How To Make Your Own Object Show: A Complete Guide To Creating Your First Animated Series

Object shows are a unique subgenre of independent animation that gained massive popularity on platforms like YouTube. Influenced by reality competition shows such as Survivor or Big Brother, these shows feature anthropomorphic inanimate objects competing in various challenges for a grand prize. Creating your own production is an accessible yet ambitious project that requires a mix of storytelling, artistic skill, and technical editing.

The genre traces its roots back to the early 2010s with seminal works like Battle for Dream Island (BFDI). Since then, thousands of creators have built dedicated communities, shared assets, and developed complex lore. Unlike high-budget television animation, the object show community thrives on "do-it-yourself" aesthetics, where simplicity in design often gives way to deep character development and interactive audience participation.

Planning Your Concept and Characters

The first step in creating an object show is defining your "cast." In this genre, personality is everything. Because the visual design of an object is fixed—a pencil, a fork, a coffee mug—the audience relies on the character’s voice, dialogue, and interaction with others to form a connection. Start by brainstorming at least 10 to 15 diverse objects. Aim for a mix of personalities, such as the "leader," the "underdog," the "villain," and the "comic relief."

Once you have your cast, you need a setting and a prize. Will the contestants compete on an island, a space station, or inside a giant house? The environment should be simple enough to draw repeatedly but interesting enough to provide context for your challenges. Your prize doesn't need to be realistic; in fact, the more absurd the prize (e.g., a lifetime supply of glitter, or a singular, golden pebble), the more it aligns with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the genre.

Developing your plot requires a balance between episodic challenges and long-term narrative arcs. While each episode usually features a competition task, you should weave in subplot tensions between characters. Keeping a "character bible" where you track traits, relationships, and previous eliminations will ensure your writing remains consistent as the show progresses over multiple episodes.

Choosing the Right Software and Workflow

You do not need professional-grade software to succeed in the object show community. Many successful creators began with basic tools and gradually upgraded as their skills improved. The technical process generally involves vector art for the characters and frame-by-frame animation or motion-tweening for movement.

Flash-based animation was the original standard, but modern creators frequently use a variety of accessible alternatives. When choosing your software, consider the learning curve and your budget. If you are a beginner, free tools like Wick Editor or Pencil2D offer a great entry point. For those looking for professional results, Adobe Animate or Toon Boom Harmony are industry standards, though they require a monthly subscription.

Your workflow should follow a structured pipeline: Scripting, Asset Creation, Animation, and Audio. Start by writing the full script, including dialogue and challenge mechanics. Create your character assets as vector files so you can scale them without losing quality. Once the scene is set, animate the lip-syncing and physical movements. Finally, record your voice acting—even if you are using your own voice, adding filters or pitch shifts can help differentiate characters.

Comparison of Popular Animation Tools

Managing Challenges and Voting Systems

The hallmark of the object show is the audience-driven voting system. In many shows, the audience is asked to vote for who they want to "eliminate" or "save" from the show. This mechanic creates a high level of engagement and turns your viewers into participants, which is essential for growing your channel's reach and algorithm ranking.

To implement this, you must clearly present the contestants who are up for elimination at the end of each episode. Use a consistent call-to-action (CTA) to direct viewers to the comments section or a third-party polling site like StrawPoll. Ensure your voting rules are clear: are they voting for their favorite or their least favorite? Confusion in the voting process can lead to frustration and inaccurate results.

Beyond voting, designing the actual challenges is where you can showcase your creativity. Challenges should be visually distinct and fair. Common challenge archetypes include obstacle courses, trivia contests, treasure hunts, or skill-based dexterity tasks. When designing these, keep them visually simple so your audience can easily track who is winning and who is struggling.

Alternative Meaning: Intellectual Property and "Object" Shows

While the term "object show" predominantly refers to the animation subgenre, some users search for this term in the context of professional "Product Shows" or "Object-Oriented Displays" in software engineering. If you are a developer looking to build a digital dashboard or an "object display" for a business application, the workflow is entirely different.

In a professional software context, an "object show" refers to creating a UI component that renders data objects for users to interact with. Unlike the animation subgenre, this requires a deep understanding of data structures, frontend frameworks like React or Vue.js, and API integration. If you were searching for how to build a user interface to display dynamic data objects, you should focus on learning state management and component lifecycle methods rather than character design or animation frames.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to be a great artist to make an object show? Not at all. The object show community prioritizes personality and storytelling over complex art. As long as your characters have clear designs and consistent personalities, your audience will connect with them.

2. How long should an episode be? Most object show episodes range from 3 to 10 minutes. It is better to have a shorter, well-paced episode than a long, draggy one. Focus on quality and story flow rather than duration.

3. Is it safe to share my show online? YouTube is the standard platform for this. While the internet can be critical, the object show community is generally very supportive of new creators. Always enable comment moderation to keep your space positive.

4. Can I make money from my object show? Once you meet YouTube’s partner program requirements (subscriber count and watch hours), you can monetize through ads. However, many creators also utilize Patreon or Ko-fi to support their work directly from fans.

5. What is the most important part of the production process? Audio. People will forgive sub-par animation, but they will click away if the voice acting is inaudible or the audio quality is poor. Invest in a decent USB microphone and spend time on your sound mixing.

6. Where can I find music for my show? Use royalty-free libraries like the YouTube Audio Library or sites like Incompetech. Never use copyrighted music, as it can lead to your channel receiving strikes and being demonetized.

Start Your Journey Today

The best way to learn is by doing. Do not wait until you have the perfect software or a massive team to start your first episode. Write a rough script, draw your first character on a piece of paper, and start experimenting with simple animation frames. Your first project will be a learning experience, and each subsequent episode will show your growth as both an artist and a storyteller.

Ready to create? Grab your drawing tablet or a pencil and paper, choose your first character, and start writing the premiere of your very own animated series!