← Animation Glossary

Anti-Aliasing

When we draw characters or objects on a computer, sometimes the edges can look jagged or pixelated. Anti-aliasing helps to blend those pixels together and make the edges look smooth.

Animation is a form of art that involves creating moving images by manipulating static images in quick succession. It has become an integral part of the entertainment industry, with animations being used for various purposes such as movies, television shows, video games, and advertisements. However, one issue that animators face while creating digital graphics is aliasing.

Aliasing is a phenomenon that occurs when an image or graphic is displayed at a low resolution or high magnification. Due to the limited number of pixels available to render the image, jagged edges or stair-step-like lines are formed around the edge of shapes. This makes the overall image look rough and unfinished. To overcome this issue, anti-aliasing techniques are employed.

Anti-aliasing works by adding pixels with varying transparency around the edge of shapes to create a smoother transition from the edge to the background. The added pixels blend with the background color and reduce the appearance of jagged edges. The technique can be applied through software filters or hardware-based smoothing.

There are different types of anti-aliasing techniques available for animators and graphic designers to choose from based on their requirements and preferences. One common type is spatial anti-aliasing, which smooths out jagged edges by taking into consideration neighboring pixels during rendering.

Another type is temporal anti-aliasing (TAA), which smooths out flickering in animation caused due to motion blur or other factors. TAA works by analyzing multiple frames in sequence and blending them together to create a smoother final image.

In addition to improving image quality, anti-aliasing also helps reduce eye strain for viewers who may otherwise find it difficult to view jagged-edged images for extended periods.

Anti-aliasing has become an essential tool for animators and graphic designers who want their work to appear polished and professional-looking. It ensures that even when images are rendered at lower resolutions or magnified highly, they still look smooth and refined. With advancements in technology, anti-aliasing techniques are becoming more sophisticated and efficient, allowing animators to create high-quality animations with greater ease and precision.

Animation Terms

2

2D Animation

3

3D Animation

A

Alpha Channel

Ambient sound

Animation

Anti-Aliasing

Anticipation

Aspect Ratio

B

Bezier Curve

Bitmap

Blue Screen

Bone Animation

Bounce

Broadcast Standards

C

Camera Angle

Camera Shake

Casting

Cel Animation

Character Animation

Character Design Sheets

Cinematic lighting

Claymation

Clean-up

Close-up

Color Correction

Color Grading

Compositing

Composition

Concept Art

Continuity editing

Cross-cutting

Cut

Cutout nimation

D

Depth of Field

Dialogue

Dissolve

Distributed Rendering

Dolby Atmos

Dope Sheet

Dutch Angle

E

Easing

Emitter

Exaggeration

Eyedropper

F

Foley

Follow through

Forward Kinematics

Frame Rate

Frame

Framing

Freeze Frame

G

Ghosting

GIF File Format

Golden Ratio

Graph Editor

H

High key lighting

Hue and Saturation

I

Inertia

Infographic Animation

Inverse Kinematics

J

Joint

JPEG File Format

Jump cut

K

Keyframe Interpolation

Keyframe

Kinetic typography

L

Layers

Lens distortion

Level of Detail

Lighting

Line of action

Lip syncing

Low key lighting

M

Match cut

Matte painting

Montage

Morphing

Motion blur

Motion capture

Motion graphics

Motion path

Motion trail

Mouth shapes

MP3 File Format

MP4 File Format

N

Network rendering

Non-linear editing

O

Occlusion culling

Onion skinning

Overlapping action

P

Pan

Parallel rendering

Particle system

Persistance of Vision

Phonemes

Playback speed

Plot

PNG File Format

Pose-to-pose animation

Props

Puppet animation

R

Render farm

Rendering

Resolution

Rigging

Rotoscoping

Rule of thirds

Run cycle

S

Safe zone

Scene

Score

Screenplay

Script

Shot

Silhouette

Skeletal animation

Slow Motion

Smears

Sound Design

Sound effects

Soundtrack

Special Effects

Split screen

Squash and Stretch

Staging

Stop Motion Animation

Storyboard

Straight-ahead Animation

T

Time Remapping

Timeline

Timing

Title Card

Title Sequence

Tracking shot

Tweening

V

Vector graphics

Visemes

Voice acting

Voice-over Narration

W

Walk cycle

WebM File Format

Weighting

Wide shot

Z

Z-depth

Zoom

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