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Forward Kinematics

Forward Kinematics is a way to make objects move in animation. It works by moving the different parts of an object one at a time, starting from the base and moving towards the end. Imagine if you were building a robot - you would start by moving its legs, then its arms, and finally its head. This is similar to how Forward Kinematics works in animation!

Please note that Forward Kinematics is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Forward Kinematics is a method in animation that provides a way to determine the position and orientation of an animated object or character. It is an important aspect of animation that allows artists to create realistic movements for their characters. There are two main types of kinematics used in animation: forward kinematics and inverse kinematics.

Forward Kinematics involves calculating the position and movement of an object’s endpoints based on the movement and rotation of its joints. This process is often used in situations where the animator has full control over the movement of each part, such as in 2D animation or some types of 3D animation.

In Forward Kinematics, each joint is treated as a separate entity, and the animator specifies how they should move. The objects are linked in such a way that moving one, moves another. For example the hand would be linked to the arm; when the arm is moved or rotated the hand will follow.

One significant advantage of Forward Kinematics is that it allows animators to have full control over every aspect of their character’s movements. This level of control can be useful when creating complex animations or when trying to achieve specific movements or poses.

Limitations of Forward Kinematics

One disadvantage of Forward Kinematics is that it can be time-consuming since animators have to specify the movement for each individual joint. This process can be tedious and prone to errors, especially when working with complex characters with many joints.

Inverse Kinematics works differently. The objects are still linked together but you can specify the end position of the object, such as where their hand should be placed. The software then calculates how each joint should move so that the arm follows automatically, but has it’s own drawbacks.

Forward Kinematics is a valuable method used in animation to create realistic movements for characters. It allows animators to have full control over each joint’s movement, resulting in fluid and precise animations. However, it can be time-consuming and prone to errors. In contrast, Inverse Kinematics is useful for creating natural-looking movements but may not provide the same level of control as Forward Kinematics.

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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