← Animation Glossary

Motion path

A motion path in animation is a line that shows the movement of a character or object.

Please note that Motion path is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

In animation, motion paths play a crucial role in bringing characters and objects to life. Motion paths can be thought of as the backbone of any animated scene, providing a framework for the movement that takes place.

One of the primary uses of motion paths is to create complex and dynamic movements that would be difficult or impossible to achieve manually. For example, if an animator wanted to create a scene where a bird flies across the screen, they could use a motion path to define the bird’s flight path. The motion path would allow them to control the bird’s speed, direction, and altitude, creating a realistic flight pattern that would be difficult to achieve through manual animation.

In most animation software, motion paths can be adjusted and manipulated in a variety of ways. Animators can alter the shape and orientation of a path using curve handles or other tools, allowing them to fine-tune the movement of an object. They can also adjust the timing and speed of an object’s movement along the path, creating smooth and natural-looking animations.

One important consideration when working with motion paths is the concept of easing. Easing refers to the way an object accelerates and decelerates as it moves along a path. In real life, objects rarely move at a constant speed - they usually start out slow, accelerate as they gain momentum, then slow down again as they come to a stop. Animators can replicate this effect by adjusting the easing on their motion paths, creating more natural-looking movement.

Motion paths are a fundamental part of animation, providing a way to create complex movements and interesting visual effects. They allow animators to fine-tune the movement of objects and characters, creating immersive and engaging animated scenes. By understanding the principles of motion paths and how to manipulate them, animators can take their work to the next level and create animations that truly come 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

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