← Animation Glossary

Graph Editor

A graph editor is a tool that helps animators make movements in cartoons look smooth and natural. It looks like a graph with lines and dots, and by adjusting the lines and dots, the animator can change how fast or slow the movement happens.

Please note that Graph Editor is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Animation is an art form that involves the creation of moving images. Animators use various software tools to create animations that appear natural and fluid. One such tool that animators rely on is the Graph Editor.

The Graph Editor is a powerful tool that enables animators to manipulate the curves of an animated object’s motion. This editor displays keyframes and allows the animator to adjust the timing and easing of the animation by manipulating the curves between those keyframes. Keyframes are points in time where specific changes occur in an animation.

One of the primary uses of the Graph Editor is to fine-tune the motion of objects in animations, making them look more realistic and polished. By adjusting the graph curves, animators can control how fast or slow an object moves, how it accelerates or decelerates, and how it arcs through space.

The Graph Editor has several features that make it easy for animators to use. The first feature is the ability to view and edit individual keyframes. Animators can select a keyframe and make adjustments to its position, rotation, and scale using handles. The second feature is the ability to adjust the tangents of a curve. Tangents control how quickly an object moves from one keyframe to another, giving animators full control over an object’s motion.

The Graph Editor is a powerful tool that enables animators to create smooth, fluid animations with natural movements. It allows for precise control over an object’s motion, making it an essential tool for any animator. By using the Graph Editor, animators can create custom animations that suit their needs, saving them time and effort in the animation process.

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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