfolio, testimonials, and reviews.

Now, you know everything there is to know about whiteboard presentations. Are you ready to make your own? If you need any help, you can always write to us – we’ll be happy to help you!

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