← Animation Glossary

Follow through

Follow through in animation is when an object or character continues to move after the main action has stopped. For example, if a character jumps and lands, their hair and clothing will continue to move for a moment even after they have landed. This gives the animation a more realistic and natural feel. Think of it like a ball bouncing - it doesn't just stop moving as soon as it hits the ground, it bounces back up before settling down again. Follow through helps make animations look more alive and less stiff.

Animation is an art form that has evolved significantly over the years. From hand-drawn to computer-generated animation, it has come a long way. One of the key principles of animation is follow through. It is the continuation of movement after the main action has ceased. Follow through adds a level of realism and fluidity to animated characters and objects.

In order to understand follow through, it is important to understand the concept of momentum. When an object is set in motion, it tends to continue moving even after the force that set it in motion has stopped. This is because of momentum. In animation, follow through is used to show how different parts of an object or character react to the main action.

For example, if a character suddenly stops running, their hair, clothing, and other loose objects will continue to move forward due to momentum. This creates a more realistic effect that helps bring the character to life. Similarly, a bouncing ball will continue to bounce slightly after it hits the ground due to its elasticity.

Follow through can be exaggerated or subtle depending on the desired effect. In some cases, animators may choose to exaggerate follow through for comedic effect. In other cases, they may choose to use subtle follow through for a more realistic effect.

Follow through can also be used in combination with other animation principles like squash and stretch and anticipation. Squash and stretch refers to the stretching or compressing of an object as it moves. Anticipation refers to preparing the audience for an action before it happens. By using these principles in combination with follow through, animators can create more engaging and believable animations.

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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