Ace the Certified Animation Professional Exam 2026 – Animate Your Success Today!

Animatics play a crucial role in the animation workflow primarily as a preliminary test of timing and pacing. They are essentially storyboards that have been animated to some degree, often incorporating rough sketches, limited movement, and timing cues. By using animatics, animators can visualize the sequence of scenes and how they flow together before progressing to the more labor-intensive stages of producing final animation frames.

This process allows the creative team to evaluate the rhythm of dialogue, the timing of actions, and the overall pacing of the story. Adjustments can be made more easily in this stage, as animatics provide a framework for identifying any potential issues or changes needed in the narrative structure or character interactions.

In contrast, the other options represent distinct stages in the animation process that do not relate to the primary function of animatics. Producing final animation frames typically requires a more refined and polished form of animation than what animatics offer. Creating soundtracks involves audio production, which is generally done after the animatics stage to match the visual timing. Finalizing character designs is a part of pre-production and occurs before animatics are developed, making it an earlier step in the pipeline.