Ever wondered how your favorite animated TV shows, films, and video games come to life? In this post, we'll take you through the animation pipeline for both 3D and 2D animation, breaking down the stages that go into creating the stories we love watching and the skills needed to launch your career in the world of animation!
Introduction to the Animation Pipelines
The animation pipeline refers to all the stages involved in creating an animation, from conception to the final product. The steps can be categorized into three important phases:
- Pre-production
- Production
- Post-production
Most of these steps will involve both software and hardware, which will vary depending on the stage of the project and whether an artist is working in 2D or 3D. Understanding the animation pipeline not only gives you insight into how animations are created but also helps you develop a successful work plan, supporting you while you study animation and paving the way to your animation career.
The Role of Pre-Production in Animation
Pre-production involves the conception, research, planning, and designing of an animation.
Ideation and Scripting
Ideation refers to the initial concept, and when ideas are brainstormed, scripting brings them to life through written dialogue, scene descriptions, and action.
When developing a story, writers or story artists may draft bullet points or early versions of key scenes to help them work through their ideas and help shape the narrative’s direction. However, writing without a detailed plan can also be effective, allowing the initial idea to guide a natural progression of the story. Some may take a linear approach, starting from the beginning and working toward the end, while others focus on pivotal scenes first and fill in the gaps later. If plot, character development, or specific scenes become challenging, discussing ideas with others can provide a fresh perspective.
When scripting, it's essential to follow industry-standard formatting to ensure clear communication, especially when presenting your script to others. Sharing drafts and asking for feedback helps identify mistakes, plot holes, or aspects of the story that may have been overlooked. After receiving feedback, revise the draft accordingly. Ultimately, the final script should clearly convey the core intentions of the story. Scripting serves as the foundation for storyboarding, where the visual planning process begins.
Concept Art and Storyboarding
Concept art is where the settings, characters, props, costumes, lighting, and color are designed. At the beginning of this process, simple sketches will be created, eventually leading to fully realized designs. Concept artists will help set the tone and look of the entire animation.
A storyboard is the first visual sketch of the frames, actions, and camera angles of an animation. The visual choices are important to show the setting, action, characters, and story. For example, a wide shot is often used to establish the setting.
CG Spectrum concept art student Jose Bajuelo’s storyboard.
Storyboards and concept art help inform an animator's work. Concept art will provide an animator with important information on the look and personality of the characters in their scene (more on this below!), while storyboards will visually describe the actions of these characters, as well as the camera and framing, in their assigned scenes.
Concept art and storyboards serve as essential guides for animators in both 2D and 3D animation. Concept art establishes the visual identity and personality of characters, while storyboards map out their movements, interactions, and framing within each scene. Together, they provide a clear creative and technical foundation, ensuring consistency and coherence in the animation.
Thinking of switching careers? Hear from Mark Pullyblank, Department Head of 3D Animation at CG Spectrum, as he talks about his career switch into animation from an entirely different industry—live music.
Character Design and Development
Within character design, not only will a character’s appearance, such as hair color and skin tone, be designed, but also their costumes and props. A character's personality and behavior should inform the design, which is important in conveying their traits and current situation within the story. Consider where the character comes from, their history, and what they do. Many different versions of the same subject will be designed and can be worked on by multiple artists before choosing the final one. If more than one artist is working on a character, it is important to keep a consistent feel between each design.
The characters that both 2D and 3D animators work with are based on the detailed designs of concept artists and character designers. 2D animators may draw the characters they animate themselves based on these designs (often using detailed turnarounds and model sheets for reference).
3D animators, however, do not build their own characters—3D modelers create these in the earlier stages of the VFX pipeline. Initially, the models are 'lower poly,' simplified representations of the final model, so animators can get started blocking out their scenes with faster rendering times while they wait for the final version.
Before a model is handed over to animation, a rig is added, which creates an internal skeleton. This allows it to act like a digital puppet for the animator to move around in a scene to block out positions and framing. Although animation allows characters to move in unrealistic ways, it is important to feel natural and believable within the context of the animation and story.
CG Spectrum student Claire Simon uses low poly geo in their 3d animation of a dinosaur.
Claire’s same dinosaur animation as the video above but using high poly geo.
Production Process in Animation
Layout and Design
Layout and design define the visual style and structure of the animation. The layout phase involves setting up the environments, backgrounds, and camera angles, ensuring the scenes align with the storyboards. Together, they provide a visual blueprint, helping the team achieve consistency and coherence throughout the animation, ensuring it aligns with the intended mood and narrative.
In 2D animation, scene composition is planned on paper or 2D drawing software, with background placement and camera angles determined.
Layout for 3D animation involves setting the scene in three-dimensional space, usually by environment artists. Animation is then applied within the 3D environment by manipulating the rigged models with more flexibility than 2D animation.
Both 3D and digital 2D animation incorporate digital cameras to simulate pans, zooms, and rotations, adding depth and dynamic movement to a scene.
3D Animation Pipeline versus 2D Animation Pipeline
Although the two main styles of animation both involve breathing life into static characters, there are some key differences between the 3D and 2D animation pipeline.
Summary of the 2D animation pipeline:
- Layout – Scene composition is planned, with background placement and camera angles determined.
- Animation – 2D animation is created frame by frame, either through traditional hand-drawing or using software that simulates this technique. The process begins with blocking and keyframes to establish the major actions, followed by in-betweening to smooth the animation. This step involves either manually drawing the intermediate frames between keyframes, using rigging to control the movement of the animation, or automated in-betweening, which uses software such as CACANi, which saves the artist time. Toon Boom Harmony has an Auto-Inbetweening feature that can generate in-betweens for vector-based drawings, but animators usually refine or adjust them manually for better accuracy and appeal.
- Inking and Coloring – Once the animation is approved, it is inked and colored by hand or digitally, adding depth to the animation.
- Compositing – Different elements of the scene, such as characters, backgrounds, and effects, are combined in a 2D space.
- Rendering – The final animation is rendered into frames or sequences for playback.
Summary of the 3D animation pipeline:
- Layout – The layout involves setting the scene in 3D space.
- 3D Modeling – 3D modelers create digital assets that are then passed to rigging to add an internal rig before being passed to animation.
- Animation – Animation is then applied by manipulating the rigged models, with more range and realism than 2D.
- Texturing – Texture artists apply color, surface detail, and realism to the 3D model. This can be done while the animator uses the asset in their scene and will not impact their work.
- Lighting and Shading – Lighting artists light the scene to create mood and depth, and shaders are applied to give surfaces a realistic or stylized look.
- Rendering – The 3D scene is rendered into 2D frames, using software to calculate lighting, shadows, and textures.
- Compositing – Final touches, like effects or corrections, are added to enhance the final look.
Want to get into 2D animation? Listen to industry veterans Sykosan (Love, Death + Robots), Alfredo Cassano (Klaus), and Hubert Lapointe (Rick & Morty) as they share their insights and experiences. Hosted by Scott Claus, Department Head of 2D Animation (Pocahontas), hear all about what it takes to get into the industry!
Key Techniques in Animation Creation
Blocking is where the “story poses” are executed to establish the major action in a scene. After blocking, additional poses called the keys, key poses, or keyframes are added to convey character, humor, action, or design beyond the blocking. During this phase, animators focus on establishing the timing, spacing, and general flow of the animation without worrying about the finer details or in-betweens.
In 3D animation, during the blocking stage, animators often use low poly 3D models, a simplified version of the final model that uses a minimal number of polygons. This reduces the computational load required for rendering. This results in faster rendering times and more efficient workflows, particularly when working with large numbers of objects or complex environments. The final pass will need to use the approved 3D model, which will have a much higher polygon count, resulting in a more detailed asset.
In 2D animation, blocking is often done by sketching the main key frames of a sequence, defining how a character moves from one pose to another before getting into detailed drawings and in-betweens. Blocking in both 2D and 3D animation is an essential step to ensure that the animation's flow feels natural and cohesive. Breakdowns add more frames between the keyframes to flesh out actions, bringing the scene closer to completion. This is important to smoothly transition between the main poses of a character's movement.
In 2D animation, in-betweens further fill the gaps between breakdowns and keyframes. In 3D animation, splining uses mathematical curves, which allow computer software to calculate the in-betweens without jumping unnaturally between key poses.
In 2D animation, these in-betweens are drawn by hand using traditional paper practices. A traditional technique called cel has each frame drawn on a transparent sheet, which allows layering to see how a character moves from key pose to key pose. While digital 2D animation can use rigging that allows animators to manipulate how a drawing moves, this is less time-consuming compared to cel animation.
The final polish allows artists to refine every frame. This is important to make sure settings, color, lighting, characters' expressions, and actions convey the intended result, making the animation and story as entertaining as possible. The animation should also meet the director’s or supervisor’s requirements.
Post-Production Procedures
Compositing and Editing
Compositing in animation is the process of combining all the visual elements of an animation into a final, cohesive scene or shot using compositing software such as Nuke.
Compositing in 3D animation includes layering 3D render passes (including the animation, lighting, and FX), where a scene is often rendered in multiple passes, which are then combined to the final image's look. Color grading alters color to ensure everything fits within the environment or desired mood, whether it's a realistic or stylized world.
If the animation involves live-action footage, compositing ensures that the animated characters or elements match the lighting, perspective, and motion of the real-world footage. VFX artists work with 3D animators to add effects such as fire, rain, and even dust. Simulations are used to replicate real-world physics, improving the appearance of water, wind, moving clothes, and more.
In 2D animation, compositing involves combining the hand-drawn or digitally created characters with the backgrounds and visual effects. Layering stacks different elements (characters, backgrounds, effects) in a sequence, ensuring proper depth and perspective. Color correction adjusts the color balance, brightness, contrast, and saturation to create a consistent look across the shot or scene. Special effects add elements like smoke, fire, or lighting effects to enhance the action or mood. The goal is to ensure all elements blend together smoothly, maintaining visual consistency and matching the style and tone of the animation.
Learn from Sykosan's expertise which covers almost all stages of the animation process, including writing and editing, film directing, character design, background, asset design, 2D effects, and compositing!
Sound Design and Music Integration
Sound design can be created in a number of ways and plays a crucial role in animation, enhancing dialogue, creating an immersive ambiance, and evoking emotion. Here are examples of how industry professionals create sound for animation:
- Foley, meaning everyday sound effects, might use aluminum for thunder.
- Field recordings capture sound outside of a studio, such as traffic.
- Synthesizers to create tonal or noise-based signals.
- Sound libraries offer sounds that can be bought or licensed.
- Music may be originally composed and recorded or licensed.
- Voice actors are used for dialogue and are recorded in a studio.
Final Rendering and Output
Final rendering is the process of converting all the animation, visual effects, textures, lighting, and compositing into a high-quality final image or sequence of images (frames). This is the phase where all the artistic and technical work comes together in its most polished form.
For 3D animation, rendering involves combining multiple render passes (such as lighting, shadows, reflections, and textures) into a complete image or sequence. All the lighting, effects, and final textures are accounted for, creating the most polished visual output. This is usually done by a compositing artist.
For 2D animation, the frames, backgrounds, and visual effects are combined, and the artwork is rendered into a final video sequence or still frames. This may involve refining color grading, ensuring consistency across scenes, and rendering the animation at the desired resolution.
Once rendering is complete, the animation is exported in the appropriate format for its intended distribution. The output stage ensures the animation is in the right resolution, aspect ratio, and file format for delivery.
Challenges in the Animation Pipeline
The animation pipeline helps a production run smoothly, however, challenges can still arise throughout a project. These can arise for a variety of reasons, including:
- The animation pipeline is a complex process that requires input from multiple departments, which can often impact the ability to stay on schedule. When deadlines aren’t met, the quality of the animation may suffer as a result. Less time may be spent refining the animation, leading to a less polished and less fluid final product.
- Budget constraints can also lead to compromises, such as fewer animators or limitations on the software used, further affecting the quality of the finalized project.
- The collaborative nature of animation production can sometimes result in visual inconsistencies or miscommunication between teams.
- Changes to the story during production can cause unexpected delays, further complicating the process.
Being prepared for delays, miscommunication, and constraints will not only minimize challenges throughout the animation pipeline, it will also help prepare you for the film or games industry!
The Importance of a Streamlined Pipeline in Animation
Having a streamlined pipeline is vital to keeping an animation project on track and maintaining efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness while avoiding delays. To achieve this, finalizing pre-production and planning for production and post-production is required to set a detailed schedule with clear goals.
Effective communication can be achieved by using communication platforms, which will also help with standardized workflows where files are named correctly, following predetermined naming conventions to prevent errors. Regular reviews and feedback will allow for adjustments before the final production stages.
Conclusion
Understanding and mastering the animation production pipeline is essential for creating high-quality animated projects efficiently. From pre-production planning, storyboarding, and character design to the production stages of layout, animation, and compositing, each step plays a critical role in bringing a story to life. Post-production processes like sound design, music integration, and final rendering ensure the animation is polished and ready for distribution. By streamlining the pipeline, fostering clear communication, and establishing standardized workflows, animators can avoid common challenges and deliver projects on time and within budget. Whether you're working in 2D or 3D animation, a well-organized pipeline is key to success in the industry.
Learn the animation pipeline and become the best animator you can be!
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