Before production begins, every non-character object, or Prop, needed for the animation—from a spaceship to a coffee cup—must be identified, designed, and cataloged. This process of Asset Inventory Management is a core logistical task in pre-production that determines the total scope of the project’s modeling and texturing workload.

Each prop requires a dedicated design and model sheet, just like a character, ensuring consistency in scale and design. The Asset Management team creates a detailed spreadsheet that tracks the status of every single item: Is it concept-approved? Has the 3D model been built? Has the texture map been generated? And is it ready for rigging/animation?

Effective inventory management is a budget-control mechanism. By identifying all necessary assets upfront, the studio can avoid the costly surprise of realizing a key object hasn’t been designed or modeled while the animation team is waiting. This pre-planning ensures a smooth, non-stop flow of work into the production phase.