Getting Started With Kitsu

With Kitsu, users can track various production projects, encompassing 2D and 3D production, VFX, video games, and other related endeavors.

The content tracked by Kitsu can be as simple as still-frame advertisements, to extensive 3-hour feature films, accommodating projects with varying numbers of elements

But before jumping into our production, we must first configure our Studio Workflow.

1. Studio Workflows

Understanding Studio Workflows

Definition

A workflow is defined as the structured coordination of tasks constituting the operational processes within a production.

For example, within a CGI production, tasks such as modeling, rigging, and shading are undertaken to finalize an asset.

Definition

• Processes such as modeling, shading, etc., are referred to as a Task Type.
• An individual objects such as asset, shot, etc., are called Entities.
• A task can be defined as a specific action or activity that needs to be done. Tasks can be attributed to entities and will usually be categorized with a task type.

Entities with corresponding tasks form foundation of your asset workflow. Each task will then be assigned to an artist. Once you have determined your assets workflow, you will do the same for the shots, sequences, etc.

Once the workflow for tasks is defined, the next step involves establishing an Approval Workflow, which entails defining all the statuses utilized for communication within the team. Statuses will also be useful for tracking the progress of your production.

The Workflow of your production is the sum of your Tasks and Status.

Global Library VS Production Library

In Kitsu, you have two kinds of libraries:

• The first is the Global Library at the studio level. Only the Studio manager has access to it.

• The second is the Production Library, where you will pick elements created in the global library to fill out.

The idea is to keep each production separated with a specific workflow.

Your Global Library is where you can create and modify departments, task types, task statuses, asset types, and status automation. You can create as many elements as needed, name them as you wish, and select the best colors and options to suit your needs.

1. Department Setup

Departments are designed to help supervisors and artists focus on their tasks. Once a user is linked to one or more departments, supervisors and artists gain direct access to a filtered view of all tasks associated with that task type. Departments are also used to define what metadata columns appear for users within that department.

If a metadata column is linked to a department, then they will only show up for users in that department. If a metadata column is not associated with a department, they will show up for everyone.

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By default, Kitsu provides some example departments to help you get started.

Defining your studio's Departments is typically the first step in setup, as multiple objects such as people and task types are linked to a department.

On the main menu select the Department page under the Admin section.

If you need to create more departments, you can click on the button.

When adding a department, you need to define:

• The name of the department
• A color (it will be displayed as a small round circle next to a column task type or a custom column)

Click on Confirm to save your changes.

Once you finish creating the department, your page should look like this. Whereby each department has a unique name and corresponding color.

2. Task Type Setup

Next, let's create all the Task Types needed to manage and track our production. Task types could be associated with multiple entities such as assets, shots, sequences, episodes, or edits.

From the main menu select the Task Types page under the Admin section.

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By default, Kitsu provides some example task types that can be used for a CGI production. You can rename or remove any that are not relevant to your production.

You will notice that these Task Types are already linked to a department.

You can click on the button to create new Task Type.

Next, you will need to supply some information about your task type, including:

• The name of the task type
• If team members need to time log their work for tasks with this task type
• For which entity it will be used
• To which department it should be linked
• The color (this will be reflect in the background color on the main spreadsheet page)

You'll notice that the Departments we created previously are available as an option to link task types to. Connecting a department to a specific task type can help your team stay organized.

Click on Confirm to save your changes.

WARNING

Newly created task types will appear at the bottom of the list

To adjust the order, simply click on the Task Type and drag it to its appropriate position in the list.

Congratulations, your task type has now be created in your Global Library.

WARNING

Once you have created your production, you need to add the Sequence, Episode, and Edit task types to your Production Library.

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At any point during production, you can revisit this section to create additional Task Types as necessary and add them into your workflow.

3. Task Status Setup

Let's create the statuses we intend to use during our Approval Workflow.

On the main menu select the Task Status page under the Admin section.

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By default, Kitsu already provides some examples Statuses.

A status represents a specific stage or condition that a task or must pass through as part of the review and approval process.

For example, the Ready status indicates that the artists have everything they need to start working and should not begin their tasks without reaching this status.

WIP : The Work in Progress status is used by artists to inform their team that they are actively working on the task, indicating that there is no need to assign it to someone else.

WFA: The Waiting-For-Approval status is used by artists to notify their supervisors that they have completed their work and are awaiting review. Supervisors can also use a similar status to inform directors that work is ready for review.

Done : The Done status indicates that all work has been completed & approved. This indicates that the current task is complete and the next step in the process can commence.

Retake : The Retake status indicates that a comment has been made, prompting the artists to continue working on their task and publish a new version until validation is achieved.

These statuses are just examples of what is achievable in Kitsu. You are free to create your own as needed.

To do this, from the main page, click on the button.

You'll then need to define some details about you Task Status, including:

• NAME, the explicit name of the status that will be displayed when you hover your mouse over it in the.
• SHORT NAME, what will be displayed in Kitsu.
• IS DEFAULT, the first status that Kitsu will display by default on all tasks. You can only have ONE default status in Kitsu.
• IS DONE, if this status is utilized to validate a task (which is beneficial for quota management, organizing the to-do list, and updating episode statistics).
• HAS RETAKE VALUE, if this status is used for commenting on a task (helpful for tracking the back-and-forth discussions on the task type page and for the episode stats page).
• IS ARTIST ALLOWED, are artists allowed to set tasks to this status? If No, the artist won't see this status in their list of available statuses. However, they can still post comments on it.
• IS CLIENT ALLOWED, Can the client use this Status? If No, the client won't see this status in their list of available statuses.
• IS FEEDBACK REQUEST, if this status is used to request a review (helpful for quota tracking if you don't use a timesheet, it will appear in the Pending tab of the to-do list, and all these statuses will be grouped on the My Check page. Kitsu will prompt you to publish a preview each time you use this status).
• Finally, choose a background color you prefer for this status.

Click on Confirm to save your changes.

Your Status is now created in your Global Library and will be available to use in your production.

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At any point during the production, you can return here and create more Task Status if needed, and then add them to your production.

WARNING

You'll notice a few tasks statuses listed under the category of Concept Status. These are used by the system and while you can modify them here, you cannot create new ones.

4. Asset Type Setup

Much like how shots can be organized by a sequence, an asset can be organised by it's Asset Type. Think of it as using folders to organize all your assets by category.

On the main menu select the Asset Type page under the Admin section.

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By default, Kitsu provides some example asset types that can be used for a CGI production.

To create new Asset Type, click on the button.

Next, you will need to supply some information about your Asset Type, including:

• The name of the asset type
• A workflow for the specific asset type

Different Asset Types will have distinct workflows. For instance, you might have fewer tasks for an Environment compared to a Character, as Environment assets typically don't require Rigging tasks.

When you create or edit an Asset Type, you can add a specific task type; if you don't select a specific workflow for this asset type, your production asset workflow will be applied.

However, if you choose specific Task types for this Asset type, only these will be applied to production.

Click on Confirm to save your changes.

Your new Asset Type is now created in your Global Library. It will be available to use when you create your production.

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At any point during production, you can revisit this section to create additional Asset Types as necessary and add them into your workflow.

5. Status Automation Setup

A Status Automation defines rules or conditions that automatically trigger changes in the status of tasks based on predefined criteria. You can set up Status Automation for both asset and shot tasks.

For assets, you can establish Status Automations between tasks. For example, when the concept task status is set to done, the downstream modelling task status is automatically changed to ready.

Additionally, you can create Status Automations that update the Asset Status based on task statuses. For example, when the concept task is set to done , then the linked asset status is set to layout.

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You can also ask Kitsu to copy the latest preview with the Automation.

Go to the main menu  and select Automation.

From this page, you can create Status Automations by clicking the +Add status automation button.

You have the option to create Status Automation for either the asset or the shot.

Next, you can select the task type and the status that will trigger the Automation.

You can specify which Task Type will respond to the Automation and select the Status that will be changed.

You need to change the trigger from "Status" to Ready For in order to initiate the change in Ready For status.

You will notice the Applied Task Type will now display Shot task type.

To create a Status Automation for shots, you must change the Entity Type to shots.

Your new Status Automation is now created in your Global Library.

WARNING

You must add status automations to your Production Library once you have created your production.

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At any point during the production, you can return here and create more Status Automations if needed, and then add them to your production.

Once your Global Library is populated, you can fill out the Production Library with the newly created elements from the Global Library.

2. Main Kitsu Settings

Configuring Kitsu

Several global settings can be configured that apply to your studio, such as replacing the default Kitsu logo with your studio's logo.

To do this, click on the main menu button , then under the Admin section, click on the Settings.

Studio Settings

Click on the Set studio logo and select an image to use. This will replace the Kitsu logo on your site and in various places across the app. You can also change the Studio Name to be used in your Kitsu instance.

The remaining settings on this page are global settings that affect every production. Some of these include:

• How many hours per day should your team be working.
• You can opt to use original file names for downloads.
• Display images in HD quality by default. Use this option only if you have a very fast internet connection.
• Regarding the timesheet, you can also restrict artists from modifying timesheets older than one week.

Finally, you will also find settings relating to various chat integrations. Please refer to Chat Integration section for more information on how to configure this.

WARNING

Remember to Save Settings at the end once you are finished.

3. Preparing Your Team

Now that you have defined your workflow, it's time to organize your team so you have people to assign tasks to.

We will learn how to add users to Kitsu, link them to departments, grant them permissions, and finally, add them to a production team so that they can begin working.

Adding & Inviting Users

Creating Users

To assign tasks to people, you first need to create an account for them in Kitsu.

Definition

As with other aspects in Kitsu, there are two libraries for users:

• The People Page (Global Library) is used to determine users' permissions, contracts, and departments they belong to.
• The Team Page (Production Library) is used to define who is working on a project and provide access to the production.

Go to the Main Menu , and under the STUDIO section, choose People page.

Then, click on the button.

You will then be prompted to enter the following information: (please note from of the fields are required in order to create the user)

• 1. First Name (MANDATORY)
• 2. Last Name
• 3. Email (MANDATORY)
• 4. Phone Number

Important!

An email address is mandatory and must be unique in order to create an account.

• 5. You can specify one or multiple Departments to link a user to.

Being assigned to a Departments will also affect what shows up on the My Checks page, displaying only tasks related to your department.

Finally, the timesheet page will be filtered to only tasks within your department as well.

Some more details about Departements

Once a user is linked to a department, various options will become available to them. For example, they will have direct access to their department's view on the global homepage.

The department supervisor will be able to comment on all tasks within their department and assign tasks only to people from the same department(s).

• 6. Role: This is where you will define the permission role of the user (this will be explained below).
• 7. Active

This section lets you choose whether to activate users immediately. If the user needs immediate access to Kitsu, set this to yes. However, there might be instances where you want to create a user but are not ready to give them access to Kitsu (for example, if you want to schedule tasks for an artist who is due to start work in two weeks). In this case, you can create and schedule the user, then simply enable them once they start.

Important!

Each user requires an individual account to log in to Kitsu.

Adding Users to the Team

Once you have created your production, you need to add users to the production's team to allow them access. Being part of a team also allows tasks to be assigned to you.

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You don't need to add the Studio Manager role to a team to give them read permission (since this role will have access to it anyways). However, if you want to assign them tasks, they will need to be added to the team.

To add users to a team:

1. On a production, use the navigation dropdown menu at the top of the page and select the TEAM page.

   

2. On the Team page, you can see all the assignees for a specific project. Switch to the top of the page if you want to check another project team.

   

4. Quick UI Tour

Introduction to the Kitsu Global Page

Welcome to Kitsu's global asset page.

Let's take a look around.

On the top part (1), you have the global navigation, which is always visible throughout all the production pages.

From left to right:

Main Menu

You will open the main menu by clicking on the top left button, Kitsu (or your Studio logo).

You will find direct access to your assigned tasks, productions, global and team schedules, the workflow customization page, and the Kitsu settings on the main menu.

Main Menu Details

WORKSPACE

• My Tasks: your assigned tasks
• My Checks: All the tasks with status Is Feedback Request depending on your department(s)
• My Productions: Get back to the selection on the production page.

STUDIO

• Productions
• People
• Timesheets
• Main Schedule
• Team Schedule
• All tasks
• News Feed
• Entity Search

ADMIN

• Departments
• Task Types
• Asset Types
• Custom Actions
• Automation
• 3D Backgrounds
• Bots
• Settings
• Logs

Permission Visibility

The WORKSPACE section is enabled for all permissions except My Checks, which artists do not see.

Artist (and above) can also see their own Timesheets, and have access to the Entity Search

Navigation

You will see the navigation dropdown menu on the right of the main menu icon.

You can choose between production. The name of the actual production and actual page are always displayed.

You can use the dropdown menu to navigate from production to production (if you have several).

Once you have selected a production, the next dropdown menu will help you navigate through the different pages of this production.

Navigation details

The first section is about the tracking of your tasks

• Assets
• Shots
• Sequence
• Edits (If you have created specific tasks)

The second section is more about the side of the production

• Concepts
• Breakdown
• Playlists
• News feed

The third section is about statistics

• Sequence Stats
• Asset Type Stats

The fourth section is related to Team Management

• Schedule
• Quotas
• Team

The fifth section is about the settings of your production

• Settings

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You start with the asset page, but you can change your production homepage to other entities (see setting page)

WARNING

If you realize you need an extra level of navigation, such as Episodes, you need to change your production Type to a TV Show.

If, on the contrary, you realize you don't need the assets or the shots, you also need to switch your production type to Only Assets or Only Shots.

Global Search, News, Notification and Documentation

You have the global search on the right of the navigation dropdown menu. It's a quick access search that will display the four first results. If you need more results and filtering options, see the Entity Search page.

The next icon is a direct link to our news and feedback page.

You can see all the new features with an animated gif and also add suggestions about the next feature you want to see in Kitsu.

Next, the bell icon displays your notifications (assignments, comments, tags). The number of unread notifications will be shown on the bell icon. There are various filters to help you stay on top of updates and revisit important ones when needed. You can easily mark notifications as read or unread or quickly filter by watching/non-watching to focus on what matters most and declutter your feed.

The last icon before your avatar is the documentation button. , that you are reading right now!

Personal Settings

You can click on your avatar to open your menu (setting, documentation, etc.).

.

The Tasks Spreadsheet

Entity spreadsheet

The second part of the screen is common to all the entities (asset, shot, sequence, Edit). This is the global tasks spreadsheet.

Here, you see the status, assignation, priority, etc, for each task.

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The spreadsheet's first line and column header always appear at the top of the page, even if you scroll down.

You can also Stick other columns to keep them visible at all times.

Filters

The first element on the left is the filter box. You can type anything you want for simple filtering, sequence, asset type, etc.

If you need more advanced filtering, please use the filter builder button.

You can then save all the filters and use them as your pages.

Simplify the display

On the right part of the screen, there are some buttons (from left to right) to hide or display the assignation, hide or display the extra column, enlarge or reduce the thumbnail,

Import / Export

batch import thumbnail , and finally import or export data.

Metadata column

Below, you have the name of the column. the (+) next to Name is here to create a new metadata column. Then, you have the name of the task type column.

Customize the view

On the far right of the screen, next to the scroll bar, is the option to hide and display a text column

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Sum-up of your view

The last part (4), at the bottom of the screen, is the sum-up of your displayed page. It means the sum-up will update if you filter the page.

You can see the number of elements (assets or shots), the total number of estimated days, and the total number of days already spent.

5. Create a New Production

• Quickstart for TV Shows
• Quickstart for Feature Films
• Quickstart for Shorts
• Quickstart for Video Games
• Quickstart for NFTs
• Quickstart for Shots-Only Productions
• Quickstart for Assets-Only Productions

6. Next Steps

• About Team Roles - An overview of the different team roles and corresponding permissions available in Kitsu.
• Kitsu for Supervisors - A list of the main workflows for supervisors.
• Kitsu for Producers - A list of the main workflows for producers.
• Kitsu for Artists - A list of the main workflows for artists.
• Kitsu for Clients - A list of the main workflows for clients.
• Kitsu for Developers - A list of resources for developers.