← Animation Glossary

Cinematic lighting

Cinematic lighting in animation involves using special lights to make a scene look really cool and interesting, just like in a movie. It helps create different moods and feelings in the animation, making it more exciting to watch!

Please note that Cinematic lighting is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Cinematic lighting is key in animation for setting the scene. It’s like painting with light to create the right mood and vibe. Animators borrow techniques from movies to make their visuals pop.

They use different types of lights strategically:

  • Key lights are the main source, shining on characters or objects.
  • Fill lights soften shadows and balance out the key light.
  • Rim lights add highlights along edges, making things stand out.

By tweaking the intensity, color, and direction of these lights, animators can create just the right atmosphere for each scene.

But cinematic lighting isn’t just about making things bright. Special effects like volumetric lighting add depth by showing how light interacts with the air. Lens flares make scenes feel real, and effects like fog or haze add drama.

In animation, cinematic lighting is like magic paintbrushes that make worlds come to life. It’s all about creating the perfect look and feel for every scene.

By combining these techniques thoughtfully, animators can create immersive worlds that captivate viewers’ attention and evoke powerful emotions. For example, using harsh shadows and high-contrast lighting can convey tension or mystery in a scene, while soft, diffused lighting may evoke a sense of tranquility or romance.

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

Icon for Brush Ninja: Online Animation Maker Brush Ninja Online Animation Maker
Icon for Paint Ninja: Draw and Paint Online Paint Ninja Draw and Paint Online
Icon for Code Ninja: Make Art with Code Code Ninja Make Art with Code
Icon for Emoji Art: Make Emoji Art Emoji Art Make Emoji Art
Icon for Photo Collage: Make Photo Collages Photo Collage Make Photo Collages
Icon for Comic Maker: Make Comics Comic Maker Make Comics