← Animation Glossary

Low key lighting

Low key lighting in animation is a technique where the scene is mostly dark with shadows, creating a mysterious or dramatic atmosphere. It helps to emphasize certain elements and add depth to the story.

Please note that Low key lighting is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Low key lighting is an important technique in animation that helps create intense and dramatic scenes. By carefully using light and shadow, animators make certain parts stand out while keeping others mysterious. This adds depth and emotion to the animation, drawing viewers in.

Low key lighting is great for scenes that need to feel suspenseful or tense. By lighting up specific areas, animators make viewers feel curious and engaged. They can also play with shadows to add layers to the visuals and make the story more interesting.

Using low key lighting isn’t just about setting the mood; it also helps tell the story visually. Animators can use light and shadow to show characters’ emotions, highlight important moments, or make scenes feel dramatic. By controlling the lighting, they guide viewers’ attention and create captivating scenes.

In contrast to low key lighting, high key lighting floods scenes with bright, even light to create cheerful and optimistic atmospheres. It’s great for making animations feel vibrant and lively, with clear details and a positive vibe.

In the end, low key lighting is a valuable tool for animators to make their animations more exciting and expressive. It adds emotion, depth, and intensity to scenes, making them unforgettable for viewers.

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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