← Animation Glossary

Animation

Animation is a way of making pictures move and come to life. It's like creating a flip book with lots of pages, where each page has a slightly different drawing. When you flip through the pages quickly, the images blend together and create the illusion of movement. In animation, this is done with computers or by drawing on paper and then filming it. You've probably seen lots of animated movies and TV shows, like Toy Story or Spongebob Squarepants!

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Animation is a unique art form that has come a long way since its inception in the early 1900s. It has evolved from traditional hand-drawn animation to computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other advanced techniques. The process of creating animated content has become more sophisticated and diverse, giving animators endless possibilities to showcase their creativity.

Types of Animation

One of the earliest forms of animation is hand-drawn animation. This technique involves drawing each frame by hand on paper or using a digital drawing tablet. The frames are then printed onto film or digitized to create the final product. Hand-drawn animation has been used in classic Disney films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Lion King.

However, with the advent of computer technology, computer-generated imagery (CGI) has become increasingly popular. This process involves using computer software to create two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects and environments. The objects are then animated and rendered to create the final product. CGI has been used in films such as Toy Story, and Moana.

Stop-motion animation is another technique used to create animated content. This process involves taking photographs of real-life objects, or puppets, that are moved slightly between each photograph. When the frames are played back at a fast enough rate, it creates the illusion of movement. Stop-motion animation has been used in films such as Wallace and Gromit and Coraline.

How Animation is Used

Animation can be a powerful tool for storytelling, entertainment, education, and marketing purposes. Animated films such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo have captured the hearts of audiences worldwide with their engaging characters and compelling stories. Animated television shows like The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants have entertained audiences for decades with their humor and wit.

Animated content can also be used for educational purposes, as seen in shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and Dora the Explorer. These shows use animation to teach children about science, math, and other subjects in a fun and engaging way.

In addition, animation is often used in advertising to sell products. Animated commercials such as the Geico Gecko and the Coca-Cola polar bears have become iconic.

The possibilities for animation are endless, and with the use of new technologies and techniques, animation continues to evolve. With the rise of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), there is potential for even more immersive animated experiences in the future.

The animation industry is growing rapidly, with more job opportunities than ever before. Animators can work on feature films, television shows, video games, advertisements, and many other forms of media.

Animation is an art form that has come a long way since its inception. It has evolved from traditional hand-drawn animation to computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other advanced techniques. Animation has the power to entertain, educate, inspire, and sell products. With new technologies and techniques emerging all the time, the future of animation looks bright.

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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