← Animation Glossary

Lens distortion

Lens distortion in animation is when the image gets stretched or bent in because of the camera lens. It can make things look closer or farther away than they really are, or make straight lines appear curved. This effect is sometimes used on purpose to create a cool visual style, but other times it can be corrected so that things look more realistic.

Please note that Lens distortion is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Lens distortion is a common issue that animators face and can greatly impact the final product. Understanding the two main types of lens distortion, barrel distortion and pincushion distortion, can help animators create intentional effects or avoid unwanted distortions.

Barrel Distortion

Barrel distortion occurs when the edges of the frame appear to be bulging outwards. This effect can be used intentionally to create a fisheye lens effect, which can add a sense of urgency or disorientation to a scene. Fisheye lenses are often used in action sequences or horror movies to create an unsettling feeling for the viewer.

Pincushion Distortion

Pincushion distortion, on the other hand, appears as if the edges of the frame are being pulled inwards. This effect can give a more natural look to images captured by cameras with lenses that have this type of distortion. However, in animation, pincushion distortion is often not desired as it can make objects appear compressed and distorted.

In order to avoid unwanted lens distortion in animation, it is important for animators to carefully select their camera lens and adjust accordingly. For example, using a wider lens may lead to barrel distortion while using a longer lens may lead to pincushion distortion. Additionally, adjusting the position of the camera or changing the angle at which shots are taken can also affect lens distortion.

It is also important for animators to consider how lens distortion will affect their final product and whether it will contribute to their desired aesthetic. While fisheye lenses can add an interesting effect to certain scenes, overusing this effect can become distracting and take away from the overall quality of the animation.

In some cases, post-production techniques such as digital correction or compositing can be used to correct unwanted lens distortion. However, it is always best for animators to strive for proper camera selection and adjustment during filming in order to produce high-quality work.

Understanding lens distortion and its effects on animation is crucial for animators who wish to create intentional effects or avoid unwanted distortions. Careful consideration and adjustment of camera lenses during filming can greatly impact the final product and contribute to a professional and polished aesthetic.

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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