Asset Types

Overview

Asset Types are categories used to classify and organize production assets. They define the different kinds of reusable elements in your production pipeline, such as Characters, Props, Environments, and more.

What are Asset Types?

Asset Types (also called Entity Types for assets) help you:

Organize assets into logical categories
Configure pipelines with type-specific task types
Filter and search assets efficiently
Apply bulk operations to similar assets
Generate reports grouped by asset category

Asset Types are distinct from temporal entity types (Shot, Sequence, Episode, Scene, Edit, Concept). The API automatically filters to show only asset types.

Standard Asset Types

While you can create custom asset types, here are common categories used in animation and VFX:

Character

Animated characters (main, supporting, background)

Prop

Objects that characters interact with

Environment

Sets, locations, and backgrounds

Vehicle

Cars, ships, aircraft, spacecraft

FX

Effects elements (fire, water, explosions)

Camera

Virtual camera rigs

Asset Type Model

string

required

Unique identifier (UUID format)

"c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47"

name

string

required

Asset type name

"Character"

short_name

string

Abbreviated name for UI display

"CHAR"

description

string

Detailed description of the asset type

"Animated characters including main cast and background performers"

task_types

array

Array of task type IDs associated with this asset type. Defines the default production pipeline.

[
  "f79f1jf9-hj20-9110-f625-02908537h70",  // Modeling
  "g80g2kg0-ik31-0221-g736-13019648i81"   // Texturing
]

archived

boolean

Whether the asset type is archived and hidden from active use

false

created_at

string

Creation timestamp (ISO 8601 format)

"2023-01-15T10:30:00Z"

updated_at

string

Last update timestamp (ISO 8601 format)

"2023-06-20T14:45:00Z"

Managing Asset Types

Get All Asset Types

Retrieve all asset types in the system:

GET /api/data/asset-types

Example Response:

[
  {
    "id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
    "name": "Character",
    "short_name": "CHAR",
    "description": "Animated characters",
    "task_types": [
      "f79f1jf9-hj20-9110-f625-02908537h70",
      "g80g2kg0-ik31-0221-g736-13019648i81"
    ],
    "archived": false,
    "created_at": "2023-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2023-06-20T14:45:00Z"
  },
  {
    "id": "d57d9hd7-fh08-7998-d403-80786315f58",
    "name": "Prop",
    "short_name": "PROP",
    "description": "Props and objects",
    "task_types": [
      "f79f1jf9-hj20-9110-f625-02908537h70"
    ],
    "archived": false,
    "created_at": "2023-01-15T10:31:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2023-01-15T10:31:00Z"
  }
]

Get Single Asset Type

Retrieve a specific asset type by ID:

GET /api/data/asset-types/{asset_type_id}

Example Response:

{
  "id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
  "name": "Character",
  "short_name": "CHAR",
  "description": "Animated characters including main cast",
  "task_types": [
    "f79f1jf9-hj20-9110-f625-02908537h70",
    "g80g2kg0-ik31-0221-g736-13019648i81",
    "h91h3lh1-jl42-1332-h847-24120759j92"
  ],
  "archived": false,
  "created_at": "2023-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2023-06-20T14:45:00Z"
}

Get Asset Types for Project

Retrieve only the asset types that are actually used in a specific project:

GET /api/data/projects/{project_id}/asset-types

This returns only asset types that have at least one asset in the project. Example Response:

[
  {
    "id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
    "name": "Character",
    "short_name": "CHAR"
  },
  {
    "id": "d57d9hd7-fh08-7998-d403-80786315f58",
    "name": "Environment",
    "short_name": "ENV"
  }
]

Get Asset Types for Shot

Retrieve asset types of assets that are cast in a specific shot:

GET /api/data/shots/{shot_id}/asset-types

Useful for understanding what types of assets appear in a shot. Example Response:

[
  {
    "id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
    "name": "Character",
    "short_name": "CHAR"
  },
  {
    "id": "d57d9hd7-fh08-7998-d403-80786315f58",
    "name": "Prop",
    "short_name": "PROP"
  }
]

Task Type Associations

Asset Types can be associated with specific Task Types to define the production pipeline for that category of assets.

Example Pipeline Configurations

Character Pipeline:

Concept
Modeling
Texturing
Rigging
Grooming
Lookdev

Prop Pipeline:

Concept
Modeling
Texturing
Lookdev

Environment Pipeline:

Concept
Layout
Modeling
Texturing
Lighting Setup

Creating Asset Types

Asset types are typically created through:

Initial setup: When setting up a new production
Import: From project templates or CSV import
Auto-creation: The get_or_create_asset_type() service method

Asset Type creation is usually done through the admin interface or import tools rather than direct API calls. The API focuses on reading and using existing asset types.

Filtering Assets by Type

Once you have asset types, you can filter assets:

GET /api/data/projects/{project_id}/asset-types/{asset_type_id}/assets

This retrieves all assets of a specific type within a project. Example Response:

[
  {
    "id": "a24a6ea4-ce75-4665-a070-57453082c25",
    "name": "Hero Character",
    "project_id": "b35b7fb5-df86-5776-b181-68564193d36",
    "entity_type_id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
    "asset_type_name": "Character",
    "description": "Main protagonist",
    "preview_file_id": "e68e0ie8-gi19-8009-e514-91897426g69"
  },
  {
    "id": "f79f1jf9-hj20-9110-f625-02908537h70",
    "name": "Villain Character",
    "project_id": "b35b7fb5-df86-5776-b181-68564193d36",
    "entity_type_id": "c46c8gc6-eg97-6887-c292-79675204e47",
    "asset_type_name": "Character",
    "description": "Main antagonist",
    "preview_file_id": "g80g2kg0-ik31-0221-g736-13019648i81"
  }
]

Best Practices

Keep it simple

Start with 4-6 basic asset types (Character, Prop, Environment, Vehicle, FX). Add more only when needed.

Use consistent naming

Use clear, standardized names across projects. Avoid abbreviations in the main name field.

Configure task types

Associate relevant task types with each asset type to streamline pipeline creation.

Don't over-categorize

Avoid creating too many specific asset types. Use asset metadata (data field) for detailed categorization instead.

Archive instead of delete

Use the archived flag rather than deleting asset types to preserve historical data.

Integration Examples

Python: Get Character Assets

import requests

# Get the Character asset type ID
response = requests.get(
    "https://kitsu.example.com/api/data/asset-types",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
)
asset_types = response.json()
character_type = next(at for at in asset_types if at["name"] == "Character")

# Get all character assets in project
response = requests.get(
    f"https://kitsu.example.com/api/data/projects/{project_id}/asset-types/{character_type['id']}/assets",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
)
characters = response.json()

print(f"Found {len(characters)} character assets")

JavaScript: Filter by Asset Type

const getAssetsByType = async (projectId, typeName) => {
  // Get asset types
  const typesResponse = await fetch(
    `https://kitsu.example.com/api/data/projects/${projectId}/asset-types`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } }
  );
  const assetTypes = await typesResponse.json();
  
  // Find the type
  const assetType = assetTypes.find(at => at.name === typeName);
  if (!assetType) return [];
  
  // Get assets of that type
  const assetsResponse = await fetch(
    `https://kitsu.example.com/api/data/projects/${projectId}/asset-types/${assetType.id}/assets`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } }
  );
  
  return assetsResponse.json();
};

const props = await getAssetsByType(projectId, "Prop");
console.log(`Found ${props.length} props`);

Assets Overview

Learn about the asset system

API Endpoints

Complete endpoint reference

Task Types

Configure production task types

Projects

Project management

Authentication

Projects

Assets

Shots & Sequences

Tasks

Files & Previews

People & Teams

Comments & Playlists

Events & Notifications

Overview

What are Asset Types?

Standard Asset Types

Character

Prop

Environment

Vehicle

FX

Camera

Asset Type Model

Managing Asset Types

Get All Asset Types

Get Single Asset Type

Get Asset Types for Project

Get Asset Types for Shot

Task Type Associations

Example Pipeline Configurations

Creating Asset Types

Filtering Assets by Type

Best Practices

Integration Examples

Python: Get Character Assets

JavaScript: Filter by Asset Type

Assets Overview

API Endpoints

Task Types

Projects

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Authentication

Projects

Assets

Shots & Sequences

Tasks

Files & Previews

People & Teams

Comments & Playlists

Events & Notifications

Documentation Index

​Overview

​What are Asset Types?

​Standard Asset Types

Character

Prop

Environment

Vehicle

FX

Camera

​Asset Type Model

​Managing Asset Types

​Get All Asset Types

​Get Single Asset Type

​Get Asset Types for Project

​Get Asset Types for Shot

​Task Type Associations

​Example Pipeline Configurations

​Creating Asset Types

​Filtering Assets by Type

​Best Practices

​Integration Examples

​Python: Get Character Assets

​JavaScript: Filter by Asset Type

​Related Resources

Assets Overview

API Endpoints

Task Types

Projects

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

What are Asset Types?

Standard Asset Types

Asset Type Model

Managing Asset Types

Get All Asset Types

Get Single Asset Type

Get Asset Types for Project

Get Asset Types for Shot

Task Type Associations

Example Pipeline Configurations

Creating Asset Types

Filtering Assets by Type

Best Practices

Integration Examples

Python: Get Character Assets

JavaScript: Filter by Asset Type

Related Resources