Latest

At the first-ever Kitsu Summit held with 60 professionals from seven countries, Kitsu co-founder and CEO Frank Rousseau took the stage to share an honest account of why a production tracking tool became a mission to connect the world through art. A Problem Worth Solving Twice The story of Kitsu begins with frustration. Years before Kitsu existed, Frank was working at HD3D, a French company building collaborative tools for major animation studios. One of those tools was a production tracker.

At the Kitsu Submit, Axel Tillement, CG Supervisor at Cube Creative, took the stage to answer a simple question: how do you produce a large number of assets across very different projects while keeping your pipeline as stable as possible? His answer, grounded in years of production experience, offers a practical roadmap for any animation studio looking to scale without chaos. Cube Creative is a Paris-based animation studio with a track record of series produced both on commission and from their

The animation pipeline that got you where you are will not necessarily get you where you want to be. Maybe your renderer is slowing down lookdev iteration. Maybe your rigging framework was built for a single show and has been held together with workarounds ever since. Maybe you have adopted USD on paper but your actual production still runs on a patchwork of custom exporters and format converters that nobody fully understands anymore. The cost of staying on the current pipeline slowly exceeds

Céline Durieux has spent her career at the intersection of production direction and studio management. She started in advertising, moved into feature films and series, and for the past four years has served as Head of Studio at FOST in Paris overseeing HR, facilities across 1,140 square meters of studio space, and coordination of the tech and pipeline departments. FOST is an independent 2D animation studio founded in 2018 by Damien Brunner and Thibaut Ruby, who also run Folivari, a French produ

Modern CG pipelines are distributed: artists work across different machines, render farms process thousands of frames in parallel, and pipeline tools need to coordinate dozens of moving parts at once. A compositor needs to know when a shot finishes rendering. Every downstream process should react immediately when an asset gets approved. The supervisor should not have to find out three hours later when a render fails at frame 847. Yet many studios still rely on systems that check for updates on

At the 2026 Kitsu Summit, Chris Unterberg, founder and animation supervisor at Tetsuo Animation, took the stage to share something that every animation studio deals with but rarely talks about openly: feedback. Not just how to receive it, but how to give it in a way that is clear, visual, and actually useful to animators. His talk, titled "Quickdraw Always Wins," was part technical walkthrough, part philosophy lesson, and entirely grounded in the day-to-day reality of running an animation studi

Many artists dream of launching their own animation studio. But when they do start, they tend to overly focus on the art itself and neglect all the business aspects. Then, six months in, they discover they never properly assigned IP ownership to the company, signed a client contract without a proper payment clause, or skipped insurance only to have a broadcaster come back with a hard requirement before delivery. These are expensive lessons. This article is an attempt to prevent that. It's a r

Kitsu’s 2026 roadmap introduces smarter scheduling, budget tracking, and a new plugin system. Discover how the platform is evolving into a complete production management solution for animation studios.

Pete Draper walked attendees through two major chapters of his career and how Kitsu, the open-source production tracking platform developed by CGWire, became the operational backbone of both.

Learn how to script camera animation in Blender using Python. Create smooth movements, path animations, and tracking shots with reusable code examples.

Learn how to automate Blender animations using Python and CSV data. Build repeatable, data driven workflows and generate keyframes without manual work.

Learn how to use Blender’s dependency graph to access evaluated mesh data. Build accurate Python export tools that support post-modifier geometry and world-space metrics.

Learn how to customize Blender themes using Preferences, AI edited XML, and Python scripting. Create, automate, and share your own Blender interface style.

Discover how Remembers used Kitsu to scale production on Arco. Learn how a small studio transitioned from Google Sheets to a structured pipeline without developers.

Learn how to use Blender’s Python API to listen to events and automate workflows. This guide covers handlers and modal operators with practical examples for production pipelines.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made. Let’s dive in!

Learn how to integrate Kitsu with Telegram by building a bot that listens to production events and sends notifications. This guide explains how to connect Kitsu events, trigger messages, and create simple chat commands for production workflows.

Learn how animation studios estimate rendering costs and predict farm capacity. This guide explains the factors that affect render time, the core cost formula, and a practical framework for reliable render estimations.

Learn what retopology is and why it’s essential for animation. This guide walks through the retopology workflow in Blender, from automated remeshing to manual topology cleanup for production-ready 3D models.

Learn how to scale an animation studio from a small team to a full production environment. Discover best practices for team structure, asset management, production tracking, review workflows, and pipeline infrastructure.

The first Kitsu Summit gathered animation, VFX, and game production professionals in Paris for 15 talks on production pipelines, studio workflows, AI in animation, and the 2026 Kitsu roadmap.

Learn how to use the Kitsu Event API and webhooks to build reactive animation pipelines. Trigger automation instantly on asset creation, task updates, and publishes without polling or manual hand-offs.

Learn how to automate Kitsu production onboarding using CSV files and the Gazu Python API. Import artists, assets, and tasks in bulk to eliminate manual setup and create repeatable, scalable studio pipelines.

Learn how to run Blender Flamenco without a NAS by using Kitsu as asynchronous storage. This guide explains custom Flamenco job types that fetch assets from Kitsu, render locally, and upload results back automatically.

Learn how to use the Gazu Python SDK to extract production data from Kitsu and generate custom, branded PDF reports. Automate progress tracking, task summaries, and stakeholder updates without manual copy-paste work.

Learn how to create, export, and share Kitsu playlists using Python. This guide shows how to extract playlist data, download previews into a clean folder structure, and package everything for offline or client-friendly reviews.

Learn how to build a self-hosted Blender render farm using Flamenco. This guide walks through setup, shared storage, workers, and scaling strategies to help artists render faster using the hardware they already own.

Learn how to package Kitsu workflows into a standalone command-line tool using Python, Gazu, and PyInstaller. This guide covers CLI design, interactive prompts, and compiling a single executable for reliable deployment across studios and render farms.

Learn how Blender shaders really work, from node-based materials to procedural shading and Python-driven automation. This guide breaks down shader concepts, node types, and scripting techniques to help artists build flexible, production-ready materials.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made. Let’s dive in!

Learn how to automate animation and video rendering in Blender using Python. This tutorial covers scene setup, 3D text generation, keyframe animation, and programmatic rendering to build repeatable, script-driven workflows.

Learn how to build a Blender addon that connects to Kitsu to manage asset revisions. This tutorial covers creating, browsing, and loading file versions directly from Blender, keeping production files traceable and in sync with studio workflows.

Learn how to generate low-resolution animation previews in Blender and automatically upload them to Kitsu. This tutorial covers Blender render settings, Python automation, FFmpeg processing, and preview publishing to streamline animation reviews.

Learn how to automate Blender scene creation using Kitsu breakdown data and Python scripting. This guide walks through retrieving breakdowns via Gazu, downloading assets, importing GLB files, and generating a complete Blender scene ready for layout or animation.

From TV Series to famous feature films, Kitsu was involved in a wide range of productions, including 2D, 3D, 2D/3D, VFX, Stop-Motion, immersive experiences, and monumental projections. Better, over the past few years...

Turn your Blender scripts into real tools artists love using—here’s how to build clean, intuitive UI panels for your add-ons.

Learn how to script Blender Geometry Nodes using Python to automate procedural setups, generate node trees programmatically, and build reusable tools for your animation pipeline.

Blender’s Geometry Nodes let you build 3D models procedurally. Learn how they work, why they’re essential for modern animation pipelines, and how to start using them to create smarter, faster, non-destructive workflows.

FFmpeg is one of the most powerful media tools used in animation and video production — yet many artists barely scratch the surface of what it can do. Learn 10 essential FFmpeg commands for assembling renders, adding audio, overlaying logos, comparing versions, and optimizing review exports.

Discover the difference between Forward Kinematics (FK) and Inverse Kinematics (IK) in Blender. Learn how animators use these systems to bring 3D rigs to life with realistic motion, balance, and control. Includes hands-on rigging examples for beginners.

Learn how to automate Blender with Python! Discover how scripting can speed up production, eliminate repetitive work, and let you build custom tools tailored to your animation pipeline.

Learn how to build a custom Blender integration for Kitsu using Python. This guide walks you through setting up a local environment, generating previews in Blender, and uploading them to Kitsu automatically—streamlining your DCC pipeline for faster, more reliable production.

From BLEND and FBX to MP4 and EXR, each animation file format serves a distinct role in production. This guide breaks down native, exchange, simulation, and rendering formats—helping you choose the right one for collaboration, rendering, and delivery.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made. Let’s dive in!

Western and Eastern animation are shaped by cultural values, visual languages, and storytelling philosophies. This article explores how studio structures, aesthetics, and narratives differ between traditions—and how modern animation increasingly blends the two.

A strong animation production brief prevents scope creep, wasted effort, and misaligned visions. This guide shows you how to write briefs using the Golden Circle method—covering purpose, tactics, and deliverables—to streamline communication and keep teams aligned from concept to final delivery.

Background characters make animated worlds feel alive, adding realism and depth to every scene. Learn how animators use techniques like asset reuse, looping cycles, layering, and procedural generation to create believable crowds without overspending time or budget.

Outsourcing in animation helps studios save money, scale faster, and access global talent without compromising quality. Learn how to define your outsourcing needs, choose between freelancers and studios, manage assets, and streamline reviews to keep projects on track.

Discover how remote animators successfully work from home, from building ergonomic workspaces to mastering collaborative tools, securing assets, and managing feedback like a pro.

Learn how to streamline client communication in animation production. From onboarding to offboarding, this guide covers strategies to align expectations, manage feedback, and keep projects on time and on budget.

Learn how to create animation moodboards that define your project’s tone, style, and direction. From gathering references to curating layouts, this guide shows how to turn abstract ideas into a clear visual blueprint.

Curious how to go from animator to animation director? This in-depth guide covers the key steps—building your craft, leading teams, and defining your creative voice—so you can direct with purpose and confidence.

Learn how to master the secondary action principle in animation—subtle, supporting movements that add realism and emotional depth to your scenes without stealing focus from the main action.

Color correction is a crucial step in animation post-production, used to fix inconsistencies, unify tones, and enhance visual storytelling. Learn the essential techniques like white balance, saturation control, and color grading to bring polish and consistency to your animated work.

Over-animating can distract from your story, inflate production time, and overwhelm your audience. Learn how to simplify your animation workflow, focus on what matters, and bring clarity to your scenes with practical, studio-tested advice.

Discover how to apply the arc principle in animation to create more realistic, appealing, and emotionally resonant movement. Learn techniques for planning, visualizing, and exaggerating arcs, and when to break the rules for storytelling impact.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made. Let’s dive in!

Efficient asset storage is critical in animation production. This guide explores best practices for organizing, securing, and versioning digital assets across large-scale projects and distributed teams.

Learn how to create an animation pitch bible that grabs attention—from story vision and character design to budgeting and presentation. This guide includes real examples and industry tips to help get your animated project off the ground.

Learn the difference between straight-ahead and pose-to-pose animation, and how to choose the best method for your scene. This guide covers pros, cons, and digital techniques to help animators plan with confidence.

Master the art of staging in animation with techniques to improve posing, camera work, composition, and lighting—so every frame tells a clear, compelling story.

From Japan’s seiyuu stars to iconic Disney performances, voice actors are the lifeblood of animated storytelling. Discover how they shape characters, elevate emotion, and bring entire worlds to life through sound.

In a world filled with AI-generated art, developing a personal animation style is more important than ever. Discover how to explore your influences, evolve your process, and build a style that’s uniquely yours.

Character sheets are the unsung heroes of animation production. From turnarounds to pose sheets, learn how these vital tools help keep characters consistent, expressive, and production-ready from start to finish.

From iconic silhouettes to strong poses and perfect timing—appeal is what makes animated characters stick. Learn how to master this vital animation principle and build more engaging, memorable work.

Timing controls the pace, rhythm, and emotional weight of your animations. Learn how to refine your timing using tools like time charts, onion skinning, and motion trails to bring your stories to life.

Onion skinning helps animators see past and future frames at a glance, making smoother motion, better timing, and fewer mistakes possible. Learn how this powerful tool works and why it’s still a must-have in modern animation workflows.

Hard surface modeling is essential to 3D animation—from coffee cups to spacecraft. Learn how artists build detailed environments with the right topology, clean geometry, and time-saving techniques like kitbashing and subdivision modeling.

Exaggeration is a key animation principle that pushes emotion, timing, and poses beyond realism to tell more impactful stories. Learn how animators use it across design, sound, and camera work to create iconic scenes.

Levels of detail (LOD) help animators optimize performance by adjusting rendering complexity based on a scene’s needs. From bump mapping to texture baking, learn how LOD keeps 3D animation efficient without sacrificing quality.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made.

The Slow In and Out principle makes animations feel more natural by replicating real-world acceleration and deceleration. Learn how to use easing curves, secondary actions, motion trails, and keyframe placement to create smoother transitions in animation.

Previsualization (previs) is the key to planning complex animation scenes before production. From storyboards to animatics, previs artists shape the blueprint for smooth, cost-effective workflows. Learn how previs enhances storytelling, camera work, and timing!

Follow-through & overlapping action bring realism and fluidity to animation. From hair swaying after a stop to clothing trailing behind movement, these principles add weight and believability. Learn how to apply them effectively in our latest article!

Squash & Stretch isn’t just for cartoons—it’s key to making animation feel natural and dynamic. Learn how this principle adds weight, flexibility, and believability to motion in our latest article.

Blender and Maya are two of the most popular 3D animation tools, but which one is right for you? This guide compares their features, pricing, strengths, and best use cases to help you decide.

Anticipation is key to making animation feel natural and impactful. Learn how this principle guides movement, builds tension, and enhances storytelling.

The 12 principles of animation are the foundation of every great animation. Developed by Disney animators in the 1980s, these timeless techniques bring characters to life with weight, movement, and emotion. Learn how squash and stretch, anticipation, and staging can elevate your work!

Solid drawing is a cornerstone of the 12 principles of animation, giving characters and objects depth, volume, and movement. Learn how to bring your sketches to life with techniques like form, perspective, balance, and lighting in our latest blog post.

Every great animation begins with a strong script. Learn the essentials of animation scriptwriting in our latest blog post, from formatting and narrative arcs to crafting compelling character dialogues. Discover how to transform your ideas into powerful visual stories.

Discover how to break free from creative blocks and find inspiration for your animations. From storytelling techniques to documenting everyday life, this guide is packed with actionable strategies to keep your ideas flowing and elevate your craft.

Rendering transforms 3D models into stunning 2D visuals, bringing animated worlds to life. Dive into the key techniques, tools, and processes that make this essential step in animation production possible.

Animation is for everyone, from storytellers and marketers to teachers and hobbyists. Our beginner’s guide covers animation types, essential tools, and the 12 principles of animation, providing a roadmap to help you bring your ideas to life.

Animation layout is the foundation of immersive storytelling, guiding camera angles, staging, and composition to create visually engaging scenes. Discover how layout artists craft the worlds of animation and bring stories to life with precision and creativity.

Shape language uses geometric forms like circles, squares, and triangles to convey personality, emotion, and narrative roles in character design. Learn how animators use this powerful tool to craft iconic characters and elevate your own designs.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made.

Smear frames are the secret to creating fast, dynamic motion in animation. This article explores how animators use them in 2D and 3D work, with tips to bring energy and speed to your scenes.

Stepped animation allows animators to highlight essential movements by focusing on keyframes first, saving the finer details for spline animation later. Discover how this approach, using step mode in digital content creation tools, streamlines workflow and perfects timing for impactful animation.

Choosing the right laptop for animation can be daunting with so many options and specs to consider. This guide breaks down the essentials—from CPU power to screen resolution—to help you find the best laptop for your animation needs, even on a budget.

Color is a powerful tool in character design, setting the tone for personality and making characters instantly recognizable. This article dives into color theory and essential principles animators use to create impactful color palettes, from symbolic choices to practical tips for harmonious design.

Explore the art of 2D animation, where movement and storytelling come to life through techniques like computer animation, stop motion, and motion graphics. From concept to final output, this post breaks down the key stages that make each project unique and engaging.

Creating an animated film? Even a 10-second animation takes hours to plan. Animatics help refine animations without the high cost. Learn all about how animators use and create animatics in our latest post!

What makes animated characters’ dialogue look real? Our latest article dives into the art of lip-syncing, exploring how animators match mouth movements with dialogue. From dialogue prep and phoneme analysis to keyframes, rendering, and QA, discover the process behind lifelike animation.

Tobie Lolness TV series, a 26x26 project, involved four different studios and required tight collaboration between all stakeholders. This is why they chose Kitsu for their project.

Lighting can make or break an animation. It’s not just about visibility—it’s about storytelling. Subtle shifts in light shape emotions, set the mood, and highlight key moments. In our latest article, we dive into the full lighting process, from concept to final render.

Have you ever wondered how characters like Elsa from Disney's Frozen or Joy from Pixar's Inside Out 2 seem so life-like on screen? Here is a breakdown of how 3D animations come to life.

Welcome to our latest CGWire and Kitsu update! Over the past three months, we’ve been hard at work, and we’re excited to share all the progress, new features, and improvements we’ve made.

From character design to rendering, animators use many software tools in their everyday work. But with so many options, choosing the right one can feel like navigating a labyrinth.

Welcome to our new update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! This post will teach you everything we did during the past three months.

Animators use basic physics and mechanics principles they can bend for a more stylized look. In this article, we go through a few examples of physics and mechanics principles to better put words on animation techniques to create more engaging stories.

In this article, we explore 16 animation techniques to make your work more engaging. It usually doesn’t take much to get it right, but the devil is in the details and a single edit can make your animation memorable.

As our invisible eyes, the camera in animation has an active role. By meticulously controlling its movement, animators achieve a variety of effects to engage the viewers―far beyond simply showing us what's happening on screen, it's a powerful storytelling tool often unseen.

Landing your dream job pushes you to stand out from the crowd, and it starts with a strong animation portfolio―a chance to showcase your talent, skills, and creative vision to potential employers.

Animation is a captivating dance of creativity and technical challenges with many moving parts, and even the smallest misstep can lead to a major fumble: an oversight during pre-production or production can snowball into costly rework.

The very nature of the animation pipeline, with its collaborative workflows and reliance on digital assets, creates a unique set of security challenges: protecting these valuable IP assets from unauthorized access, leaks, or malicious attacks

The animation industry sees a rise in collaborative productions where multiple studios join forces to tackle a single project. This approach is more and more common for big productions but also with independent animators.

Welcome to our Quarter update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! In this post, you will learn everything we did during the past three months.

This article explores the importance of diversifying revenue streams and provides actionable tips to help studios achieve financial success.

As the animation industry continues to evolve in a digital age, understanding the importance of data analytics becomes increasingly crucial. Behind the scenes lies a treasure trove of production data waiting to be mined for valuable insights.

Few topics are as divisive as AI. On one hand, you find outraged artists whose artworks are being illegally ingested by algorithms. On the other, a new wave of creators leveraging AI for self-expression or monetary gains.

This article aims at highlighting tools and best practices to avoid crunch time culture: crunch time as an expected part of work, rather than a happy accident to strive for what’s best.

In this blog post, we explore nine of the best animation blogs to help you broaden your horizons and become a better animator!

Welcome to our Quarter update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! In this post, you will learn everything we did during the past three months.

Getting into an exercise routine can be overwhelming. Maybe you don't know where to start or you're just too scattered to keep yourself consistent, or you don't feel very inspired by the exercises you found online.

The seamless integration of various tools and platforms has become necessary in the ever-evolving domain of animation and VFX productions. For efficient communication, every studio needs a production tracker and an asset manager.

You pour hours of work into completing a task only for your team to give vague, contradictory, or harsh feedback upon sharing your progress. Your day is ruined. You go through it anyway and sleep on it. But the next day, your client praises you, and it's like the sun shines a little brighter.

Welcome to our new update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! This post will teach you everything we did during the past two months.

Next week my first child will be born. This new step in my life is an opportunity to pause and reflect on what we did with CGWire and where we are heading.

Your budget is your animation studio’s lifeline: you need to take care of it because your team’s livelihood depends on it. In this article, we list 9 points to consider to make the most of your animation budget!

If you're an animator looking to make your mark on YouTube, you've come to the right place: this article will guide you through the essential steps to kickstart your animation channel!

Blender rendering is the process of generating image or video output files from 3D scenes created in Blender. Rendering is a highly resource-intensive task because you need to simulate complex physics like light, materials, and other visual elements to produce a realistic result.

In any field, learning is essential. Growing skills is an essential part of all careers. Of course, we learn a lot by practicing but taking time to nurture the theory is important to perform better in any field. And animation is no exception. ‌

Animation comes in different shapes and forms, each with its pros and cons. As a business owner, marketing manager, or producer, it's important to understand them to hire the right animation studios and increase your return on investment.

Blender is a popular 3D computer graphics software used in animation. At some point in your project, you’ll need to export your files―to store them, share them with teammates, or use them in other specialized software like uploading to a rendering farm. Fortunately, Blender provides several export options: in this article, we explain each one and when they are best used in your animation pipeline to make the most of it. Lastly, we’ll talk about how to use Kitsu, our open-source production manag

Welcome to our new update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! In this post, you will learn all that we did during the past two months. Kitsu During these two months, we had to focus more on maintenance and some complex installations. Nevertheless, we were able to add a few key features to Kitsu. 1. Team Schedule It's a long-awaited feature. Many studios want to be able to manage their team workload through the schedule. It's now possible to do it right from Kitsu. With the team schedule, you

All animation projects start with an idea. The animation production process then takes these ideas and integrates them into a cohesive story. Bridging the gap between ideas and storytelling is no easy task, however: that’s where concept artists come into the picture to transform ideas and scripts into engaging visuals. But what goes on in the process, exactly? That’s what we set out to figure out in this article. What’s A Concept Artist A concept artist creates designs and illustrations to b

In this article, we explore the role of an environment artist: how it fits in the animation pipeline, why it’s important, and what’s behind its creative process.

Rigging gives 3D models the ability to move. With rigs, you can make realistic animation. At CGWire, we help animation studios from all around the world manage their 3D animation assets so we know how important the rigging process is. But do you know exactly what goes on behind the scenes and how it works? We wrote this article to explain that, and maybe give you an idea on how you can build your own animations. In the following sections, we cover everything related to rigging: how it fits in

Last week, at Annecy Festival "Linda Veut du Poulet" and "27" from Miyu Productions won the Cristal Award for Feature and Short Films! The Cristal is the most renowned award for animation. Both movies used Kitsu to manage their workflow and their reviews. First and foremost, congrats to the teams behind these masterpieces! Let's have a special mention to the Directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach for Linda and Flora Anna for 27. These movies provide outstanding storytelling while propo

Animation relies on visuals, words, and sound. Without music, sound effects, and dialogues, stories would remain incomplete. Characters would lack souls. From the subtle harmonies that evoke emotion to the thunderous applauses that give you goosebumps, sound design is an important part of production. In this article, we take a look behind the scenes to explore the fascinating world of sound design in animation―the techniques, tools, and processes used by sound designers to bring animations to l

To truly appreciate the significance of character design, one must understand its profound impact on our lives. Think of those cherished childhood memories spent glued to the television screen, eagerly following the adventures of our favorite characters. These animated drawings shaped our imagination, taught us valuable life lessons, and became lifelong companions. They ignited our dreams and sparked our creativity, leaving an indelible mark on who we are today. But what makes certain characters

An animation project takes months to produce and thus requires careful planning to deliver successfully: storyboarding is the first step to bring a script to life with visual representations that will influence the rest of the production. With Kitsu, we at CGWire have witnessed firsthand how important storyboarding is to help animation studios to come up with creative visions in collaborative, international environments. In this article, we offer a dive into the process of storyboarding―its pu

Welcome to our new update about the CGWire company and Kitsu! In this post, you will learn all we did during the past two months. Kitsu 1. Typed columns Metadata columns can now be typed. We introduced checkboxes and number columns. It is now easier for you to represent data. More will come later. If you want to see a specific type, let us know! 2. Search Engine In partnership with Monello Production, we improved significantly the search engine. You can now perform a search in names and met

Behind every advanced software, there is a team. Kitsu started as a one-person project, but while the adoption increased, it required more care in every aspect, from hosting to support. It's where I decided to build a team, starting with my business partner, Gwénaëlle! Then, Nicolas Ledez and Evan Blaudy joined us to ensure we offer a solid backend for our customer projects. Recently, the demand for features and related maintenance increased significantly. That's why it was time to hire someone

Over the past five years, virtually all major movies have relied heavily on 3D modeling, using it to attach characters to virtual sets and create captivating special effects. In modern animation, 3D modeling is an essential component. But have you ever wondered what modeling really is and how it works? In this article, we'll answer these questions and more, taking a closer look at the process, techniques, and tools behind 3D modeling. What’s Modeling Modeling is the process of creating 3D mod

Food without texture is like a blank canvas, lacking the richness and depth of flavors that make it enjoyable. The same holds true for 3D models: without texturing, they would appear flat and lifeless! In this article, we explore the crucial role of texturing and shading in animation. We break down the process, the people involved, and the techniques used to breathe life into 3D models. Let’s discover the secrets behind the mesmerizing visuals of your favorite animations! What’s Texturing Te

Have you ever wondered how animators manage to realistically model the 100,000 hairs on the average person's head in a reasonable amount of time? The answer lies in grooming! In this post, we take a closer look at the intricate art of grooming and how skilled artists handle the complexity of these 3D models to bring them to life in the animation pipeline. Get ready to be amazed! What’s Grooming Grooming is the process of creating and styling hair, leaves, feathers, scales and other types of s

Sight is undoubtedly the most powerful sense for the average person, and you can use its amazing properties to create incredible animation experiences! That’s what stereoscopy is all about. But have you ever wondered about the science behind it? Look no further than this blog post, where we uncover the techniques behind stereoscopy! What’s Stereoscopy Stereoscopy is a technique to create the illusion of three-dimensional depth by presenting slightly different images to each eye. This is done

From now on, we'll publish our bi-monthly update on our blog. Before that, it was shared only on our Discords. But we would like to make it available to all newcomers. That's why you will now be able to read it directly from here! Kitsu We had a lot of new Kitsu users in the past months. In terms of maintenance, it was very intense. Nevertheless, we found the time for adding new features: 1. Sequence and Episode tasks You can add tasks at the sequence and episode levels. It's handy to manage

All good things must end, and animation productions aren’t different: in the final post-production phase, the original concept finally comes to life! But post-production isn’t to be taken lightly, as it plays a crucial role in shaping the final look and feel of your animated project. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at post-production: what it means, why it’s important to get it right, the process, and the challenges to account for. Let’s dive in! Definition Post-production is the p

From blockbuster films to anime and video games, visual effects (VFX) play a crucial role in animating captivating experiences. And at the heart of these incredible effects lies the expertise of VFX artists. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the work of VFX artists, exploring their role in shaping our favorite animated films and how they create these effects. What’s An VFX artist: Definition An VFX artist specializes in creating 2D and 3D visual effects, and rendering simulations

Compositing is the phase where layers and plates are combined into an almost-final image. A layer is a group of assets organized together to be easily edited, while a plate is a raw footage used as a base for adding after-effects. The result is a sequence of images for a shot, as well as stereoscopic (one variant for each eye) and textless (for international production) variants. Compositing In 5 Steps The graphic artist responsible for compositing is called a comper. The role can be divided

Anything is possible in the magical world of animation, if you get the pre-production phase right! Pre-production is the secret ingredient that makes every animation project come to life: it's where the magic begins, and where the imagination is let loose to come up with stunning visuals and captivating stories. But what is pre-production, exactly? In this post, we'll go through the artists, steps, and challenges behind this key phase. So, grab some popcorn, and let's discover the fascinating w

It becomes frequent during production that the work is separated into several studios. Either because the main studio is only a delegated producer and has no production studio or artist, because of lack of space, or to take advantage of a better rate on certain stages.‌

It is commonplace for TV shows to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per episode, if not millions. But CGI TV shows budgets aren’t cheap either...

we worked out a partnership between Ranch and Kitsu: Ranch will offer free credits to Kitsu clients, and Ranch customers will receive one month free on their Kitsu subscription! Please, contact us for details.

Creating your own company is thrilling. It’s an opportunity to shape the way you work while discovering an entirely different world, which can be frightening at times. But fear not: we come with solid hints to help you create your studio.

Pete Draper, Makuta VFX Co-Founder, following their work on the RRR movie (one of the biggest blockbusters in India), accepted to share with us his experience of Kitsu. He told us how he took advantage of Kitsu to ship the production on time despite tight deadlines and unexpected covid lockdowns.

Deploying a web server can be done quite easily. An IT willing to spend several days on it will achieve it for sure. But the problem is that running a cloud application is not about setting the web service, it's about managing the unexpected.

In production, it's common to set quota goals to facilitate planning and budgeting. These quotas are then used as indicators to know whether the team is going at the right pace or not. Quotas can be calculated in terms of frames per day, seconds per day, or finished tasks per day.

Recently, Ftrack, one of the main production trackers on the market, was acquired by a hedge fund name PSG. Until then, Ftrack was the biggest challenger of Shotgrid, the Autodesk tracking system. In some ways, it was our main competitor.

A few words about Miyu Founded in 2009 by Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Miyu Productions is a TV production company specializing in animation. They create short and feature films alongside TV series. Since its inception, the company carries a strict editorial direction for all its projects. Miyu and Kitsu In this customer story, Carole, Production Manager at Miyu, will tell us how she implemented Kitsu in her studio. Carole, can you tell us more about you? I have always been passionate about animati

Learn how Fost Studio has set up Kitsu for their teams. Through their use of your solution, you will be able to understand better the benefits provided.

While discussing with our customers and watching their Kitsu, we figured out that they do interesting things that we didn't expect. In this blog post, we want to share with you a few tips coming from their usage. To make this post even better, we added two highlights on the hidden features of Kitsu.

Who is Autour de Minuit? For those who don't know, Autour de Minuit is a French film production company created in 2001 by Nicolas Schmerkin. Over time, the editorial line opened up to other genres and audiences such as documentaries, music videos, fiction or animation for kids and families. Now the company has two studios, one in Paris and one in Angoulême. Paris' studioThree years after the creation they realized that they also wanted to get into the distribution of animation and digital wo

As you know, we have worked hard for years on building Kitsu. We embraced a vision where creativity should be supported by Free and Open Source software. We have always considered that freelancers, students, hobbyists should access the same technologies as corporations.

After years of work, you meet success and your studio is growing. You have more important and demanding projects. It’s time to hire more…

Today, a major milestone has been reached by the Kitsu project: Epic Games, one of the biggest video game publisher, showed interest in our mission. They saw the importance of more efficient collaboration for the creative industry.

That’s it; production is over! You’re proud of the result, and your production quality seems to have reached a new level. You were able to…

Kitsu is our main software at CGWire. It helps studios to deliver high-end content on a tight budget. With our solutions, you can keep…

Since the beginning of CGWire, most of the development we do is sponsored by CG studios. When a company wants to see some specific features in our software, they pay us to bring them on top of our roadmap. By doing this, they make the software progress faster in a way that suits their workflow. It makes the project more sustainable and allows us to add features that are really needed. This principle is part of the fundamentals of CGWire. That’s why, from now on, we would like to highlight the st

During my career, I realized that making a mistake in shot casting is one of the best ways to set a fire in a production.

As you know, Animation Productions are like all projects. To manage them properly, you need to track KPIs and particular events. Tracking…

When running an animation production, what matters the most is to identify what can slow down the production. For that you must know all…

In 2019, the CGWire project made significant progress: dozens of studios tracked their plans with it, and 10 CG Schools adopted it for…

Since the beginning of CGWire, most of the development we do is sponsored by CG studios. When a company wants to see some specific…

It is not uncommon during a production to come across a file whose extension is unknown. For instance, during a meeting, everyone is…

It is not uncommon during a production to come across a file whose extension is unknown. For instance, during a meeting, everyone is…

If you read our previous post, you will know that we were having doubts about our choice of an animation studio. In the end, a visit to…

Since the beginning of CGWire, CG studios sponsored most of the development we do. When a company wants to see some specific features in…

Since the beginning of CGWire, CG studios sponsored most of the development we do. When a company wants to see some specific features in…

A few years ago, I took on a job managing production at a studio. It was undergoing a full restructure but the financing plan had been…

Since the beginning of CGWire, most of the development we do is sponsored by CG studios. When a company wants to see some specific…

My name is Gwénaëlle Dupré, I worked in cartoon TV show production for more than 13 years, I get through all the positions: from Second…

Some productions require to work with an animation studio overseas. It’s great to dispatch the work and limit budget but it brings…

Since the beginning of CGWire, most of the development we do is sponsored by CG studios. When a company wants to see some specific features…

As a young production manager, you may not know how to position yourself toward the other teams. You may be too friendly, but if you do so…

Since the beginning of CGWire, most of the development we do is sponsored by CG studios. When a company wants to see some specific…

Every production relies on a schedule. It’s something you can’t avoid and that will follow you during all the production lifetime. So, it’s…

Preparing a production is always a difficult task. It’s like reading the future into a crystal ball! However, you can prepare yourself for…

We’ve been busy over the past few months building Kitsu 0.8! In this article you will find all the recent additions we made to Kitsu our…

In a Cartoon TV show, it’s usual to have the animation work done outside of the studio. It can happen in the same country or overseas. For…

As Production Manager, you are prepared for everything. You have done your schedule for the whole production. You have included all the…

In a CGI production, the camera defines the shot. The background set, the props, the FXs and the animation of the characters are all…

You were hired to manage this new TV Show. You feel the excitement of working on a new production. It may be one of your first jobs as a…

If you’ve been following our project you probably noticed that recently  CGWire made significant progress: productions tracked with our…

One of the key point of production management is to have up to date information about the current state of the production. One of the key point of production management is to have up to date information about the current state of the production. It ensures that everyone is on the same page and that

The Annecy Festival is to animation movies what is Cannes Festival to traditional movies. It’s the opportunity for producers, directors and…

When we started CGWire we were looking for open-source technologies to go faster to build CG pipelines. We found numerous of them but it…

Everytime we visit a studio or discuss with a CG Artist about pipelining, the question of the file hierarchy comes at some point. It may…

Agile methodologies are well known among the web industry. They are designed to handle unpredictability of building software, especially in…

Every shot in a CG production is made of assets built mainly by Modeling and Setup departments. These assets can be of any kind: character…

Past month was very busy for CGWire. On november 13th we introduced our software solution at a CG event that occured annually at Angoulême…

We all have our own way of working. Depending on our context, our team or our culture we can approach the exact same problem with very…

A few months ago, we started a community of CG Pipeline Engineers. To achieve that, we invited people to discuss on a private Slack…

At each step of fabrication, a validation is needed. During the process, there are numerous back-and-forth between producers, directors and…

As we mentioned in a previous blog post, A CG production can be represented as a graph structure. A movie is made of shots which are…

Having a shared database for all your tools is mandatory to ensure a good flow between them. But sometimes you need a simpler access to…

For CG artists, working on a new file which is clean means more productivity. When nodes are properly named, when positions of elements are…

One the principal reason to track every file and asset in a production is to manage the dependencies between them. It’s crucial to know…