The AIAnimation.com Production Pipeline

Every production in AI Animation follows the same core path: start a project, plan what you need, create assets, then storyboard the sequence. Ani stays with you at each step.

This guide walks through all four stages so you know what each page is for and what to do there.

For an industry-level workflow from brief and script through finishing and delivery, read The Complete AI Animation Production Pipeline.

Pipeline at a glance

Once a project is open, the top navigation moves you through three workspace stages:

Stage	What it's for
Plan	Brief, script, production structure, required elements, and shot breakdown
Create	Folders, image/video/audio/3D generation, production components, and asset organisation
Storyboard	Frame sequences, shot versions, animatic preview, and export

Project pipeline toolbar — Plan, Create, and Storyboard

Inside any project, the pipeline toolbar at the top switches between stages. Plan opens production planning, Create opens the asset library and generator, and Storyboard opens your frame sequences. The gear icon opens project settings.

Stage 1 — Create a project

Everything starts at the Projects hub:

/dashboard/assets/

A project is your production workspace: folders, plan, assets, and storyboards all live inside it.

Describe your idea (recommended)

Type what you're making in the What are you creating today? box and click Ask Ani. Ani asks follow-up questions if needed, then proposes a Create Project action with a name, folder structure, and starter production plan.

Or create manually

Click Create Project Manually, enter a name and optional brief, and click Create Project. You get the same folder structure without the guided chat.

Open the project

After creation, you land inside the project. Use the pipeline navigation at the top to move between Plan, Create, and Storyboard.

Full walkthrough: Create a New Project.

Stage 2 — Plan

Plan is where you define what you're making before you generate assets. Open it from the pipeline step labelled Plan.

The main surface is the Production Board — your live production plan. Ani docks in the sidebar on desktop so you can chat while you work.

Production Board tabs

The board is organised into five tabs:

Your command centre. See project state at a glance (brief, script, components, shots), preview creative context, review assistant changes, and approve new plan proposals when Ani finishes building one.

When Ani produces a plan, a banner appears: Production plan ready for review. Click Approve Plan Build to promote the proposal to your live board — or Revise with Ani to adjust it first.

Typical Plan workflow

Write or paste your brief

Capture audience, format, and creative direction on the Brief tab.

Add your script

Paste or write your script on the Script tab. Even a rough treatment is enough for Ani to start.

Build the plan

Click Build Plan or ask Ani to create a production plan. Review the proposal on Overview, then Approve Plan Build.

Refine elements and shots

On Components and Shots, adjust required elements, link components, and tune the shot list until the board reflects your vision.

Stage 3 — Create

Create is your asset library and generation workspace. In the pipeline it's labelled Create and opens at /dashboard/assets/ inside your project.

This is where you generate images, video, audio, and 3D assets, organise them into folders, and connect them to your production.

First thing you'll see: working areas

When you open Create for a project, you typically land on working areas — cards showing storyboard frames, timeline videos, and storyboards for each episode or general project area. Pick where you want to work, or open a folder to reach the asset gallery.

Main areas inside Create

Left sidebar

Project — folder tree, episodes, subfolders (Characters, Environments, References, Props, etc.)
Components — full production components library (character sheets, location refs, approved references) when enabled on your workspace
Tools — toggle the generator, and open inline tools: Upscale, Restyle, Frames, 3D, Audio Gen, and more (depending on your workspace)
Notes — asset note threads and inbox
Ask ANI — open the production assistant

Main content

Asset grid — all generations and uploads for the current folder
Filters — image / video / audio / 3D, favorites, notes, search, layout
Uploads lane — drag-and-drop reference files at the top of the grid
Generator — fixed panel at the bottom (UnifiedGenerator) for image and video generation

What you can do on Create

Generate

Images and video from text prompts, with model, resolution, duration, and reference images
Audio clips from prompts
3D models via the Model Gen tool
Frames — batch-generate a grid of consistent images from a scene description (great for exploring a look before committing to a full storyboard)

Organise

Create folders and drag assets between them
Mark favorites and add notes with status (Needs Work, In Progress, Completed)
Bulk-select assets to move, download, or add to storyboard
Share folders with collaborators (viewer, editor, or admin roles)

Connect to production

Promote assets to production components and set approved references
Link components back to your plan's required elements
Ask Ani to organise selected assets into folders or draft a production plan from your script

Typical Create workflow

Open a folder

Navigate to a working area or create a folder (e.g. "Hero character explorations").

Generate

Use the bottom generator — or ask Ani to set up settings and run a generation. Attach reference images from uploads or existing assets.

Iterate

Reuse prompts, upscale, restyle, or run Frames to explore variations. Favorite the best results.

Organise and connect

Move winners into production folders, promote key assets to components, and add notes for collaborators.

Hand off to storyboard

Select assets and Add to Storyboard, or use a working-area shortcut to Create Storyboard.

For better generation results, see Writing Effective Prompts and Video Generation Best Practices.

Stage 4 — Storyboard

Storyboard is where you lay out your sequence — ordered frames with script, action, and generated media — and preview timing as an animatic.

Open it from the pipeline step labelled Storyboard.

Storyboard structure

Concept	What it is
Storyboard	A named sequence inside your project (with aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, etc.)
Frame	One panel in the grid — image or video, plus Script, Action, and Notes fields
Shot	A production record tied to a frame — tracks versions, draft/approved status, and video generations
Animatic	Timeline preview — frame durations, script/action overlays, and optional audio tracks

You can create storyboards with starter blank frames, save versions as you iterate, and scope boards to episodes when your project uses them.

Views and panels

Grid view (default)

Responsive frame grid with drag-reorder
Inline text fields per frame
Bottom generator dock for the selected frame
Bottom timeline dock for quick animatic preview
Right sidebar tabs:
- Versions — shot versions, approve/revert, generate video from a frame
- Frames — batch grid generation (Instant Frames Gen)
- Settings — storyboard name, aspect ratio, custom frame fields

Timeline view

Full-screen animatic playback
Adjust per-frame duration, toggle script/action overlays, upload audio

Toolbar

Create or switch storyboards, save versions, refresh, Export PDF

What you can do on Storyboard

Build the sequence

Add, reorder, duplicate, and delete frames
Fill Script, Action, and Notes — or add custom fields in Settings
Pair adjacent frames as start/end pairs for video transitions

Add media

Generate per-frame images from the bottom generator
Batch-generate via the Frames sidebar
Pick images or video from your project gallery, or upload directly
Promote frames to the Shots pipeline for further video work

Preview and export

Play the animatic in the timeline dock or full Timeline view
Export PDF storyboards or Premiere XML for editorial

Work with Ani

Create storyboards and add frames from a shot list
Update frame prompts and metadata
Open the generator seeded from a frame (without auto-running)
Run image generation after you confirm (spends credits)

Use the Ask Ani about this storyboard... bar at the bottom of the grid view.

Typical Storyboard workflow

Create or open a storyboard

Set aspect ratio and optional starter frames.

Lay out the sequence

Add frames, write script/action lines, and reorder until the story reads correctly.

Generate or import visuals

Generate per frame, run a Frames batch for options, or pull assets from Create.

Refine shots

Open the Versions sidebar to manage shot versions, approve frames, and generate video where needed.

Preview timing

Use the timeline dock or switch to full Timeline view; adjust durations and add audio.

Export

Export a PDF for review or Premiere XML for your edit.

How the stages connect

Projects hub          Plan                 Create              Storyboard
     │                  │                     │                     │
 Create project    Brief + Script        Generate assets      Frame sequence
     │                  │                     │                     │
     └──────────►  Production board  ◄──── link components ────►  Shots
                  Required elements      Organise folders        Animatic
                  Shot breakdown         Add to storyboard       Export

Plan defines structure. Create produces and organises assets. Storyboard sequences them for review and edit. Ani bridges all three — building plans from scripts, generating assets from component references, and adding frames from shot lists.

You can loop back anytime: revise the plan after storyboarding reveals a gap, regenerate assets in Create, or update frames when the script changes.

Ani across the pipeline

Stage	Example prompts
Projects hub	"Create a 60-second product explainer for a fintech app"
Plan	"Build a production plan from my script" / "Add a rooftop location to required elements"
Create	"Generate a wide shot of the city at dusk using the approved style reference" / "Organise today's images into character and environment folders"
Storyboard	"Add frames for shots 4–8 from the script" / "Update prompts for all frames in scene 2"

Ani always proposes actions for your review before changing projects, plans, or spending credits on generation. See What is Ani? for the full picture.

Next steps

This guide typically takes 12 minutes to read. You don't need to complete every stage in one sitting — most productions iterate across Plan, Create, and Storyboard over days or weeks.