Computer-generated imagery has moved from the special effects budget into everyday marketing.
Brands now use CGI for product launches, packaging shots, 3D billboards, social content and full animated campaigns, often replacing a physical shoot entirely. The studios that do this well combine design taste with a serious 3D pipeline, and most of the strongest are in New York and Los Angeles.
To build this list of the best CGI companies in the USA, we checked each studio’s own website for a US studio address, current work and named clients. We focused on studios where CGI production is central to what they sell, from brand film and 3D animation houses to product CGI and ecommerce imaging studios. Pure feature film VFX vendors are covered in our separate VFX list, and we left out any claim we could not confirm.
Each entry covers where the studio is based, the kind of CGI work it does, the brands and projects it names publicly, and the type of buyer it suits best.
CGI Companies At A Glance
Company
US Base
Best For
Core Services
Psyop
New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA
Brand films, games marketing and series
Animation, VFX, live action, gaming
BUCK
Los Angeles, CA and Brooklyn, NY
Brand identity in motion and campaigns
Animation, design, games, experiences
Taylor James
New York, NY
Automotive and product CGI with photography
CGI and VFX, animation, photography, retouching
Scholar
Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY
Tech and consumer brand campaigns
2D and 3D animation, VFX, live action, design
Ntropic
San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles
Product films and large-format campaigns
CGI, VFX, design, content
Carbon
New York, Chicago, Los Angeles
Agency spots and Super Bowl work
VFX, CG, motion graphics, design
Splashlight
New York, NY
Ecommerce and fashion product imagery
CGI and animation, product photography, retouching
Laundry
Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York
3D billboards and motion brand systems
Animation, motion design, DOOH, live action
Best CGI Companies In The USA
1. Psyop — Animation And VFX Collective With Studios In New York And Los Angeles
Psyop is an animation and design studio with a long record in American advertising, and its site features press coverage marking 25 years since its founders started it. Psyop itself has studios in New York City and Los Angeles, and the wider group, described as an independent, artist-led global collective, also includes Golden Wolf in New York and partner studios in Europe and Latin America.
Its services are grouped into talent, strategy, technology, gaming and live action plus VFX. The work shown spans Nike, Coach, Converse, Taco Bell, Google, Google Play, Instagram, Apex Legends and Supercell, plus Travel Oregon and Aldi. On the entertainment side, Common Side Effects, which the group has promoted on its site, was renewed for a second season at Adult Swim.
Pricing is quote-based. Psyop suits brands, game publishers and networks that want character-led CGI and animated storytelling with a strong directorial voice, rather than a production vendor working to a fixed storyboard.
2. BUCK — Design-Led Animation And Brand Work From Los Angeles And Brooklyn
BUCK has been building its studio since 2004 and is a certified B Corp. Its US offices are at 120 S San Pedro Street in Los Angeles and 33 35th Street in Brooklyn, New York, with further studios in Sydney, Amsterdam and London. It describes itself as a global creative company working through art, design and technology.
Its work centers on animation and design that carry a brand’s visual identity across films, products and experiences. Recent featured projects include a brand expression for J.P. Morgan Payments, an identity for Kia’s next-generation AI assistant and the Dunkin’ Munchkins holiday campaign. Its site also links to separate games and goods arms.
Pricing is quote-based. BUCK suits brands that want CGI and animation tied closely to brand design and identity, and agencies that need a studio able to set a visual system as well as make a single spot.
3. Taylor James — CGI, VFX And Photography For Automotive And Product Brands In Midtown Manhattan
Taylor James is a creative production partner, part of Tag, with its US office at 150 East 42nd Street, 13th Floor, in New York. It also has offices in London and Mexico City.
Its skills list leads with CGI and VFX, followed by 2D and 3D animation, live action, photography and retouching, design and motion graphics and emerging technology. That mix lets a single team build a CG car or product and combine it with photographed backgrounds or live-action plates. Automotive is one of the sectors it highlights on its site.
Recent work includes Ford Explorer, Cole Haan ZeroGrand, L.L. Bean, Air Wick and FIJI Water. Pricing is quote-based. Taylor James suits automotive, consumer goods and retail brands that need photoreal product CGI across print, digital and video from one partner.
4. Scholar — 3D Animation, VFX And Live Action For Tech And Consumer Brands
Scholar works from 2800 Clearwater Street in Los Angeles and 180 Varick Street, 14th Floor, in New York. It describes itself as an award-winning creative company and offers 2D and 3D animation, live action, character work, VFX, design, experiential, mixed media and narrative and comedy.
The client list is heavy on tech and consumer brands. Recent projects include Apple “College, Sorted,” Google Play “Ready to Play,” the Okta “AI’s First Day” film, an Oktane 2026 keynote opening film, Target Holiday 2025, Chevron’s 2026 cars campaign, Taco Bell “Decades Y2K,” Uber “Go-Get,” Knorr and Olipop. It also made Always Above, a planetarium film for the U.S. Space Force.
Pricing is quote-based. Scholar suits brands and agencies that want CGI and live action mixed in the same campaign, directed by one team.
5. Ntropic — Product Films And Large-Format CGI From Three US Studios
Ntropic has US studios in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, plus London and Ho Chi Minh City. It describes its work simply as creating visual content for every medium, and its portfolio leans on CG product films, VFX and design for launches and events.
Named projects include Verizon’s Super Bowl takeover in Las Vegas, the Amazon Echo Studio launch, Southern California Edison, Banana Boat, Naked Juice and Boom. The Echo Studio launch shows the kind of hardware product work Ntropic is often hired for.
The San Francisco studio makes it a practical option for Bay Area tech companies that want a local team for hardware launches. Pricing is quote-based. Ntropic suits technology and consumer product brands that need product films, launch content and large-format event visuals.
6. Carbon — VFX, CG And Motion Design For Agency Spots In New York, Chicago And Los Angeles
Carbon is a full-service creative studio specializing in visual effects, motion graphics and design. It has studios at 28 West 25th Street in New York, 111 North Canal Street in Chicago and 8924 Lindblade Street in Culver City, which makes it one of the few CGI companies on this list with a real Midwest base.
The client list is long and brand-heavy. Projects shown on its site include work for Nike, Google, Xbox, Vizio, Discover, Miller Lite, Takis, Poppi, Nerds, Tillamook, Vital Proteins, Church’s Chicken, Big Ten and FX Networks, with several pieces tied to Super Bowl LVIII.
Most of the work shown is broadcast and digital advertising, where Carbon combines VFX, CG and design for brand spots. Pricing is quote-based. It suits agencies and brands that need CG, VFX and design for TV and social campaigns on short advertising schedules.
7. Splashlight — CGI And Product Imaging At Scale From A 70,000-Square-Foot Manhattan Studio
Splashlight is headquartered at 75 Varick Street in New York, where it runs 15 studios across 70,000 square feet in downtown Manhattan. Its services include CGI and animation, product photography, 360 video, ghost mannequin and pin-up shots, high-end retouching, video editing and color matching, and on-figure photo and video.
That combination makes Splashlight a different kind of CGI studio from the brand film houses above. Its strength is volume and consistency for ecommerce, where product CGI can replace or extend photography across thousands of SKUs. Client logos on its site include Amazon, Nike, Target, Canada Goose, Hugo Boss, MAC, Mejuri, Bombas, Away and Ann Taylor.
Pricing is quote-based. Splashlight suits fashion, beauty, jewelry and retail brands that need product CGI and photography produced together to the same color standard.
8. Laundry — 3D Billboards, Sphere Content And Motion Brand Systems From Los Angeles
Laundry has studios at 4079A Redwood Avenue in Los Angeles, 595 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco and 175 Varick Street in New York, with James Sweigert as CEO and managing director and directors including PJ Richardson and Tony Liu. Its work runs from campaigns and short-form video to brand media, digital experiences and motion brand systems.
The digital experiences practice is where its CGI production stands out: digital out-of-home, content for Sphere, 3D billboards and interactive displays, all of which need 3D worlds built for unusual screens and viewing angles. Laundry also creates motion brand guidelines and toolkits that keep animated work consistent across a company.
Client logos include Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Uber, IBM, Dell, Adobe and Airbnb. Pricing is quote-based. Laundry suits technology brands that want CGI for large-format and anamorphic screens alongside a long-term motion system.
How To Choose A CGI Company
Does Their Portfolio Match Your Style?
CGI studios have distinct looks. Some excel at photoreal products, others at stylized characters or abstract brand worlds. Ask for work in your category, such as automotive, beauty or consumer tech, and ask which director and lead artists made it. If you need photoreal product CGI, look closely at materials such as glass, metal, fabric and liquid, which are the hardest to get right.
Will Their Pipeline And File Formats Fit Yours?
Ask what the studio needs from you: CAD files, physical samples or reference photography. Most CGI production runs through Cinema 4D, Maya, Houdini or Blender, rendered in Redshift, Octane, Arnold or V-Ray, with Unreal Engine increasingly used for real-time work. Agree on delivery formats for every channel, such as ProRes masters, social cutdowns, layered stills and 3D files for AR or web viewers.
How Do They Price The Work?
As a typical US market range, single product CGI stills often cost $500 to $3,000 each, with lower per-image rates at ecommerce volume. A 15 to 30 second CGI product film commonly runs $15,000 to $75,000, and a full broadcast CGI campaign from a top studio can reach $150,000 to $500,000 or more. Studios price by project, by deliverable or by day rate, so compare bids line by line.
What Are Turnaround Times And Revisions?
Product stills from existing CAD can be delivered in one to two weeks. A CGI spot usually takes six to twelve weeks from treatment to delivery, depending on design and rendering. Ask how many revision rounds are included at styleframe, animatic and final render stages, because changes after lighting and rendering cost far more than changes at the storyboard stage.
Who Owns The Files And Usage Rights?
Clarify whether you are buying the final images and films only, or also the 3D models, scenes and textures. Owning the assets lets you make future content without starting from scratch. Check usage terms for any licensed music, stock or fonts, confirm media and territory rights, and agree on when the studio may show the work. Any CGI studio worth hiring will spell this out in its estimate.
For character-led brand films and games marketing, Psyop and BUCK are the most established names, and Scholar is a strong choice when CGI and live action need to sit together. Taylor James and Ntropic lead on photoreal product and automotive CGI, Carbon serves agencies across three US cities, Splashlight is built for ecommerce volume, and Laundry is the pick for 3D billboards, Sphere content and motion systems.
Before you commission any of these CGI companies, check five things: work in your product category, the inputs and file formats they need and will deliver, a line-item estimate, the number of revision rounds at each stage, and whether you will own the 3D assets as well as the finished images.
