This article aims to explore the changes brought by the shift to realtime rendering in animation pipelines with case studies.
The recent widespread adoption of real-time engines such as Unreal Engine (UE5) and Unity allows animators to see the final product instantly, transforming many industries, including animation production (3D Animation Trends 2026: How AI Is Redefining Animation Careers, 2026).
Real-time rendering’s visual quality of late compares to that of pre-rendered sequences. It allows various tasks in the pipeline to be performed concurrently rather than sequentially while eliminating long wait times for rendering (Muir, 2026a). This enables crucial creative adjustments later in the pipeline, freeing teams to focus on the story. Layout and previs flow directly into production, acting as first drafts rather than being discarded as production progresses, and creatives in every department can polish the piece over time. Faster iteration and turnaround provides artists more opportunities for creativity and experimentation, increasing output quality (Muir, 2026b).
However, real-time graphics present unique challenges. This pipeline relies on powerful machines with high-end graphics processing, which could be a barrier for small teams or remote setups. Optimising character rigs for fluid movement without overloading system resources can also be difficult. Teams may struggle with the fast-paced nature of real-time production and skill gaps, unable to take full advantage of the new workflow (Why Real Time Animation Is Reshaping Virtual Production, 2025). The case study by Widiastomo (2023) into the adoption of game engines for student projects also observes that their convenience may lead to poor planning or impact students negatively if they do not understand the rendering process in depth.
Many industry leads have used UE5 specifically with stunning results. For instance, senior VFX supervisor Jerome Chen (2021) discusses using real-time workflows for an episode of Netflix’s “Love, Death, and Robots.” In addition to the flexibility it offered, he highlights the remote collaboration opportunities, as clients could be given an executable file they could launch without UE5 and log into an IP address to review assets immersively within an environment with the studio. Meanwhile, Ignacio Llamas, senior manager of real-time ray tracing software at NVIDIA, notes its technical advantages in the Porsche demo, “Speed of Light” — the fully dynamic studio lighting with multiple area lights would not have worked with traditional rasterisation-based light map techniques without real-time ray tracing altogether (Alarcon, 2018). Trick 3D studio’s production, “The Jolliest Elf,” saw a scalable setup for a virtual studio during COVID-19 (Real-Time Animation Delivers Holiday Cheer in Record Time, n.d.).
It seems that the main advantage of realtime-rendering is in the collaborative environment it fosters in the studio rather than the technical benefits. This flexible and responsive style of working brings the animation workflow closer to how a team might work on a live-action set, allowing for a creativity spontaneity that would otherwise be impossible.
References
3D animation trends 2026: How AI is redefining animation careers. (2026, May 3). Visual College of Art & Design. https://www.vcad.ca/about/spotlights/3d-animation-trends-2026-how-ai-is-redefining-animation-careers/#gsc.tab=0
Alarcon, N. (2018, October 1). Porsches, storm troopers, and ray tracing: How NVIDIA and epic are redefining graphics. NVIDIA Technical Blog. https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-epic-games-and-real-time-ray-tracing/
Chen, J. (2021, April 6). Jerome chen talks real-time animation with unreal engine (AWN Staff Editor, Interviewer) [Interview]. In Animation World Network. https://www.awn.com/animationworld/jerome-chen-talks-real-time-animation-unreal-engine
Muir, M. (2026a, March 2). Real-Time pipelines – A closer look | tutorial. Epic Games Developer. https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/tutorials/Zdm7/unreal-engine-real-time-pipelines-a-closer-look
Muir, M. (2026b, March 2). Real-Time vs offline pipelines | tutorial. Epic Games Developer. https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/tutorials/dL6e/unreal-engine-real-time-vs-offline-pipelines
Netflix. (2022). Screenshot of Love Death and Robots [Online Image]. In Epic Games. https://www.unrealengine.com/spotlights/how-sony-pictures-imageworks-created-a-real-time-thriller-for-netflix-s-love-death-robots
Real-time Animation delivers Holiday Cheer in Record Time. (n.d.). Trick 3D. Retrieved May 6, 2026, from https://www.trick3d.com/jolliest-elf-case-study
Why real time animation is reshaping virtual production. (2025, July 21). Performit Live. https://performitlive.com/blog/why-real-time-animation-is-reshaping-virtual-production/
Widiastomo, Y. M. (2023). Animation pipeline disruption: Study case of usage of game engine in animation student project. In The International Academic Forum (pp. 675–685). https://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/kamc2023/KAMC2023_74648.pdf