IDS - Animated Short Film - Production Diary - 006
This is part Five of my production diary for my short animated film “ I Dont Steal “. Where I go over a small part of the storyboarding process I am using to help progress my film by locking in a pre-edit animatic.
Project Update: 1 shot down, 49 more to go
I finished my first shot. Seeing something final on the timeline felt like a pressure valve releasing after months of staring at works‑in‑progress. Locking one shot also locked my workflow for the rest of the film..
My Current Animated Film Shot Workflow
Export the in and out frames from the storyboard animatic timeline to serve as reference for character animation timing.
Work in Moho Pro 14 by importing pre-drawn character artwork (front, back, profile, or quarter view) and modifying the characters to perform the required actions. Moho's layer comps feature allows me to send the project file to the Mojo Exporter for separate character renders without manual cutouts.
In Fusion, I combine all assets: live-action plates (currently using temporary stock footage), 3D interior renders, and character animation. This is where everything gets blended together cohesively:
I use specific nodes to isolate character parts for adding shadows and highlights
I perform paintouts and cleanup work to fix mistakes in the Cinema 4D renders, like removing windshield wipers and addressing texture issues on car seats
I add compositing elements like rolling shadows on the interior and light rays through windows
In the edit, I push the look with halation, lens blurs, vignettes, and film grain for a cohesive finish.
I'm still waiting to shoot plates, so for now I'm using a temporary stock plate. I structured the node graph so I can hot‑swap assets later without rebuilding comps.
Shot progress from storyboard to final Composite
Storyboard
Basic Composite
Final Composite+Color
Project Momentum
The fully timed animatic was the turning point. Having every shot labeled and locked killed ambiguity, sped decisions, and removed guess work from animation durations and amount of work due. It's the blueprint I should have made sooner, and it's paying off now.
Current Progress
First shot 90% finished with a temp grade.
Next steps
Start on the next sequence, a full‑CG shot, and budget extra time for completing it.
Want to help out?
This is a passion project that I am ultimately doing both in my own time and my own money as well as calling in favors when I can. If you’d like to help me out in any way I’ve added a donation option below if you feel the want/need to help contribute to this project. Anyone who donates will have a credit added in the film.
If you can’t donate please consider signing up to the email list to get updates on the project as it progresses along.
