How an animated feature is actually built
Artists and engineers who want to understand a CG pipeline end to end rather than one seat in it.
10 steps, in order
-
The film before it exists
Story reels are where an animated feature is really written.
-
Staging and camera
Layout is the animated equivalent of blocking a scene and choosing a lens.
-
Buildable geometry
Topology decisions constrain everything downstream.
-
The rig as a user interface
A rig is a tool designed for another artist, which is a rare and teachable discipline.
-
Weight, timing and acting
The craft that no amount of technology has shortened.
-
Materials and response to light
Look dev decides how an asset behaves in every shot it appears in.
-
Lighting the story point
Shot lighting in animation carries the same responsibilities as a DP's lighting scheme.
-
Simulation
Water, cloth, fire and destruction are their own physics-driven craft.
-
The spine that holds it together
Scene description and asset dependency are why a hundred shots can match.
-
Why generated frames drift
The contrast with a pipeline that guarantees the same asset every shot is the clearest way to understand both.