How Many Frames Can We Use?

Great question! Unfortunately, there isn’t one quick answer that applies to all projects. In some cases, the limit may be two frames, while with other projects, the answer may be as many as ten frames. It really depends on your artwork, how it’s being used, and what you’re hoping to achieve with the animation. So let’s dive a little deeper and explore the factors that will help you determine the right frame count for your lenticular piece.

The Clarity Trade-Off

Here’s a fundamental principle to keep in mind: the more frames you use, the less clearly and distinctly you will see each individual frame. It’s a trade-off between frame count and frame distinction, and you need to choose which side of that equation matters more for your project.

If your animation is of a waterfall cascading down rocks, the lack of sharp distinction between frames may not be an issue. In fact, it may actually help create that sense of flowing motion. The blur becomes an asset. Same thing with flames flickering, flags waving, or a baseball player swinging a bat. The movement is what you’re after, not the individual moments.

However, if your image shows one sentence changing to another, or if you’re showing a change between two very different products, that ghosting might be a problem. Your viewer wants to read each message clearly, and if the frames are bleeding together, it may look messy. Text is particularly unforgiving when it comes to frame ghosting, so text changes should typically be kept to two frames.

Animation Direction: Left/Right vs. Up/Down

We can set your piece up to animate as your angle of view changes left/right, or up/down- it’s your choice. Generally, the default for any piece that is on display is to animate left/right (unless it’s in front of a trampoline!). People moving horizontally past your display will naturally trigger the animation as they walk by it. Makes sense, right?

Most hand-held piece are up/down. Why? Because It’s simply a property of lenticular that up/down animations do a slightly better job of keeping each frame distinct. This is a result of the way us humans are built. Because your eyes are (presumably) next to each other, with left/right animating pieces, your left eye may see the next frame in the sequence slightly before your right eye does. With an up/down animation, both eye see above and below the lenses at exactly the same time. So when choosing the amount of frames for you project, keep in mind that left/right display pieces are almost always limited to two or, at most, three frames.

Beyond that, you’re really pushing the limits of clarity. With up/down animation, you’ve got more breathing room. Depending on the other factors we’ll discuss, you might be able to go with five, six, or even more frames and still maintain good image quality.

Image Size Matters

How big is your image? Size also plays a role in how many frames your lenticular piece can effectively handle.

Smaller images tend to do a better job at holding multiple frames than do larger ones. A business card-sized lenticular piece might handle six or eight frames beautifully, while a 4-foot by 8-foot large format lenticular display might need to stay at two or three frames to maintain clarity. It’s all about the viewing distance and how the lens pitch interacts with the image size. The bigger you go, the more conservative you typically need to be with your frame count.

What’s Your Story?

What are you trying to achieve with the image? This is where the art meets the science, and really, it’s the most important consideration of all.

Sometimes a simple “flip” between two images has far more impact than a multi-frame animation. Imagine you want to show the function of a door that can be opened or closed. A 2-frame flip between “open” and “closed” will often look better and communicate the function better than a 5-frame animation showing all the in-between frames of the door gradually opening and closing. It’s opened/it’s closed. Bam. Story told. The viewer gets it instantly, with no confusion or messy ghosting.

We see this all the time with before-and-after comparisons. A weight loss product might show the transformation from “before” to “after” in just two frames, and that stark contrast is powerful. Adding frames showing the gradual progression might actually dilute the impact.

Other times, though, the in-between frames are the story. If you’re showing a golf swing, the progression through the frames is what demonstrates proper form. And the ghosting becomes motion blur- it helps it look more natural, not less so. If you’re animating a product assembly sequence, each step needs to be visible. A blooming flower benefits from seeing the petals gradually unfold. Every story is slightly different, and understanding your narrative goal is crucial.

Our Recommendation

So the bottom line is that you should use the fewest frames needed to tell your story effectively. That way, each frame has the best opportunity to be seen in all its glory, with maximum clarity and impact. More isn’t always better, and in fact, fewer frames often produces the strongest results.

Think of it like editing a photograph. A skilled photographer doesn’t apply every filter and effect available. They use just what the image needs to achieve the desired result. Same principle applies here.

And, of course, we’re here to guide you every step of the way! So talk to us about what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll help you make sure your image looks great and that your animation works perfectly. After three decades in this business, we’ve seen just about every application imaginable, and we love helping clients figure out the sweet spot for their specific project. Give us a call and let’s make something amazing together.