“We were the best invisible artists in the world,” says , a veteran animator who worked on The Amazing Spiez! . “We could match any style—French, American, Japanese. But we had no style of our own.”
Across the room, a junior animator is cleaning up a scene using (the defunct MacPaint-style software? No—actually, they use Clip Studio Paint for line art). Another is compositing in After Effects. 2d animation production singapore
Mediacorp, Singapore’s main free-to-air network, airs very little local 2D animation. Most series are sold directly to international distributors or YouTube. “We were the best invisible artists in the
In the local scene, 2D animators are often fluent in 3D compositing tools like Toon Boom Harmony and After Effects. The result is a hybrid style—"2.5D"—where 2D characters move through 3D environments. This technical proficiency makes Singaporean studios incredibly efficient, able to deliver broadcast-quality series in half the time of their Western counterparts. But we had no style of our own
: The film showcased a distinct 2D anime influence, proving that Singaporean studios can blend international aesthetics with local narratives.
A new wave of indie 2D animators is using platforms like YouTube and Viddsee to produce animated shorts that retell these Singaporean stories. It is a movement that treats 2D animation not just as entertainment, but as a digital archive of the nation's soul.