Best Animation Studios in Berlin (2026)

Introduction

Berlin’s animation scene covers a wide range of work, and the nine studios below span much of it: children’s series, auteur short films, stop motion, 2D explainers, title design and CG-led brand work. They were chosen for recent work, the range of their clients and a working studio in the city in 2026.

Much of the city’s animation comes from small, director-led studios, and six of the nine below are in Kreuzberg, Neukölln or Prenzlauer Berg, close to the music, fashion and tech clients that commission short-form work. Pictoplasma, the Berlin character design conference, published its full 2026 programme earlier this year, and studios here serve broadcasters such as ZDF alongside global brands and streaming platforms. Several also run their own originals in parallel with commissioned work.

Every studio here has an active Berlin studio in 2026. The list is unranked, since the right choice depends on the technique, the format and how much of the creative direction you want the studio to own.

The best animation studios in Berlin

1. Talking Animals

Independent collective · Kreuzberg · talkinganimals.de

Talking Animals is a collective of animation filmmakers that has worked under that name in Berlin since 2009. It is a small team (six people, according to its Sortlist profile) that works with award-winning directors and animators brought in per project. Its styles range from artistic 3D and cut-out to drawn 2D animation and analogue stop motion.

The studio’s slate leans towards authored work: the animated documentary Tracing Addai, Milen Vitanov’s short Mishou, Sonja Rohleder’s Nest and Froschwetter (Frog Weather). It has also produced Poldine for ZDF’s Siebenstein, and takes on music videos, advertising and explainer films. Good for briefs that need a distinctive handmade look.

2. Woodblock

Independent · Kreuzberg · woodblock.tv

Woodblock was founded in 2013 by the directing team Polynoid. It runs studios in Berlin (on Skalitzer Straße) and Ludwigsburg, with a presence in Los Angeles, and works across design, film and immersive projects. The studio states a commitment to fair working conditions for its team.

Recent collaborations listed on its site include Illenium Sphere, Anyma Sphere and BBC Euros. Woodblock also develops its own properties, among them Bye Bear, The Shark in the Park, Loom and Space Probe Force, with Dark World and Blue Marble in development. It suits clients who want large-format or immersive animation from a studio with its own directing roster.

3. Extraweg

Part of the Psyop Group collective · Berlin · extraweg.com

Extraweg is the studio of director Oliver Latta, known for surreal 3D animation and emotionally driven visual storytelling. Latta is a two-time Emmy winner, according to the studio, and Psyop Group lists Extraweg among its Berlin studios.

Its best-known work is the main title design for Apple TV’s Severance, Season 1 and Season 2. Other projects include store visuals for Valentino Garavani, the CGI music video for Bring Me The Horizon’s “Medicine”, an MTV artist ident, a CUPRA art collaboration and a commercial spot for MSI. Expect a strong authorial style, so it fits briefs that want that signature look.

4. Hahn Film

Independent, part of the Hahn Group · Prenzlauer Berg · hahnfilm.com

Hahn Film was founded by Gerhard Hahn in 1980 and is the production centre of the Hahn Group. It develops and produces 2D and CGI animated children’s series and builds its own intellectual property, from concepts and scripts to artwork. The studio sits on Schwedter Straße, with a second entrance on Kastanienallee.

Its catalogue includes Mia and Me and Sherazade. Worry Eaters is in production and Mystery Museum is in development. A subsidiary, Helle Freude, handles brand development and merchandise around the characters, and the company also makes live-action features and TV drama.

5. Sehsucht

Independent, founder-led · Berlin · sehsucht.de

Sehsucht is a hybrid production studio that combines filmmaking, animation and visual effects. Martin Woelke and Ole Peters founded it in Hamburg in 2000, and it now runs studios in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Its work covers live action, 3D animation, compositing, motion design, CI endings, broadcast design and title sequences.

Clients include Audi, Mercedes-Benz, PUMA, Sennheiser, Penny, EnBW and the band Moderat. Sehsucht is a good fit for brand films that mix live action with CG animation in one production; ask which of its studios will lead the job.

6. relative.berlin

Independent · Kreuzberg · relative.berlin

relative.berlin describes itself as an AI design and production studio. It works in motion design and 2D and 3D animation, and runs a hybrid pipeline that combines CG with generative AI tools. Its services cover commercials, avatars and digital fashion, immersive experiences, digital out-of-home and visuals for live events.

Featured projects include Netflix digital out-of-home campaigns, an Audemars Piguet 50th anniversary piece and a Mercedes-Benz social campaign. Other clients include Siemens, Wolt, Vorwerk, MTV and flaconi. If your brand has rules on generative AI, agree early which parts of the pipeline it may touch.

7. Dyrdee

Independent · Prenzlauer Berg · dyrdee.com

Dyrdee is a concept-driven design and animation studio based on Rykestraße. It directs commercials, brand networks and film titles, and designs and animates characters for brand identities. Techniques include stop motion, 2D, 3D and live action.

Its services also cover broadcast and title design, explainer and brand videos, big-screen visuals for concerts and trade shows, and out-of-home and fake out-of-home (FOOH) campaigns. A sensible choice for a brand that needs a mascot or character system built and then animated across channels.

8. Studio Torp

Independent · Neukölln · studiotorp.com

Studio Torp is an animation studio on Okerstraße that often combines several techniques in one film: stop motion, cut-out, hand-drawn animation, 2D and 3D motion graphics and rotoscoping. Mixing techniques this way gives its films a handmade texture.

Its work spans event films, corporate image films, explainer videos, children’s films and music videos. The studio’s site shows client logos rather than named case studies, so ask for references in your sector before you brief it.

9. monströös

Independent partnership · Rummelsburg · monstroos.com

monströös is a Berlin studio for 2D animation and audiovisual storytelling. It specialises in explainer films that make processes in research, politics and history easier to follow, including exhibition videos and lecture intros.

It also produces short social media clips, multi-channel advertising campaigns and illustration for print and digital, alongside its own short films. The studio says it works closely with clients on fixed schedules, which suits institutions and foundations with set launch dates.

What to look for in a Berlin animation studio

Start with technique, because it decides cost and schedule more than anything else. Stop motion and cut-out need physical builds and a shooting stage; drawn 2D needs a larger animation team per minute; 3D needs modelling, rigging and render time. Berlin has specialists in each, and several studios here mix them, so ask which technique the studio would recommend for your brief and why.

Look at who directs. Many Berlin studios are built around one director or a small roster, and the house style comes from them. A studio with a strong authorial voice will give you that voice, so check that its reel is close to what you want.

For series and longer formats, ask about pipeline and capacity. Children’s series and features run for months, involve co-producers and broadcasters, and depend on a stable team. For short-form brand work, ask how the studio handles rounds of changes at the animatic stage, which is the cheapest point to change a story.

Finally, agree how files and feedback will move. Animation projects produce storyboards, animatics, character sheets, project files and heavy renders, and each review round adds versions. Studios that keep one place for the latest cut, with clear comments and sign-off at each stage, tend to deliver on schedule.

How Fabric helps animation teams

Fabric gives an animation studio one workspace for project files, client feedback and production knowledge, with AI search across all of it. The motion design setup suits studios that run several productions in parallel, with one space per project holding boards, animatics, references and call notes.

Scene files and renders sit in Fabric’s cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space. Heavy files open without a full download, and shared team folders always show the latest version. There is more on this in why rendering files need a home and handling growing Blender files.

Early development often happens on Canvas, an infinite whiteboard that embeds Figma, YouTube and Vimeo, which works well for moodboards, style frames and storyboards. Search finds assets by meaning across documents, images and transcribed recordings, colour search finds frames by shade, and similar search surfaces character designs or shots that look alike.

For client reviews, any file or folder can be published as a web page with password protection. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without signing up. With annotations, reviewers can leave timestamped comments and drawings on video, and mark up PDFs and documents such as scripts and storyboard PDFs.

Password protection is included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best animation studio in Berlin?

It depends on the format. Hahn Film has decades of children’s series behind it, Extraweg is known for the Severance title sequences, and Talking Animals and Studio Torp are strong on handmade techniques such as stop motion and cut-out.

Which Berlin studios make animated children’s series?

Hahn Film develops and produces 2D and CGI children’s series, including Mia and Me, with Worry Eaters in production. Talking Animals has produced Poldine for ZDF’s Siebenstein, and Woodblock develops its own original properties.

Can Berlin studios handle stop-motion animation?

Yes. Talking Animals works in analogue stop motion and cut-out, Studio Torp combines stop motion with hand-drawn and digital techniques, and Dyrdee offers stop motion for commercials and brand work.

Where should I look for VFX rather than animation in Berlin?

Studios that focus on compositing, CG integration and visual effects for film and episodic work are covered on the best VFX studios in Berlin page. Sehsucht, on this list, also offers VFX within its hybrid productions.

How long does an animated brand film take?

A 30 to 60 second spot usually takes several weeks to a few months, depending on technique and the number of review rounds. Stop motion and drawn 2D tend to take longer than motion graphics, so ask the studio for a schedule at the treatment stage.

Related lists

Animation studios in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Berlin: Creative agencies · VFX · Post-production · Video production · Sound design · Design agencies

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for motion design teams · Best video review software for creative teams · Fabric for creative teams