There’s more happening behind every finished animation shot than most people realize.
Supervisors review your work, coordinators track progress, and artists in other departments depend on what you create.
When you’re working independently, you usually make most of the decisions yourself. In a professional studio, you’ll work with people who handle different parts of the production.
So, knowing who does what helps you understand where your work fits and how to collaborate with the people around you.
Let’s take a closer look at the people you’ll work with and what they do.
Who Sets the Creative Direction in an Animation Studio?
When multiple artists work on the same production, they need to follow a consistent creative vision. The leadership team helps everyone understand the film’s creative direction and keep their work consistent.
The Director and Showrunner Shape the Creative Vision
The director makes important decisions about how the story should look and feel.
Imagine you’re animating a character reacting to disappointing news. You’ve created an exaggerated performance, but the director wants something quieter to match the scene’s emotional tone.
You’d need to adjust your animation to make sure the performance fits their vision.
You can practice making these kinds of adjustments in our Acting course. As you explore character performances, you’ll learn how posing and timing affect emotion and how to make your intentions clearer.
But what about showrunners?
If you’re interested in working on an animated television series, you’ve probably heard this title before. It’s what most people want to be if you want to make your own animated show.
The showrunner oversees the creative direction of the series as a whole. They help make major decisions about the story and characters while keeping the episodes consistent with the show’s overall vision. Showrunners also typically have responsibilities related to managing the production.
A director working on an individual episode focuses on how that episode comes together while following the broader direction established for the series.
The exact responsibilities can vary between productions, and some creators take on both roles.
The Animation Director or Supervisor Guides Your Animation
The animation director or supervisor helps make sure the animation stays consistent throughout the production.
When several artists work on the same character, the animation director or supervisor reviews the shots to make sure the movement and performances fit together.
They’re also often the people you’ll turn to for feedback on your work.
They might ask you to:
- Adjust timing to give an action more impact.
- Refine posing to communicate an emotion.
- Fix inconsistencies between drawings.
This might sound familiar if you’ve participated in one of our group critiques.
Our instructors review your animation, point out what could be stronger, and help you figure out how to improve it.
In our Short Film Creation: Animating & Directing course, you’ll also receive guidance from industry professionals at Lihtar Studio while working on a shared film project. You’ll see how feedback helps keep the animation consistent when multiple artists are involved.
Depending on the studio, one person might be in charge of this review process, or it could be divided among different roles.
Who Keeps Animation Productions on Schedule?
With so many artists working on the same project, someone needs to make sure everything stays on track. Production teams organize assignments and help departments meet their deadlines.
The Producer Manages the Bigger Picture
Producers keep an eye on the budget and schedule while making sure the team has what it needs to complete the project.
They work with the director to figure out what’s possible within the production’s time and budget.
For example, if a director wants to add a complicated action sequence, the producer helps determine whether the team has enough time and resources to complete it.
Our Short Film Creation students get to see this side of production firsthand.
A professional producer from Lihtar Studio helps oversee the project, giving students a chance to understand how scheduling and production decisions affect the animation they’re creating.
It’s an opportunity to see how a producer helps a team move toward a finished film.
The Production Manager Organizes the Work
Production managers help organize assignments so each department knows what needs to happen and when.
Think about working on a project like our Short Film Creation courses. Different artists are responsible for different parts of the film, and some tasks depend on work from other departments.
Someone needs to keep track of that progress and make adjustments when plans change.
That’s what production managers do. They work with supervisors to keep the team organized and make sure everyone knows what to prioritize.
The Production Coordinator Tracks Your Assignments
Production coordinators track shot progress, organize reviews, and communicate updates between artists and production leadership.
If you’ve worked on a group animation project, you know how important it is to keep everyone updated.
Imagine you’re working on a shot for Short Film Creation and realize you’ll need more time to finish it.
In a professional studio, you’d let your production coordinator know what’s slowing you down and how much more time you need. They can then help the team adjust the schedule before the delay affects other artists.
Who Works With You on an Animated Shot?
Your animation is one part of a larger creative process. Other artists develop the designs and visual elements that help the finished scene work.
Knowing what these artists do helps you understand how their work connects to yours.
Storyboard and Layout Artists Plan the Scene
Storyboard artists help the team visualize the story by drawing out the action and planning how scenes connect.
Layout artists use those storyboards to plan the camera angles and composition so the animation team knows how each shot should look.
In our Short Film Creation courses, students work with the visual planning that guides the film’s production. For example, animators need to understand the staging and camera angles established for their shots before they start animating.
Students in our Visual Development track also contribute layouts and other artwork that helps establish how the film will look.
It’s a chance to see how decisions made early in production affect the work that comes afterward.
Character Designers and Visual Development Artists Establish the Look
Visual development artists help decide what the film will look and feel like. Character designers then work on creating characters that fit that style.
They also create references that other artists use to keep their drawings consistent. For example, character model sheets show how a character looks from different angles, along with their expressions and construction details.
Our Short Film Creation: Visual Development students get to work on character designs and visual references for a shared film project.
They need to think about how other artists will use their work. Can an animator understand the character’s proportions? Are the design details clear enough to reproduce consistently?
These are the kinds of decisions professional character designers make when preparing artwork for production.
Background Artists Create the Environments
Background artists create the environments where your characters move and interact.
They use the film’s layouts and visual style to make sure the backgrounds fit each scene.
In our Short Film Creation: Visual Development course, students also work on backgrounds for the film.
They need to consider how the environment will work with the characters and action. For example, if a character moves through a room, the background needs to support the perspective and staging established for that shot.
It’s a chance to practice creating artwork that fits into a larger production.
Cleanup and Compositing Artists Prepare the Final Image
In traditional 2D production, cleanup artists refine rough animation into consistent, finished drawings.
Compositing artists combine animation with backgrounds and other visual elements. They may also handle lighting and effects.
In Short Film Creation: Animating & Directing, students work on rough animation and cleanup as part of a shared production.
That means thinking about how their work will be used by other artists.
For example, if your rough animation is difficult to follow or your drawings aren’t consistent, cleanup becomes much harder.
Learning to prepare your work for the next stage is an important part of working on a professional animation team.
We’ve only covered some of the people involved in creating an animated film here. There are plenty of other roles to explore, especially if you’re still figuring out where you’d like to take your animation career. Check out our article on The World of Animation Professions for more.
Who Reviews Your Animation Before Final Approval?
Finishing your animation doesn’t necessarily mean your shot is ready to move forward.
Before it reaches the next department, other members of your team may need to review it and request changes.
Let’s say you’ve just finished a rough character acting shot.
Your supervisor watches it and notices that the character’s emotional change isn’t coming across clearly. They suggest pushing the poses further and adjusting the timing to make the performance easier to read.
You make those changes and send the shot back for another review.
Once your animation supervisor is happy with the result, the director may also review the shot before giving final approval. On larger productions, an animation director might be involved in the review process, too.
While all this happens, the production team keeps track of your shot’s progress and makes sure everyone knows when it’s ready to move forward.
Your supervisor may pay closer attention to the movement itself, while the director looks at how well the performance fits the story.
Both might request changes, but they’re looking at your shot from different perspectives.
Understanding who reviews your work and what they’re responsible for helps you know what to expect as your shot moves through production.
How Do Animation Studio Roles Change Between Productions?
Not every studio organizes its team the same way.
In smaller studios, one person might handle several responsibilities. A director could also supervise animation, while artists contribute to multiple departments.
Larger productions often have more specialized roles and more managers in each department.
You might communicate directly with the director on a small project. On a larger production, you’ll usually work more closely with your immediate supervisor and production coordinator.
Learn how your team works early on so you know who reviews your work, who manages assignments, and where to direct questions.
How Do You Prepare to Work With a Professional Animation Team?
Knowing who does what in a studio is helpful, but you’ll also need to know how to work with them.
Start building these habits while you’re still learning animation:
- Ask questions before you start. Make sure you understand what your team expects from the shot and what you need to accomplish.
- Keep your team updated. Let people know how your work is going, especially if you run into problems or need more time.
- Learn how to work with feedback. When you receive notes, make sure you understand what needs to change and why. Ask questions if something isn’t clear, then apply what you’ve learned to your next revision.
- Make your work easy to hand off. Keep your files organized, follow naming conventions, and check the technical requirements before passing your work to another artist.
Practice these habits whenever you get the chance to work with other artists. They’ll help you become a more reliable teammate and prepare you for the way professional productions operate.
Get Ready to Work With Your Future Animation Team
The more you learn about how studios work, the easier it becomes to understand your responsibilities and collaborate with the people around you.
Start paying attention to how other artists approach their work. Ask questions during critiques, keep your teammates updated, and look for opportunities to work on shared projects.
These experiences will help you prepare for the way professional animation teams work.
Ready to take the next step?
Explore our courses to develop your skills with guidance from industry professionals. You’ll learn alongside other artists and gain practical experience that helps you prepare for professional animation work.
