← Animation Glossary

Occlusion culling

Occlusion culling is a technique that helps make video games and movies run smoother. It hides things that you can't see so the computer doesn't have to waste time drawing something that won't be seen.

Please note that Occlusion culling is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Occlusion culling is an important technique used in animation to optimize the rendering performance of a scene. The process involves identifying objects that are not visible to the camera and excluding them from the rendering process. This not only improves performance but also allows for more complex scenes to be rendered.

One of the main benefits of occlusion culling is that it reduces the number of objects that need to be rendered, thereby improving the overall performance of the animation. This is particularly important in complex scenes where there may be a large number of objects that need to be rendered. By excluding objects that are not visible, rendering time can be significantly reduced.

There are several different methods for implementing occlusion culling in animation. One common technique is to use geometry-based techniques such as portals or occlusion meshes. Portals are essentially invisible doors that allow the camera to see into another part of the scene. By using portals, it is possible to limit the amount of geometry that needs to be rendered by only rendering what is visible through the portal.

Another method for implementing occlusion culling is to use image-based techniques such as depth buffer testing or stencil buffer masking. Depth buffer testing involves comparing the depth of each pixel in a scene with a pre-determined threshold value. If a pixel falls below this threshold, it is considered occluded and excluded from the rendering process. Stencil buffer masking involves using a mask to exclude objects that are not visible from the camera.

While occlusion culling can significantly improve performance, it is important to note that it can also introduce some limitations on what can be rendered. Objects that are partially occluded may not be rendered correctly, which can lead to visual artifacts or glitches in the animation. Additionally, implementing occlusion culling can add additional complexity to the animation pipeline, which may require additional resources and expertise.

Despite these limitations, occlusion culling remains an important technique for optimizing rendering performance in animation. By reducing the number of objects that need to be rendered, it allows for more complex scenes to be created without sacrificing performance. As animation technology continues to advance, it is likely that occlusion culling will continue to play an important role in optimizing rendering performance and enabling more complex and realistic animations to be created.

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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