Over the last two decades, 3D animation has become ubiquitous across feature films, television, video games, and advertising
How Long Does It Take to Create 3D Animation?
Creating a 3D animation takes from 3 weeks to +3 years, depending on its scale and many factors. Given all those continuously evolving variables, most professional estimates provide loose ranges based on animation category and historical data.
Short Commercials
Run Times: 30-seconds to 1-minuteProduction Time: 3 weeks to 3 months
Animated Television Series Episodes
Run Times: 22 to 25 minutes
Production Time: 3 to 6 months per episode
Animated Video Game Cinematics
Run Times: 2 to 10 minutes
Production Time: 6 months to 1 year
3D Animated Films
Run Times: 80 to 100-minutes
Production Time: 2 to +4 years
Timeline to 3D Animation Production
Concept Development:
2-4 weeks for short projects6 months to 1 year for feature films
Modeling:
1 week to 1 month for environmental/background assets1-2 months for hero characters
Texturing and Materials:
1 week to 2 weeks (can overlap with modeling phase)
Rigging:
1 weeks to 3 weeks per character
Layout and Animation:
1 weeks to 3 weeks per character
Lighting:
2 weeks to 1 monthIt can be ongoing simultaneously with animation
Rendering:
1 week to 1 month (background renders can take place incrementally alongside other phases)Longer for final high-resolution renders, especially feature animation
Post-Production:
– 2 weeks to 1 month
– 3-6+ months for CGI and visual effects heavy films