How The Line Animation streamlines studio creativity with AYON
Founded 11 years ago by six passionate animators, The Line Animation has carved out a unique niche in the world of animation. The founders, who are deeply involved in the day-to-day operations, have roles that span Directing, Compositing, Art Direction, and Creative Direction. This hands-on, collaborative approach has built a tightly connected and highly engaged studio culture.
“Our studio was born out of a desire to make a difference in the animation industry. Each of the founders brought a wealth of experience and a shared vision to create stunning and stylish 2D animations. Over the years, our ambitions have grown, and we’ve expanded into 3D content, animated series, and even game development through The Line Originals,” explains Pete Addington, Head of CG at The Line Animation.
Sketching a frame, animating the dream
What sets The Line Animation apart from other studios is their unwavering focus on the artist. The studio’s commitment to high production standards is matched by a work environment that emphasises balance and creativity.
“We are really artist-focused, and this shows in the type of work we produce. We maintain the highest standards of production while ensuring that our staff is not overworked. We value everyone’s artistic contributions and encourage our team to pitch ideas that could potentially make it into animation production. Our recent short, ‘Heavenly Vessel,’ is a great example of this approach,” says Pete.
With a core team of 35-40 staff members, the studio can scale up to 70-80 during peak project phases. This flexibility allows them to handle multiple projects simultaneously without compromising on quality.
Since joining The Line Animation in August 2021, Pete’s role has evolved throughout his career. It began as a Generalist 3D Artist, followed by specialised roles such as Character Animator, Rigger, Pipeline TD, and Lead/Supervisor.
“My experience across various roles has given me a comprehensive understanding of the animation pipeline. As an ex-Pipeline TD, I am deeply involved in the overall pipeline across departments. This has allowed us to optimise our workflows and integrate additional tools to handle our unique creative style,” Pete explains.
How AYON streamlined artist-led workflows
The Line Animation faced significant challenges related to pipeline management, particularly with the integration of diverse creative processes. This is where AYON, an open-source pipeline platform developed by Ynput, came into play.
“We’ve been using AYON extensively and were part of the initial testing for the Web Publisher. AYON has allowed us to streamline and centralise our supplementary tools, deploy toolsets, and upgrade codebases per project. It handles the heavy lifting, enabling our artists to focus on creativity,” Pete remarks. “Our in-house tools, from playblasting in Maya to automatic render pathing in Blender, are all integrated with AYON. This ensures consistency and efficiency across the board.”
Throughout their projects, The Line Animation encountered various technical and creative challenges. The support from Ynput’s team was instrumental in overcoming these hurdles.
“The support team at Ynput has been invaluable. Their experience and guidance have provided us with the flexibility and support needed to tackle any challenge. It’s like having a pipeline team within our studio,” Pete highlights. “The transition from being more general to highly specialised disciplines in VFX and Animation has been seamless with their support.”
Creative challenges often stem from ensuring processes that allow for creative freedom. AYON has enabled The Line Animation to implement changes methodically, reducing friction points and allowing for greater creative output.
“Most of the creative challenges come from making sure there are processes in place to allow creative freedom. If you are able to refactor and implement changes in a clear and methodical way, it reduces any friction points from being able to make the adjustments. This allows us to have confidence in creative freedoms, and make the best output possible,” says Pete.
From storyboard to screen, powered by AYON
One of the projects that Pete is particularly proud of, Overwatch 2 x Transformers heavily on AYON. While each project is unique, the studio strives to maintain consistency in their pipeline despite the diverse creative outputs.
“Our projects are varied, but we always aim to consolidate our workflows for consistency. AYON has played a crucial role in achieving this balance,” says Pete. “For instance, in Overwatch 2 x Transformers the number of shots required meticulous planning and execution. AYON’s ability to integrate with our existing tools and streamline processes was a game-changer for making that happen.”
The implementation of AYON at The Line Animation was a significant step towards optimising their pipeline. The transition from their previous systems to AYON was smooth, thanks to the platform’s user-friendly interface and Ynput’s hands-on support.
“We’ve been using AYON for several years, back when it was OpenPype. Over time, we’ve onboarded more processes and departments into the workflow. It’s something we use daily now,” Pete explains. “Onboarding a pipeline isn’t just about the software. It’s about connecting and championing the workflow it encompasses. With AYON, we’ve been able to strike a balance, making the future implementation even simpler.”
Communication with Ynput has been excellent, with the team always receptive and helpful. This ongoing relationship has fostered a collaborative environment where both parties are passionate about their work.
“I’d like to say we get on great with the team at Ynput. They are always receptive and helpful. From the top-down, they are passionate about what they do, and they understand we also do the same,” says Pete.
Looking at future frames with AYON
“There are exciting possibilities with AYON, like its addon framework and proposed roadmaps for review and CMS enhancements. This will allow us even more customisation based on our needs while keeping it a harmonious ecosystem. We are also exploring the cloud as a future direction for our core systems,” Pete reveals.
“We are looking forward to what the future brings. Being a smaller studio shows that we are committed to using cutting-edge systems and workflows that Ynput is offering. This will make us competitive against much larger companies and allow us to scale into the kind of IP-driven projects we are planning to develop in-house,” concludes Pete.
With AYON, The Line Animation has streamlined its workflow and unlocked new creative possibilities to enable them to compete with larger studios, setting the stage for continued success and innovation in the animation industry.
