Welcome, Human! Welcome to the Nerd Corps virtual studio tour. Come, peek behind the green curtain, past the walls of illusion, and learn more about the Nerds and the magic we do.

Always a welcome smile, Megan, the great Mistress of Messages, greets you as you enter. Our first stop, predictably, is the lobby. Here is where distinguished guests or those hoping to become future Nerds wait while seeking an audience with the likes of the Supreme Commander and the Dungeon Master.

Moving past Megan, we enter the inner chamber of the reception area. Here we recommend you stop and gaze at the painting of the NerdBot. We think he's pretty cool. As Nerds, we're big fans of robots.

The next stop on our trip is the Modeling Department, where all the digital assets for our projects are created in 3D. Everything that ends up on screen, including characters, sets, and props are created by the artists here.

Check out James! Man, is he focused.

Supervisors and Lead Artists lead the charge from the corners of the room, ready to spring in to action to come to the aid of any Nerd who may require direction. Never leave a Nerd behind!

Mike the Modeling Supervisor seems to enjoy his work!

Peter here is busy working some Photoshop magic, bringing a new character for Dragon Booster to life. Models start as a 2D drawing, and once approved, are moved into the 3D realm.

If Arlyn can keep track of all these toys, she'll have no problem keeping track of the modeling & design department. Our custom designed toolsets help track all assets from initial design to finished textured model, and has powerful version control. This ensures everyone is up to date and using the latest models and assets.

Producers, Production Managers, Coordinators and such herd the Nerds from offices near the front of the facility.

Before we begin the 3D animation process, artists like Colin work directly with our series directors, creators and clients to make detailed storyboards, which are created from the final draft of the script.

Once storyboards for an episode are completed, they are edited together and the recorded dialogue for the show is added. When it's cut together, we call it an "animatic". Once approved, the animatic serves as the blueprint for the 3D animation team.

Safety is a big concern here at Nerd Corps. Before we head to the animation suite, a quick safety message. In the event of an emergency, please help yourself to a life vest and feel free to hide under the camo netting.

Here we are in the animation suite! Nerd Corps animators work in units called "pods", and each pod is designated a particular episode. A pod consists of a group of animators, a technical lead, an animation director and a supervisor. The number of active pods changes depending on the needs of the schedule.

Here we see Blair, one of our animation directors (on the left) offering some feedback on a "work in progress" shot to Laura. Having animation directors working in close proximity to the animators makes for a faster, more efficient workflow.

Speaking of workflow, data moves around Nerd Corps easily and effectively. Nerd Corps sports a gigabit data pipeline connected to an in-house a fiber channel backbone, which allows for real-time streaming of 4:2:2 video. From first frame to last, every component of our shows stays in the digital realm, and remains uncompressed.

Working behind the scenes of Nerd Corps is our state of the art render farm composed of Dell Xeon PowerEdge processors. In a pinch, we've got enough processor power located "in house" to render an entire episode, from start to finish, in under 48 hours. We've never needed to do that, but it's nice to know the capacity is there.

Keeping our IT systems rolling is serious work. Luckily we've got an elite team of highly trained Nerd code warriors who work 24-7, keeping Nerd Corps defragged, backed up, collision free and processing at peak levels.

Reference is everything! Animators often use a mirror to plot out facial animation. Here Mike has taken an extra step and added a mustache and goatee to his mirror, ensuring he's getting a perfect performance for his scene. It's those little extra touches that make a scene so very special. What a fine Nerd!

All this animation is thirsty work! Colin and Rob enjoy a piping hot cup of Java, while Stephane seeks out something from the fridge.

Some shots require a little extra love, and as such, end up here - in the FX department. Here, Greg uses XSI's powerful compositing and FX abilities to spruce up a shot with a cool glowing energy effect. Depending on the needs of the shot, FX artists like Greg have plenty of tools at their disposal. In addition to XSI, Nerd Corps uses Maya, Combustion, and a load of other cool programs.

Having finished his last FX shot in record time, Greg consults with FX Supervisor Sandro about his next task. They just cleaned the desk this morning, honest.

Directors and Supervisors use an AVID edit suite to weave all the the magic together to make a complete episode. Final animation and completed FX shots are laid overtop of the storyboard animatic, and piece by piece, the show is completed. Here, George discusses a shot with Peter.

Once shows are finished animation, we assemble, color correct and create a final master right here at Nerd Corps. We also mix, layback, and duplicate the show under the same roof, which makes for a quick turnaround. All our AVID systems are integrated with a technology called "Unity", which allows instant acces to our high resolution digital content.

And we're done! Here we are, back at the front. Wave good-bye to the nice people Megan!

Thanks for stopping by Nerd Corps! Come again!