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Keyframe Interpolation

Keyframe interpolation is a fancy way of saying how an animated character or object moves from one pose or position to another. It's like when you draw a picture of a stick figure jumping and then draw another picture of it landing. Keyframe interpolation helps make the movement between those two pictures smooth and natural, like in a cartoon or video game.

Animation is a technique that has been used for decades to bring stories and characters to life. It is a process that involves creating a sequence of images that, when played in rapid succession, create the illusion of motion. One of the most important aspects of animation is keyframe interpolation.

Keyframe interpolation refers to the process of generating intermediate frames between two keyframes. Keyframes are frames that mark the beginning and end of a motion or change in an animated object’s properties such as position, rotation, scale, and opacity. The interpolation algorithm fills in the gaps between keyframes to create smooth and fluid motion. In traditional animation this process is done by hand and is known as tweening.

There are different types of keyframe interpolation techniques that animators can use. These include linear interpolation, ease-in/ ease-out interpolation, and spline interpolation.

  • Linear interpolation is the simplest type of interpolation. It creates motion that moves at a constant speed between keyframes. This type of interpolation is useful when animating objects that move at a constant speed, such as a ball rolling down a hill.
  • Ease-in/ease-out interpolation adds acceleration and deceleration to the motion to create a more natural movement. This type of interpolation is useful when animating objects that start and stop abruptly or when animating characters walking or running.
  • Spline interpolation creates curved paths between keyframes that can simulate complex movements or changes in direction. This type of interpolation is useful when animating characters or objects that move in a non-linear path, such as a bird flying through the air.

Keyframe interpolation is an essential aspect of animation as it allows animators to create dynamic and realistic movement in their designs. By manipulating the timing and path of intermediate frames, they can bring their characters or objects to life and convey emotions and actions in an engaging way.

In addition to the types of keyframe interpolation techniques mentioned above, there are also other factors that can affect how smoothly an animation plays out. These include frame rate, easing curves, and timing. Animators must take all of these factors into account when creating their animations to ensure that they are smooth and fluid.

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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