← Animation Glossary

Easing

Easing is a fancy word that animators use to describe how a movement starts and stops. It's like when you're riding a bike and you gradually slow down before coming to a complete stop instead of suddenly slamming on the brakes. Animators use easing to make their characters' movements look more natural and smooth.

Easing is a crucial aspect of animation that can make or break the overall quality of an animated project. In fact, it is one of the fundamental principles of animation.

In traditional animation, easing was achieved by drawing each frame by hand. As the animator progressed through the frames, they would adjust the timing and speed of each movement to create a smooth and fluid motion. This process was time-consuming but ultimately produced high-quality results.

However, with digital animation, easing has become even more important. Without proper easing, movements in digital animation can appear stiff and robotic. This is because digital animations are usually created using keyframes, which are points in time where the animator sets specific attributes for an object such as its position, rotation, or scale. The software then generates the frames between these keyframes based on the settings that were inputted.

To achieve proper easing in digital animation, it is important to understand the different types of easing curves that are available. There are three main types: ease-in, ease-out, and ease-in-out.

  • Ease-in refers to an object starting out slowly before gradually increasing in speed. This type of easing is often used for objects that are just starting to move.
  • Ease-out refers to an object starting out quickly before gradually slowing down towards the end of its motion. This type of easing is often used for objects that are coming to a stop.
  • Ease-in-out combines both ease-in and ease-out techniques, creating a smooth transition from slow to fast and back again. This type of easing is often used for objects that need to start and stop smoothly.

It’s worth noting that different types of objects require different types of easing curves. For example, a ball bouncing off the ground would require a different easing curve than a character walking across the screen.

Fortunately, most animation software comes equipped with tools that allow animators to adjust the easing of their animations. These tools typically allow animators to adjust the timing, speed, and interpolation of keyframes, giving them full control over the motion of their objects.

Easing is a vital aspect of animation that can make a significant difference in the quality of an animated project. It’s important for animators to understand the different types of easing curves available to them. With proper use of easing techniques, digital animation can look just as smooth and fluid as traditional hand-drawn animation.

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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