Post Production

VFX are a series of added imagery to an animation and live-action film.
Using compositing software, such as Adobe Photoshop or After Effects,  you can create backgrounds and textures to give a realistic feel to the animation.
Other techniques in VFX include Digital effects and animation, where computer generated graphics and made and added to the film, and green-screening, in which the film or animation is recorded over a green/blue background, and then the blue/green screen is keyed in to replace with the background for the film, making it look like the characters or objects are in the scene.

An example of the Green screen effect
http://realmedia.typepad.com/real_media/2009/03/fire-and-ice-book-trailer.html

With the effects added, the CG animation can be fully rendered. The Rendering process will take a long time, as every detail in the scene will be effected by the lighting, texturing and other added features which take up the amount of memory saved in the file. Rendering may vary in 2D animation, depending on the amount of key-framing, and additional detail.
When the renders are finished, they can be taken for editing.

Editing the video and sound may be the easiest part of the pipeline, but a lot of effort and care must be put into it. The editor must ensure that the audio and visuals are synchronized correctly at the right pace, and include all the necessary sound effects in that scene. If any footage or scene makes the film slow down or make it irrelevant to the plot, then it will be removed from the final product. Added effects to the editing will include captions/subtitles and credits for the opening and closing of the film.

3D Production

In the production line for a 3D animation, the first step is create the layouts for the film. these are low-res geometrical models for the character/scene done by the layout artist, which is used to compose the shot and create a rough piece of animation following from the storyboards. Camera movements, depth of the field and composition of the models are looked at by the director, and then given the decision of whether they are approved.


Once approved, The layouts are to be taken to the modelling department. There, they are responsible for constructing the 3D models of the character, weapons, object, etc, whilst another department handles with backgrounds and surfaces, depending on how the department is split in between. Using the concept art as their source, they try to create a 2D design into a fully 3D character, while being assisted by a technical animator and enveloper to develop the skin and skeletons. This helps the modeler to then sculpt the facial expressions and any muscle shape required. After they are completed, the models are taken to be rigged and textured.

Texturing the model is done either by scratch, or by editing and image that exists. these are painting and shading techniques, which are written down directly from the artist, to be required for the scene and character. the textures are created into maps, which are divided up into several segments for the whereabouts on the model should have have a particular texture. this also applies to the character's clothing, skin or color, as shown in the example below.

http://cgi.tutsplus.com/articles/step-by-step-how-to-make-an-animated-movie--cg-3257

Lighting is also to be made during the production line. The artist needs to consider not just the types of lighting themselves, but also the elements and properties in the animation, camera moves, shades and textures it affects.these also reflect the color on the scene and any shadowy detail that appears in place.

Once everything is created, it needs to rigged. The character requires bones in order to move and bend, which can be done using the tools in the rigging process. this also involves a cloth simulation, which is developed to make the clothing move with the character in a way it looks in reality. the rigs are then tested and looked at, to see if any part of the character, any texture or anything in the rig should be adjusted before final approval.

Then, once it is approved. the animation itself can be created. during which, another department looks at what effects are needed in the animation, such as smoke, explosions or water, but do not work them until the final animation is completed and approved.

2D Production

Once Pre-Production line is complete and ready, we move on to the production line.

Here, I have split the production line to 2 different areas. This one is for the production of a 2D animation.

The main thing for 2D animation is making the keyframes and animating them. it takes a long time to create a frame each alone, and even longer if you have more than one character on each frame, making sure there are no mistakes, and that they move at the right pace. the keyframes would be followed from the storyboard and character designs that have been approved, therefore following the story and character for the film. When Animation was done traditionally on paper, the artists would draw each frame and test the character's movement by flicking back and forth the frames. With Flash and other similar computer software, you can use an onion-skin tool to see how each frame depicts the movement of the character, thereby helping you go back and edit any frame needed to adjust the right balance of the character and movement. if your animation includes character dialogue, then a dope sheet, along with recordings of the voices (depending whether it is necessary or not at the time), would be needed for the artist to draw the right mouth for each frame.

The animation itself would be put together by other departments, whom are in charge of adding colour, cleaning them up and taking camera shots of them in the order given (which is why each frame should be numbered). Approximately 2 seconds of animation would take a day to make. once every frame is made, coloured, cleaned up and given a shot, the animation will be taken to the final steps in the post-production line.