Digital Animation has become an increasingly popular form of animation. Three dimensional animation has provided unprecedented detail to animation feature films. One of the most popular companies that has created digital animation is Pixar.

3D animation is created using various software applications that are capable of modeling, texturing, rendering and animating 3D models. The common process of 3D animation follows the same steps as any form of animation or feature film. Designs and Storyboards are created to provide insight into the animation and help develop the concept of the film.

The development of a 3D feature animation is usually broken up into different departments to handle specific components of the animation.

• Modellers are responsible for creating all 3D models that are used in the animation.
• Animators create the actions and movement that the characters and their surroundings perform
• Lighting and Effects provide the necessary effects and realistic lighting that give the animation a realistic feel

As parts of a 3D animation are completed they are rendered. Rendering is a long process and is performed for each frame of the animation. Pixar's Car feature animation required 1 hour to render one frame