LESSONS: TEN THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

CG PIPELINE

Building a CG Film Production Pipeline

I originally developed this material while teaching at USC, drawing directly from my experience as a professor and from consulting work in Animation production. Although it was designed to support student film projects, the principles apply equally to anyone creating original content or developing their own IP.

Every project has unique needs, but the guidance here comes from years of working with large studio teams in Los Angeles across a wide range of production pipelines. If you need help designing or refining your own pipeline, feel free to reach out.

Creating a CG film is a collaborative effort that requires a different pipeline than traditional Animation workflows. Data integrity, clear organization, and predictable handoffs between artists are essential. A strong folder structure and disciplined asset management are not optional. They are the foundation of a functional production.

What follows is a practical framework you can adapt as a starting point for your project.

Production Pipeline Overview

Producing a film is complex, but the pipeline breaks the work into manageable pieces and defines how those pieces connect. Think of the pipeline as the blueprint that keeps the project moving forward without chaos.

Core Pipeline Functions

Feedback Cycle
This phase focuses on visual cohesion and creative alignment. Work is reviewed, adjusted, and refined to support the overall vision.

Production
This is where the actual work happens. Assets are built, shots are animated, and sequences are assembled.

Resource Distribution
A strong pipeline ensures artists have the software, files, and tools they need without friction. This keeps the team productive and reduces downtime.

Asset Management
Production files are assets with dependencies. Organization must be structured but flexible. Too much rigidity slows creativity. Too little structure makes assets impossible to manage. The goal is balance.

Essential Components of a Production Pipeline

Production Software

These are the tools used to create the work. They define file formats, capabilities, and limitations. This category may also include custom tools or automation explicitly built for the project.

Standards and Best Practices

This includes naming conventions, folder structures, poly limits, texture sizes, and other constraints that keep production efficient and consistent.

Pipeline Software

This refers to scripts or systems that automate parts of the workflow or enforce standards. Examples include asset managers that control how files are linked, rather than relying on manual append or import methods.

Asset and Task Management

Resource management includes people, machines, assets, and render capacity. Precise tracking is critical. Assets and tasks are the two pillars of organization. Assets are nouns. Tasks are verbs.

Assets

  • Animation

  • objects

  • props

  • visual effects

  • characters

  • cameras

  • environments

  • shots

Assets are reusable. A chair or environment may appear in multiple shots across a sequence.

Tasks

  • art direction

  • concept art

  • character design

  • layout

  • modeling

  • texturing

  • Animation

  • lighting

  • rendering

  • compositing

Tasks have dependencies. Animation requires a rig. Texturing requires a model. Layout requires reference and staging decisions.

An effective tracking system combines an asset list with task dependencies. I prefer starting with simple lists and then moving into Gantt charts once scheduling and deadlines are defined. If tasks are not scheduled correctly, the entire plan can collapse.

To complete a basic shot where a character sits in a chair, you need at a minimum:

  • the chair

  • the room

  • the lights

  • the camera

  • the character

Each task should be reviewed by creative and technical leadership to confirm it meets both artistic and pipeline requirements.

Task Management Includes

  • budget

  • schedule

  • shot list

  • asset list

Artist Requirements in a Production Pipeline

From an artist's perspective, a pipeline must support the following:

Access to Initial Files

Artists need immediate access to the data required to begin work. Animators need layout and shots. Texture artists need models and reference libraries.

Functional Software

Tools must work reliably with the provided files. Broken workflows cost time and morale.

Clear and Usable Structure

Naming conventions, folder layouts, and linking rules must be consistent and easy to understand.

Seamless Integration

Completed work must drop cleanly back into the project without breaking downstream tasks.

Immediate and Iterative Feedback

Artists must receive feedback quickly and repeatedly while work is in progress, not just at milestones. The pipeline should support fast turnarounds, visual notes, and real-time clarification so decisions can be made early, adjusted often, and locked with confidence.

This ability to review, respond, and refine in tight cycles is what keeps production moving forward and prevents minor issues from becoming costly downstream problems.

Feedback and Review

Feedback keeps production aligned and moving forward.

Input Generation

Directors and design teams provide notes, references, storyboards, and visual direction.

Task Execution

Artists begin work using that input as guidance.

Regular Reviews

Daily or weekly reviews help catch issues early. Notes may include verbal feedback, drawings, or grease-pencil annotations.

Feedback Platform

Artists need a system that supports visual notes and interaction, not just comments.

Iteration and Finalization

Work is refined until it meets the agreed standard. Revisions may still occur later, so flexibility is essential.

Recommended Feedback Tool

The strongest feedback tool I have used in production is SyncSketch.

The ability to draw directly over Animation and models in real time is unmatched. Interactive drawing, live collaboration, and direct visual communication eliminate ambiguity.

Standout features include:

  • robust drawing tools

  • real-time interactive reviews

  • 3D model review with view presets

  • pie menu workflow

  • ghosting and onion skinning

This tool supports how Animation teams actually think and communicate.

Suggested File StructurE


  • All of your pre-production files are housed here for easy reference
    01 RESEARCH

    • Inspiration

    • Logos N Fonts

    • Movies

    • References

    02 TWO SHEET
    All of your two-sheet files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    03 STYLE SHEETS
    All of your research on look dev and style sheet files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    04 CONCEPT ART
    All of your pre-production files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    05 BOARDS
    All of your storyboard working files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    • Scans

    • Scripts

    06 ANIM TESTS
    All of your animation test work files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    07 ANIMATIC
    All of your animatic working files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

    08 PITCH BIBLE
    All of your pitch bible work files are housed here for easy reference

    • Final

    • Old

  • All of your camera and set files are housed here for easy referencing into Maya. These are your final-hero files.
    01 RESEARCH

    • 01 Cameras

      • SC010

      • SC020

      • SC030

    • 02 Environments

      • SC010

      • SC020

      • SC030

  • All of your shared assets are housed here for easy referencing into Maya. These are your final-hero files.
    01 RESEARCH

    • 01 Cameras

      • SC010

      • SC020

      • SC030

    • 02 Chars

    • 03 Live Action

      • 01 locations

      • 02 casting

      • 03 wardrobe

      • 04 schedules

      • 05 production photos

      • 06 plates

    • 04 Models

      • vehicles

      • weapons

    • 05 Props

    • 06 Rigs

  • All of your shots and your Maya project are housed here. This is where you set your project for the Maya workspace.

    • assets

    • autosave

    • clips

    • data

    • images

    • particles

    • renderData

    • renderscenes

    • scenes

      • SQ010

        • SC0010

        • SC0020

        • SC0030

      • SQ020

      • SQ030

    • sound

    • sourceimages

    • textures

  • If you hire a lighter, this is his/her workspace. You may also like to have a separate workspace for lighting even if you are doing it yourself. Just keeps files clean and only the hero work is referenced into the final shots. It is helpful to create a Maya workspace here so all of the files are saved in the right directories. Lights are, of course, shared assets but they get their own place in case you hire a lighter.

    • assets

    • autosave

    • clips

    • data

    • images

    • particles

    • renderData

    • renderscenes

    • scenes

      • SQ010

        • SC0010

        • SC0020

        • SC0030

      • SQ020

      • SQ030

    • sound

    • sourceimages

    • textures

  • If you hire a sound person or even if you just want to keep all of your dialog files in a separate place as you might be making revisions to them, this is where they go. Lights are, of course, shared assets but they get their own place in case you hire a sound designer. Audio is not subject to the Maya project since the audio will be revised and mastered in different software. It is helpful to keep the SEQUENCE/SCENE/SHOT structure, though.

    • scratch

    • SQ010

      • SC0010

      • SC0020

      • SC0030

    • SQ020

    • SQ030


  • If you hire a compositor, this would be their home to work. Final composites bring your CG to a higher level. You may be the one working in this directory. All the same, it’s better to break this part of production out of the rest and let it have it;s own home. Again, it is best to respect the SEQUENCE/SCENE/SHOT structure.

    • SQ010

      • SC0010

      • SC0020

      • SC0030

    • SQ020

    • SQ030

  • If you hire an editor, this is where he/she will save their files. This area can get quite messy with lots of iterations, so I encourage you to set up this structure. Keeping and inbox and outbox of the files being exchanged is critical.

    • 01 inbox

      • progress

      • final

      • SC0030

    • 02 outbox

      • final

      • progress

    • 03 audio

      • final

      • progress

  • Pretty explanatory. This is where all final files to be shared go. This will help you know where the files for submitting to festivals and competitions are for quick reference.

    • incoming

    • notes

    • outgoing

    • title credits

Maya Project Workspace and Rig Referencing

Maya Project Workspace

Always use the Maya project workspace. Maya is hardcoded to expect files in specific locations.

If assets are not where Maya expects them to be, paths break, and textures go missing.

To set a project:

  • Go to File > Set Project

  • Choose an existing Maya project structure or allow Maya to create one automatically

Referencing Rigs

Always reference rigs in scene files.

Why reference rigs

  • Smaller scene files

  • The rig cannot be broken

  • Updates propagate cleanly

  • This mirrors real production workflows

How referencing saves time

  • Animation can begin before the rig is final

  • Multiple artists can work in parallel

  • Updates require a reload, not curve transfers

  • Files are smaller

How to reference a rig

  1. File > Create Reference > Options

  2. Enable namespacing

  3. Create a short namespace, four letters or fewer

  4. Reference the rig from the correct project directory

Namespacing prevents node conflicts, preserves Animation, and allows multiple instances of the same rig in a scene.

To verify:

  • Open the Reference Editor

  • Confirm the path and namespace

  • Adjust or repoint the reference if needed

Clear naming and disciplined referencing are what allow large scenes and teams to function without data loss.