Note about the pipeline:
These phases don’t always happen in a perfect sequence. Often, several things move in parallel. Script, art direction, and early design exploration tend to play ping pong with each other.

That’s normal. Knowing what each phase needs helps keep the ping pong productive instead of chaotic.

1. Pre-Production

Pre-production is where the foundation gets built. Goals, budget, target audience, creative direction, all of it typically gets defined before any design or animation work starts.

What typically happens:

The kickoff meeting happens with the client to understand the ask. What are we making? Why? Who’s it for? Contracts get signed, brand guidelines get shared if they exist. The most important thing that usually comes out of this phase is the creative brief, the document that keeps everyone aligned (or at least trying to).

What helps at this stage:

  • A clear goal (not just “we need a video” but what it’s supposed to achieve)
  • Budget range (helps figure out what’s actually realistic)
  • Target audience (who’s watching, where)
  • Creative brief (messaging, tone, references, what to avoid)

Why it matters:

When pre-production gets rushed, everything after tends to suffer. Goals shift mid-project. Budget doesn’t match scope. Creative direction changes after design is already done. Getting alignment here usually saves chaos later.

[Link: Learn more about writing an effective creative brief →]

2. Script & Voice Over

Script writing usually happens early in the process. The creative director (or a writer if there is one) works with the client to figure out what needs to be said and how much can actually fit in the time available. Once the script is close to locked, scratch voice over gets recorded to test timing and pacing

What typically happens:

The script gets written and revised with the client. Scratch VO gets recorded, usually just someone on the team reading it (though these days AI voice tools work for this too) to figure out if the pacing works and if there’s enough time for the visuals to breathe.

What helps at this stage:

  • Having someone who understands motion design review the script (not just a copywriter, someone who knows what’s actually possible to animate)
  • Realistic word count for the runtime (around 100-150 words per minute, but varies based on visual breathing room needed)
  • Script locked before storyboards start
  • Scratch VO recorded early for timing reference

Timing tip:

Read the script out loud and act it out with your hands, mimicking the motion you’d animate. If you’re rushing through gestures or running out of breath, there’s too much copy for the duration. This quick test catches pacing problems before storyboards start, when fixing them takes minutes instead of hours.

3. Art Direction

Art direction sets the visual tone before any full design work happens. This is where the look and feel gets established, style, color palette, typography, overall aesthetic.

What typically happens:

The art director explores different visual directions through mood boards and early style frames. They’re figuring out what matches the messaging and goals from pre-production. Early style frames or a treatment get presented to the client to make sure everyone’s aligned on the direction before diving into full design.

What helps at this stage:

  • Mood boards with visual references
  • A few style frame options showing different approaches
  • Clear feedback on what works and what doesn’t
  • Understanding of what’s realistic within budget and timeline

Why it matters:

Locking visual direction early prevents the “can we try a completely different style?” conversation after design is done. If the client sees a few options upfront and picks one, there’s alignment. If this gets skipped, you’re designing blind and hoping they like what you make.

4. Storyboards

Storyboards map out the video visually before any animation happens. They show what happens in each scene, how transitions work, and how the script translates into visual moments.

What typically happens:

Based on the locked script and art direction, storyboards get created. These are usually simple sketches that show composition, key elements, transitions, and rough timing. They help everyone visualize how the video will flow before committing to full design and animation.

What helps at this stage:

  • Script is locked (or as close as possible)
  • Art direction is approved
  • indication of transitions and key moments
  • Timing notes for complex sequences
  • Storyboards as close to final composition as possible
  • Sometimes a shot list helps organize complex sequences

Production note:

Adding GIFs or short video sequences near each storyboard frame helps show the intended motion and keeps everyone aligned on timing and transitions.

5. Music Selections

Music isn’t just background, it defines timing, energy, and pacing. Getting it early (or at least a temp track) makes everything downstream easier.

What typically happens:

Music gets selected or composed. Usually 1-3 options get sent to the client for approval. Ideally this happens before the animatic stage so timing can be built around the music from the start.

What helps at this stage:

  • Music selected before animatic creation
  • Understanding the BPM (beats per minute) of the track
  • Client approval before animation starts (they need to understand music changes after this point affect all timing) Art direction is approved

Why music timing matters:

Music inspires motion design! For me, it helps with rhythm and speeds up my work by removing timing guesswork. Once animation is synced to music beats, changing the track means re-timing everything. If a change is unavoidable, keeping the same BPM at least preserves the timing structure. Otherwise, every transition, every beat-synced moment needs adjustment.

6. Animatic

The animatic is a rough cut, storyboards timed to script, voice over, and music. It’s the first time you see how everything flows together in real time.

What typically happens:

Storyboards get dropped into an editing timeline with scratch VO and music. This shows pacing, transitions, and overall flow before committing to full design and animation.

What helps at this stage:

  • Storyboards are complete (or close enough)
  • Scratch VO is recorded
  • Music or temp track is in place
  • Willingness to make big changes here (swap sections, test different music, experiment)
  • Feedback focused on timing and flow, not polish

Why the animatic matters:

The animatic is where you should not hesitate to experiment. Swap out an entire storyboard section if it’s not working. Try different music in real time. Make big structural changes. Once animation starts, these changes require reworking finished animation. Test here when changes are still simple.

7. Design & Asset Prep

Full design happens once storyboards and animatic are approved. This is where everything gets designed at final quality, illustrations, typography, scenes, characters, UI elements and prepped for animation.

What typically happens:

Designers create all the visual assets needed for animation. Everything from the storyboards gets fully designed and organized into clean, animation-ready files. File prep is critical here, properly named layers, organized groups, correct color modes, proper dimensions.

What helps at this stage:

  • Storyboards, animatic, art direction locked
  • Files prepped for animation (layered elements, clear structure)
  • RGB color mode, correct artboard size
  • Global swatches RGB verified if you switched from doc in CMYK

File prep approach:

Don’t overdo the prep, but make sure the foundation is solid.

Every designer has their own workflow for importing into After Effects, some use Overlord plugins, others have different methods. The key is thinking of storyboards as direct imports into AE, not sketches. They should be as close as possible to the end product

A practical tip: if a character or element appears multiple time in the storyboards using the same rig, it only needs to be layered in its first appearance. No need to separate it in every board.

8. Animation

Animation is where everything comes together, design, timing, music, voiceover all sync up into the final moving piece.

What typically happens:

The animator takes all the designed assets, imports them into After Effects (or other animation software), and brings everything to life following the animatic’s timing. Character rigging happens if needed, keyframes get set to match voice over and music beats, transitions get refined.

What helps at this stage:

  • All design assets delivered and organized
  • Final VO recorded and approved (or very close to final)
  • Music locked
  • Animatic as timing reference (that the client approved)

My Animation workflow approach:

I animate in passes: I start broad, nail the general timing and big movements first, making sure the creative director or art director’s vision is on track. I don’t get lost in fine keyframe details early on. Once the overall flow is approved, each revision goes deeper into refinement. The final polish pass is where everything gets dialed in. This approach prevents wasting time polishing something that might need structural changes.

9. Sound Design

Sound design happens at the end, after animation is locked. It’s the final audio layer that brings everything together.

What typically happens:

The sound designer adds sound effects, ambient audio, transition sounds, and mixes everything with the voice over and music. They balance levels so nothing overpowers anything else. Meanwhile, the animator cleans up the file and organizes it so it’s ready for packages. They can also work on non-timing issue fixes, small bugs, looking over and over at the video to see if something is glitchy.

What helps at this stage:

  • Everything is final

Why timing changes are costly:

At this stage, nobody wants changes that affect timing. If someone asks for one anyway, they need to understand what it triggers. Even a small timing adjustment creates a chain reaction, sound effects synced to specific moments land in the wrong place, music beats fall out of alignment, the entire audio mix goes off. Then comes the ping-pong: figuring out what went wrong, where the timing shifted, what needs re-syncing. It’s fixable, but what should be a straightforward wrap-up turns into a troubleshooting session, and this usually happens when everyone’s already stressed because delivery is tomorrow.

10. Delivery

Delivery is the final phase, quality control, exporting in all required formats and specs, archiving project files, and sending everything to the client.

What typically happens:

The final video gets a QC review for any errors, typos, glitches, timing issues. It gets exported in all the deliverables the client needs, social media sizes, presentation formats, high-res masters. Project files get organized and archived. Everything gets packaged for final handoff.

What helps at this stage:

  • Clear tech specs from the client (formats, resolutions, file sizes)
  • Final approval on content before export
  • All the teams watch the content more than one time
  • Organized delivery package with proper file naming

Final checkpoint:

By this point, you’ve watched the video so many times you could probably recite it frame by frame. That’s the problem, your brain has normalized the glitch. The typo that’s been there since round two? Invisible to you now. The timing issue? Feels normal because you’ve seen it a hundred times. This is exactly why fresh eyes matter. Someone who hasn’t been deep in the project catches what you can’t see anymore. If you’re still stuck fixing problems from earlier stages, you won’t be able to focus on these final details. Catch issues now, not after the client has already shared it.

Final Note: The Reality of Change

The production process works like a funnel, we try to limit changes along the way because changes are what cost time and budget in creative work. The earlier decisions get locked, the smoother everything flows.

But here’s the reality: changes are inevitable. Client feedback comes in. Business priorities shift. Someone sees it and has a new idea. Budget gets cut. A competitor launches something similar. Life happens.

The most important thing isn’t avoiding all changes, it’s finding a motion designer who understands this and handles changes without taking it personally. Someone who responds with problem-solving instead of frustration. Because at the end of the day, it’s teamwork that makes good work for the client.

If you’re planning a motion design project, use this guide to set things up as smoothly as possible. And when changes happen anyway (they will), work with someone who gets that it’s part of the process.