10 Best Hand Drawn Explainer Videos You Need to Watch

When it comes to explainer video styles, there are many types to choose from: motion graphics, 2D animation, live action videos… they all work well for different marketing goals, but when you need an animation style with a high synthesis power and a highly engaging nature, then hand drawn explainer videos are the best option!

These videos are famous for simplifying complex messages and entertaining audiences. Their aesthetic style puts people in an ‘educational mood’ —what could be more educational than scribbling on a whiteboard with a marker?

Additionally, hand drawn videos have the power to make any topic really interesting. And that’s why we love it so much! I want to share their magic with you, so I’ve listed ten of the best whiteboard animation videos to inspire you to make your own!

Let’s get started, shall we?

What Is a Hand-Drawn Explainer Video?

You’ve probably seen plenty of hand-drawn videos already, even if you didn’t know exactly what they were called: think of the classic Red Bull ads with doodle characters… That’s a hand-drawn video through and through!

These videos use a hand-drawn style (even if the animation itself is computer-generated) on a whiteboard surface to tell a story, sell a product, educate audiences, and more. They’re especially useful when the topic at hand is very complex since the style helps you break down information into simple, engaging bits that viewers can understand and retain more easily.

Many hand-drawn explainer videos use a human hand to make the animation look like it’s coming to life right before our eyes, but you might notice that more and more videos are starting to ditch the hand and use the drawn elements only. Both styles are super compelling and effective, so it’s up to you to choose whether or not to add a hand! It’s just a matter of personal preference 😉.

What Makes a Great Hand-Drawn Explainer Video Great?

Although each hand-drawn video has a unique style depending on the creator or explainer video company behind it, there are certain elements that all videos should have to be a brilliant, captivating piece. Let’s quickly go over them:

• Outstanding storytelling. No matter what topic you’ve decided to tackle with your video, your narration and development of events should be top-notch. After all, even if the hand-drawn elements are amazing, no viewer will stay until the end, if the animation doesn’t go with a great story.

• An awesome design. Hand-drawn elements are attractive in their own right, so even the less “artistic” animations (to put it kindly 😅) can allure viewers into clicking on them. However, you need to make these elements engaging; they have to appeal to your audience and make them want to keep watching! Many so-called hand-drawn videos out there use traditional animation and just add a hand on top, which is exactly what you shouldn’t do if you want to hook viewers.

• High-quality audio. Although the animation is the star of the show, a video with poor audio quality will make even the most enthusiastic viewer ditch your piece right away. Investing in a microphone, even a cheap one, is better than relying on your phone’s or computer’s built-in microphone and hoping for the best.

• A compelling CTA. After all is said and done, you probably want viewers to take action, right? That’s why you invested in a hand-drawn explainer video in the first place! Make sure you add a persuasive CTA at some point in your video (most creators do this at the very end, once the video has accomplished its goal of delighting viewers) to encourage your audience to keep in touch with your business.

Why Are Animated Hands So Effective?

You’re probably wondering what it is exactly that makes these videos such a common piece for businesses to invest their marketing budget in.

In most cases, hand-drawn explainer videos try to emulate the making of a real drawing (though some make the computer animation much more obvious), which is the secret to keeping viewers engaged from the very beginning and up to the end: the animation coming to life before their eyes simply cannot be paralleled by other video styles.

Have you ever come across a street artist painting something in real-time? That allure is what hand-drawn videos emulate, hooking viewers by creating a piece of art from scratch.

Additionally, the resemblance to a classroom whiteboard used by a teacher to give a lecture makes the audience more receptive to learning a new topic, so you can use this fact to your advantage and leverage hand-drawn animations for your educational pieces.

Top 10 Examples of Hand-Drawn Explainer Videos

Alright, alright, I’ve kept you waiting long enough! Here’s my pick of the best examples of hand-drawn 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 healthcare advertisement for our friends at McKesson, which is one of the most important healthcare brands in the world —it ranks among the top 10 Fortune 500 companies!

It’s a digital hand-drawn explainer 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!).

Healthcare video production can greatly benefit from this animation style because it makes understanding complex, technical ideas easier for patients and their loved ones.

2. Changing Education Paradigms

RSA is a charity committed to solving social challenges, and they created this hand-drawn video to speak about the reform of education.

It’s a very complex topic, and not all viewers are probably familiar with it! So they chose hand-drawn 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-drawn videos. They’re true trendsetters when it comes to this art style!

3. The Story of Stuff

Another complex topic made simple with the power of hand-drawn animation! The Story of Stuff was one of the first hand drawing videos to go viral, and right now it has almost 9 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 hand-drawn video that’s a bit more commercial, like a product advertisement, then you should stick to 3-4 minutes or less to avoid boring your audience.

This presentation tells the story of production and consumption and their connections to environmental issues. It’s truly fascinating! I didn’t even notice its length until it was over.

4. Where Good Ideas Come From

This one is a strictly informational hand-drawn video that helps us understand where good ideas come from. One of the things that makes it really interesting 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 its storytelling is so interesting that it keeps you hooked until the very end.

5. Elevations Credit Union

Again, we come back to the complicated topics made simple: rising energy costs! This is a fun hand-drawn 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 it makes for a great animated commercial!

6. Thermo Fisher

Allow me to show you one of our pieces just once more! This is an awesome hand-drawn explainer video we made for another healthcare company, Thermo Fisher.

As the solution they wanted to promote involves very complex and technical information, we opted for a hand-drawn piece, which allows us to simplify the topic and go over it little by little, making it easier for audiences to understand what’s being described.

Additionally, we added some pops of color to make certain elements stand out and make the video more visually interesting! This resulted in a compelling piece that efficiently communicates Thermo Fisher’s solution to its target audience.

7. Law-Whiz

As you can see in this wonderful example, there’s nothing like a hand-drawn explainer video to promote your products and services!

In the case of Law-Whiz, the company had an incredible idea: as the voiceover narrates what solutions the company can provide to its clients, the hand-drawn animations depict the abstract concepts, turning them into a drawing —did you notice the drawn bridge when the narrator says “bridging the gap”, or the money tree when he talks about clients losing money?

This goes to show that even companies that deal with serious topics, such as law professionals, can leverage the power of hand-drawn videos to get an amazing marketing asset.

8. Stress, Neanderthals and Us

I’m particularly fond of this example. It has it all: hand-drawn animations, humor, history, and clever marketing!

To promote one of its exhibitions, the Natural History Museum took full advantage of video marketing and chose a hand-drawn piece to compare the struggles of our daily life and those of a Neanderthal. Although this could’ve been achieved with traditional 2D animation, the educational factor is essential here: in addition to using humor to encourage people to visit the museum, they’re also educating them about what life was like millions of years ago.

9. What Is PadMapper?

Apartment hunting has to be one of the worst experiences we all have to go through at some point: it’s stressful, it’s difficult, and it’s time-consuming. However, a great hand-drawn explainer video like the one in this example would’ve been of great help when I was looking for a place!

Even if the service provided by PadMapper is amazing, so any animation style would’ve been amazing to promote their business, opting for hand-drawn illustrations is a very intelligent choice: most apartment hunters are young people, who will feel particularly compelled by the fun, quirky drawings used in the video.

This example shows how versatile hand-drawn videos can be: they can be used for an amusing, cheerful piece like this one, and also for super-serious, professional topics, like the healthcare examples I listed above.

10. Live2Support

Last, but certainly not least, check out this hand-drawn explainer video by Live2Support. I wanted to include it in my list because I was amazed at how effectively it conveyed its message in only 37 seconds!

This example mixes hand drawings with some already-made elements, such as the Collaboration and Messaging text boxes, which are put in place “by hand” as if they were paper cutouts.

This combination is what makes the video so effective: since only some of the animations are made to look like they’re being drawn in real-time, the video can be much shorter while still communicating its message successfully.

A Hand Drawn Explainer Video That Earned 3 Million Dollars

Now that I’ve shown you my favorite hand-drawn videos, I want to share with you a very special example of this animation style: a piece we made for MedVector that earned 3 million dollars.

The company needed to attract investors and raise funds, so they decided to invest in a hand-drawn video that could hook their target audience and speak to them on a personal level. Their audience is comprised of different kinds of members: not only investors but also pharma companies, doctors, hospital administrators… This meant that the video had to effectively communicate its message to a broad variety of viewers.

We chose to represent different possible scenarios where MedVector’s solution could come in handy, so the different audience members could relate to them and understand how the company can be a great partner.

With just a landing page and this video as its main star, MedVector was able to raise 3 million dollars in funds from hundreds of investors! Pretty neat, if I may say so myself 😄.

How Much Does a Hand Drawn Video Cost?

There’s no straightforward answer to the question of how much explainer video animation costs since there are many different components to take into account which have an impact on the final number.

First of all, you have to consider whether you’ll hire a professional team or go the DIY route. The latter might be far cheaper in terms of money, but it’ll also be extremely time-consuming if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of video production.

If you opt for partnering with a professional agency, then there are several factors to consider when budgeting your video: its length, how urgently you need to have it finished, the different elements that’ll go into it (will it only be a hand-drawn video, or will it also have traditional 2D animation, for example?), voiceovers, etc.

All in all, you can expect a professionally-made video to cost around $8,000, but please bear in mind that this number isn’t set in stone!

If you want to learn more about animation costs, check out this video we made about it:

How to Make Hand Drawn Explainer Videos: The Process

Are you curious about the behind-the-scenes process of how these videos come to life? Let’s quickly go over the steps creators go through to make a hand-drawn video:

• Developing an interesting script. First and foremost, you need to have an idea you want to illustrate through hand drawings. That’s why you must start with a great script, so you can know exactly what your video will be about and how you’ll tackle each stage of the narration.

• Creating a storyboard. Storyboards are crucial for any video, but especially so for animated ones: you need to have an idea (however rudimentary) of what your video will look like before you set out to do it.

• Create sketches. Once you know what your goals are, try to make sketches of what your final animation will be. Even if you opt for computer animation instead of true hand drawings, you’ll need to develop a certain style and “feel” for your video, as well as the different objects and characters that will be in it.

• Record your video. It’s showtime! Here’s where you’ll need to decide whether you’ll animate everything by hand —in which case you’ll need to record with good lighting—or use animation software to make the illustrations look hand-drawn. In either case, keep your storyboard and script handy, so you know where to go next and don’t miss any important scenes.

• Edit your final piece. After you’ve finished the recording, you’ll have to edit any mistakes you might have made when drawing or cut out any unnecessary frames, to get a polished, high-quality final product. This is also the stage where you add a voiceover narration or background music (or both!).

Why Choose Hand-Drawn Videos for Your Next Project?

As you’ve probably learned by now, hand-drawn animation can be adapted to achieve the goals of virtually any industry: from law professionals to healthcare businesses and everything in between, a hand-drawn video can be your best marketing asset.

The customization possibilities are endless, so whatever you need to communicate can be conveyed through this animation style. The tone can vary from serious to humorous and quirky; depending on your audience and what your message is, a hand-drawn explainer video can be made to fit all your requirements and bring new customers to your business.

Its versatility also means it can be used for a variety of different purposes: from explainers to educational pieces, as well as product promos and commercial ads, these videos can be used for almost anything you can think of.

Need a Hand Drawn Explainer Video? Yum Yum Videos Has You Covered

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 animation production process can lead to a poorly made video that fails to engage and educate the audience.

At Yum Yum Videos, we make every one of our projects with a detail-oriented approach, taking extreme care to meet 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.

Remember the first video in this article? That’s a hand-drawn explainer video we made for McKesson! See how they felt about partnering with us in this testimonial video:

And, since we’re coming to the end of this article, let me share with you a final example of what we can do when it comes to hand-drawn videos! Here’s one of my favorite pieces, an explainer we made for Intelligent Observation:

If we sound like a good match for your company, don’t hesitate to contact us! We’ll be happy to hear what you have in mind 😃.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

Hand-drawn videos turn messages that could be very boring or complex into fun and simple ones. That’s what makes them a must-have in your video marketing strategy!

If you’re interested in creating one for your brand, remember that it should always have the highest quality possible. 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.

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

Now that you know everything there is to know about hand-drawn presentations, are you ready to make your own?