Almost every animation production today uses computers to create images. CGI can create the illusion of an entire world – including people, trees, traffic, buildings, and weather.

To create a character in CGI, most designers start with a number of sketches. The designer uses a maquette to study the character and draw it from different angles. The designer also creates the clothing, hairstyle, and posture that he or she wants the character to have. At this stage, the ideas are still taking shape. The character will go through many changes in the animation process, a bit like a person growing up.

A CGI artist then uses a computer to create a 3D digital model of the character. The CGI artist may spend several months building this model and making sure that its body parts are in proportion.

The model then goes to the rigging department. If the character has a speaking part, the rigger poses the face in many different expressions – for example, happy or sad. They also pose the face with different mouth shapes, such as a circle for an “oh“ sound. The correct shapes and expressions create a realistic character. Odd shapes and expressions create an unusual one! These poses are saved for later use.

The next step is to add texture and lighting to the character. An artist gives every part of the character’s image a shader. Then each part is rendered. Rendering can take a very long time. Big CGI studios have render farms to get the job done more quickly.