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This article provides a more detailed look at the separate steps found in 2D animation workflows.
Each step is listed under its specific stage in the pipeline and also contains the type of workflows it can be found in, as well as whether it can be done using Toon Boom Storyboard Pro or Harmony.
Before continuing, it is a good idea to read the following articles about the animation pipeline, the specific animation techniques, and their individual workflows:
- About Animation Techniques
- About the Animation Pipeline
- About 2D Animation workflows with Toon Boom Harmony.
Pre-Production Steps
The following steps are found in the pre-production stage of most animation pipelines and workflows.
Script
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
Every project starts with a script (also known as a synopsis or screenplay). A script is the written version of a project done by a screenwriter, and you'll encounter a script in many different types of projects such as movies, television series, video games and advertisements. It is the source of all the upcoming steps and it contains all the information necessary for the artists to illustrate and animate the movie or series. In a script you will find the storyline, location descriptions, actions, dialogue, sound effects, etc.
Storyboard (Storyboard Pro)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
A storyboard is a visual representation of all the scenes and actions contained in the script, and is common to all types of productions. It is created by the storyboard artist who uses the script as the reference. The script itself is included in the storyboard captions, and the artwork reflects actions, staging and shots.
The storyboard is often created at the same time as the characters, props, location design, and audio recording and therefore the artwork in the storyboard is purely for staging reference as designs may change as the pre-production progresses.
Audio Recording (*Storyboard Pro)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The dialogue is defined by the script and is often recorded outside of the studio. The audio recording is also called voice recording. The actors will read the lines from the script and record their dialogue. These voices will be used later on for the animatic, the animation and the final production compositing.
*Placeholder audio can be recorded directly into Storyboard Pro and used as reference until the final audio is ready.
Animatic (Storyboard Pro)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The animatic (also known as a ‘leica’), comes directly from the storyboard. The animatic is the storyboard in video format, and helps to gauge things like timing and pacing. It includes all the storyboard artwork, timed to sound and dialogue, with camera movements and sometimes simple frame-to-frame movement. This will help avoid mistakes that would have been found only during the production of the show.
Character, Prop and Location Design and Colour Styling (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
Before any animation, background or coloration can be done, the overall look and feel needs to be addressed. The artist has to decide on the production style, the characters’ look, the locations’ complexity, and so on.
Once the black and white designs are done, they are sent to colour styling. The colour stylist chooses the colours and ambiance for the production and balances the characters, props and effects with the location palettes. This contributes to consistency or an emotional contrast, where needed. When the colours are approved, colour models are produced and backgrounds are painted.
Once all the designs are done and approved, the model pack is produced, containing all of the approved models and designs for all these elements. These are used by layout artists, animators, riggers and compositors.
Sound Breakdown
Found in these pipelines: Traditional animation
For the dialogue, a sound breakdown can be done. This means that the sound will be broken down into small pieces and written on the exposure sheet for the animator to use. Each frame will have its own bit of sound information which tells the animator what mouth phoneme to place on the character on a particular image.
For digital cut-out and paperless animation, the traditional sound breakdown is not necessary as there are different tools inside Harmony to help the animator achieve the same result.
Production Steps
The following steps are found in the production stage of most animation pipelines and workflows.
Layout (Storyboard Pro)(Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
This step can vary based on the animation type, but essentially the layout is created to communicate important information to the animators with regards to the scene’s staging and elements.
Background Painting (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The backgrounds are finalised according to the layout and colour styling. Backgrounds can be painted in Harmony or an illustration software. Some 2D productions use 3D backgrounds.
Rigging and Library (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: Cut-out animation
During this step, the rigging artist will create the character and prop rigs from the approved designs. The rigger will separate the parts, build the hierarchy, apply rigging techniques, and create the Library for the character or prop so that the animators can easily access them.
Animation (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
This step takes the most time in the workflow, although it can take more or less time depending on the type of animation technique chosen. Animators tirelessly bring the production’s characters to life, while also receiving and applying feedback from the animation director until the scene is approved. This step includes cut-out animation, or rough traditional and paperless animation.
Animation Clean-up (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: Paperless animation
The animation clean-up consists of transforming the rough paperless animation into cleaned, tied down drawings. The clean-up artist will trace the animation following the official model pack (document containing all the official character, location/props design and colours).
Scan (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: Traditional animation
The traditionally cleaned-up drawings are scanned and imported into the software. Once all the drawings are scanned, they are ready to be inked and painted.
Ink and Paint (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: Traditional and paperless animation
The ink and paint process is probably the longest digital step. It requires cleaning all of the drawings, inking lines and filling all of the colours on all drawings. The length of time this procedure takes depends on the complexity of the drawings; if there are a lot of details and lines to be inked, the colour step will be longer.
Compositing (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The compositor imports the final background, animatic reference and sound as required. They assemble all the elements and create the camera moves and other necessary motions. Finally, they add any digital effects required by the scene.
Export/Render (Harmony)
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
Once the compositing is completed, the last step is to render the scene as a movie or an image sequence.
Post-Production Steps
The following steps are found in the post-production stage of most animation pipelines and workflows.
Final Editing
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The final editing comes after the rendering of the production scene. Harmony does not handle the editing, so the renders are exported to an external application. There, the different scenes are assembled and adjusted. If need be, users can add extra filters and effects, such as transitions between the scenes, during this step. Once the editing is completed, the audio will be added.
Audio Editing
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
The audio editing is also done in an external application. It can be done directly in the editing software or in an audio application and then transferred to the editing software. The dialogue, sound effects and soundtracks will be adjusted and placed with the project's final editing. The tracks will be matched to the images and volumes and effects will be added.
Dubbing
Found in these pipelines: Most pipelines
Once the final images and sounds are assembled, the project is ready for dubbing. Actors will come in and record voices over the movie. This process is called post-synchro. At this point in the process, multiple languages can be added to the soundtrack.
The project is complete and is ready to be output to the final master copy.
Master Distribution
Found in these pipelines: All pipelines
All of the data is transferred to the master copy and the user or studio is ready to distribute the project to the clients, festivals, television, cinema, and other venues.