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What is 3D Animation? The Complete Guide (2024)
by Jasmine Katatikarn | Last updated Jan 11, 2024

Categories: Animation Career
Considering a career in 3D animation but don’t fully understand what it entails? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll learn about what this exciting and lucrative field is like.

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What is 3D animation?
3D animation is used to create moving images in a three-dimensional environment. How is this done? With computer-generated imagery (or CGI).

See, in its most basic form, animation is when static images are organized in such a way that they look as if they’re moving.

So, animation is defined as a graphic technique that uses motion to bring characters, objects, props, and more to life.

The 3D aspect then comes into play when those static images are developed within a multi-dimensional environment to give the illusion that they’re moving in a life-like way.

This process is called 3D modeling and uses a series of polygons, edges, and vertices in a simulated 3D space.

The 3D model is then rigged with a skeleton, which can be animated to fit its purpose. Finally, the animation is rendered as a sequence of images to create the illusion of motion.

Now, there are different 3D animation professionals who finish these scenes by, for example, lighting them to create the right mood and environment.

To explain 3D animation even further, let’s take a look at the three different types: passive, interactive, and immersive.

Passive animation
In passive animation, the experience is purely visual with little to no interactivity. This is typical in animated movies like Pixar’s Toy Story but can also be used in promotional videos or informative explainers.

So, passive 3D animation requires the use of glasses with polarized lenses. When not using the glasses, the screen looks normal but a little fuzzy. With the glasses, the graphics appear to be three-dimensional.

Interactive animation
Common in video games, interactive animation is when the viewer engages with the animated digital items. So, during interactive animation, the viewer has a first or third-person perspective and moves around or manipulates objects in a 3D space.

Immersive animation
Using virtual and immersive reality technology, immersive animation creates experiences for the viewer. This is the most complex form of 3D animation, and it’s also more costly than the other two forms.

What is the difference between 2D and 3D animation?
Thanks to computer graphic imagery (CGI), 2D and 3D animation is possible.

Wondering what the biggest difference between 2D and 3D animation is? For one thing, 2D images are flat, while 3D images are multi-dimensional. But that’s not the only difference.

3D imagery looks more realistic because 2D objects are rendered and lit in such a way as to make them appear to have more depth. They are also composed into a sequence of actions and played at a high frame rate to give the appearance of motion.

While more compelling than 2D animation, 3D animation can also be time-consuming to create and more expensive because of the varying production stages involved. 3D animation is also less forgiving when corrections or revisions need to be made along the way.

As mentioned, the 3D animation process is more complex because it involves rigging and skinning, animation, and asset integration. Meanwhile, in 2D animation, there’s only rough animation in between keyframes and a full render.

Specifically, there are 11 primary steps in 3D animation:

Concept and Storyboards – The conceptualization of ideas and the creation of the storyboards that translate these ideas into visual form.
3D Modelling – The process of taking a shape and molding it into a completed 3D mesh.
Texturing – Also referred to as mapping, the process of adding high-frequency detail, surface texture, or color to a 3D model.
Rigging – The process of setting up a controllable skeleton for the character that’s intended for animation.
Animation – The process of taking a 3D object and getting it to move.
Lighting – The process of applying simulated lighting to make a scene convincing.
Camera Setting – The process of establishing camera angles and techniques.
Rendering – The process of creating a final render of a scene.
Compositing and Special VFX – The process of bringing final renders into compositing programs to edit, touch up, and add special effects.
Music and Foley (Sound Effects) – The process of adding music or sound effects to a sequence.
Editing and Final Output – The process of combining the composited renders with music and foley and editing them to ensure that everything is in synchronization.
Regardless of the intended deliverable,