← Animation Glossary

Run cycle

A run cycle is a sequence of drawings or frames in an animation that show a character running or jogging. Animators use run cycles to save time and effort, while still creating smooth and realistic movements for their characters.

A run cycle is a sequence of frames or drawings that depict a character running. This sequence is used repeatedly in an animation to create the illusion of continuous motion. Animators use several key frames to create a run cycle, including the starting pose, the midpoint pose, and the ending pose. These keyframes are repeated over and over, with transitional poses added in between, to create smooth and convincing movement.

Creating a realistic run cycle requires careful observation of real-life movement. Animators often use reference footage of real people or animals running in order to accurately capture the nuances of movement. They study how weight shifts, how limbs move, and how bodies react to different surfaces and terrains.

Another important aspect of creating a convincing run cycle is paying attention to the character’s anatomy. Different characters have different body types, which can affect how they move when running. For example, a character with long legs may take bigger strides than one with shorter legs.

Finally, animators must also consider the character’s personality and emotions when creating a run cycle. A confident character may hold their head high and pump their arms aggressively when running, while a nervous character may hunch over and look around anxiously.

Overall, creating a convincing run cycle requires a lot of skill and attention to detail. Animators must carefully observe real-life movement, understand the principles of physics, consider the character’s anatomy and personality, and use their artistic skills to bring everything together into a seamless animation. With practice and dedication, animators can create run cycles that truly bring their characters to life.

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

Icon for Brush Ninja: Online Animation Maker Brush Ninja Online Animation Maker
Icon for Paint Ninja: Draw and Paint Online Paint Ninja Draw and Paint Online
Icon for Code Ninja: Make Art with Code Code Ninja Make Art with Code
Icon for Emoji Art: Make Emoji Art Emoji Art Make Emoji Art
Icon for Photo Collage: Make Photo Collages Photo Collage Make Photo Collages
Icon for Comic Maker: Make Comics Comic Maker Make Comics