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Weighting

Weighting in animation refers to the process of assigning a level of importance or influence to different parts of a character's body so that they move and behave realistically.

In animation, weighting is an essential step in bringing characters to life. The process of assigning values or strengths to the various joints or bones in a character’s skeletal structure allows animators to control how the character moves and deforms when animated.

Weighting is an integral part of rigging, which is the process of adding a digital skeleton to a character model. Rigging involves creating a hierarchical structure of bones that can be manipulated to pose the character in different positions. Each bone has a set of vertices assigned to it, which move along with the bone when it is manipulated.

When animating a character, an animator will typically start by posing the character in a neutral position, such as standing with arms at their sides. The animator will then create keyframes at different points in time, each representing a different pose or movement of the character. As the animator moves from one keyframe to another, the software interpolates between them, creating smooth motion.

Weighting plays an important role in this process because it determines how each joint or vertex contributes to the overall movement of the character. For example, if an animator wants to lift a character’s arm, they will need to ensure that the shoulder is properly weighted so that it moves realistically with the arm.

There are two main approaches to weighting: manual and automatic. Manual weighting involves selecting each joint or vertex and assigning weights manually using software tools. This method requires careful attention to detail and can be time-consuming but allows for greater control over the final result.

Automatic weighting involves using software algorithms to assign weights automatically based on factors such as proximity and connectivity between joints and vertices. This method is faster than manual weighting but may require additional tweaking to achieve a natural-looking result.

In addition to controlling movement, weighting also affects how a character deforms when animated. For example, if a character bends their arm, the skin around the elbow will need to stretch and compress realistically. Proper weighting is essential for achieving this effect and can make the difference between a stiff, robotic-looking character and a smooth, lifelike one.

Overall, weighting is an important animation process that requires careful attention to detail and an understanding of how different joints and vertices contribute to overall movement and deformation. Whether done manually or automatically, proper weighting is essential for creating convincing, realistic characters that audiences can connect with.

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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