It’s Just Like Building a House
3D animation is everywhere these days. So much that we often take it for granted. Have you ever watched the credits after an animated movie? If so, you’ve probably noticed that the list goes on… and on… and ooon! A lot of work goes into an animation to make it appear so seamless.
To help you visualize the 3D animation workflow, we’ve found a great analogy. Building an animation is a lot like building a house.
You know that a house isn’t built in a day. It has a very clear step-by-step process. There is no room for cutting corners if you want a beautiful, well-built home. You wouldn’t move the whole bathroom after you just painted and polished all the surfaces without having to do a lot of remodeling. It’s the same with animation. Rebuilding structural elements takes more than pushing a few buttons. There’s a lot of settings, polygons, textures, comps within comps, and refined surfaces to consider that you probably didn’t even know were there.
What does this have to do with your business? You get to watch your animation unfold as it’s made. It’s important to understand the 3D animation workflow so you can give the right kind of feedback during key review phases.
Following a time-tested process streamlines the project from beginning to end, saving time and maximizing effort. Let this be your guide. And trust us, it’s fun to see your animation unfold.
Let’s build your dream animation! Start the conversation by calling 866.828.8384 or feel free to schedule a call.
1) Start with a Script
Think of scripts like the blueprint for a house. Like builders, animators need to know what they’re going to build in advance. Scripts provide important details about the entire video animation. Make sure your script is tight before beginning. [To learn more about scripts, see blog INFOGRAPHIC: How to Write a Script for a Video.]
2) Gather and Create all Necessary Materials
You couldn’t build a house without the lumber. The same goes for animation. Models, textures, reference photos or images of products and locations to be used are essential. Basic modeling and texturing will be done at this stage.
3) Animation Setup
You’ve got to lay a good, solid foundation first. The ground level for animation starts with basic model setup, environments, target objects and camera placement. Don’t worry that the quality is low at this stage, it will be refined in later stages.
4) Block Out Animation
Think of “blocking out” like putting walls up. Here you begin to see how the rooms connect to each other. For animation, the rooms are like scenes. They’re blocked out in a basic shot-by-shot timeline. Emphasis is on camera perspective and object placement for now. (This will likely need client approval before moving on to the next stage).
5) Refine Animation
These walls are steady enough to start on the roof. At this stage we begin refining the animation, objects, character and camera movements. The textures, models, and environments may still be at low to middle-end quality. (This will likely need client approval before moving on to the next stage).
6) Kick It Up a Notch
This is starting to look like a house! Things are really taking shape now. The textures, models, characters, and environments are combined with special lighting to create high-quality renders. (This will likely need client approval before moving on to the next stage).
7) Render & Composite
Bringing it all together. All animated scenes are finalized, then rendered. Rendering is notoriously time consuming depending on complexity and scene duration. All rendered scenes are composited into a video. Color corrections, visual effects, music, voice overs and/or sound effects are added. On a house think paint, shingles, shutters. (This will likely need client approval before moving on to the final stage).
8) Final Stage
Revisions are complete at this stage. Any client notes from the previous stages are addressed before the animation is considered final. All that’s left to do is lay a welcome mat outside the front door and hand you the keys!
Welcome to Your New Animation!
This house is a home! It’s time to throw a welcome party. Invite all your leads, prospects, and/or customers to see the final video as part of your marketing plan.
Let’s build your dream animation!
The professionals at Silverback are equipped to create, deliver, and market your video campaign. Let’s get your video in front of your target audience. To get started, please reach out at: 866.828.8384 or contact us.
