← Animation Glossary

Special Effects

Special effects in animation are things that make the cartoon look more interesting. They can include things like explosions, magical sparks, weather effects, or even creatures that don't exist in real life.

Please note that Special Effects is not directly applicable to Brush Ninja.

Animation has come a long way since its inception in the early 1900s. From traditional hand-drawn animation to computer-generated graphics, animators have been pushing the envelope to create visually stunning works of art. One of the ways they do this is through the use of special effects.

Particle effects are one of the most common types of special effects used in animation. This technique involves creating and animating small particles such as smoke, fire, water, or dust. By manipulating these particles, animators can create realistic-looking environments that would be impossible to achieve through traditional animation methods. For example, a scene depicting a wildfire could be made more realistic (and quicker) by using flames and smoke particles.

Lighting effects are another commonly used technique. This involves creating realistic lighting and shadows in a scene by manipulating the intensity, color, and direction of light sources. By adjusting these factors, animators can create the illusion of different times of day or add depth to a scene. For example, a scene set at sunset could be made more dramatic by adding warm colors and long shadows.

Motion graphics are also commonly used in animation. This involves creating animated graphics such as logos, typography, and other text-based elements that move and interact with the environment. This technique is often used in commercials or title sequences to add an extra layer of interest to the work.

Finally, 3D modeling is another popular technique used in animation. This involves creating three-dimensional objects and characters using specialized software and then animating them within a scene. This technique allows for greater detail and realism than traditional hand-drawn animation. Sometimes animators will combine 2d and 3d techniques to use the best parts of the different styles and make something unique.

Special effects in animation are an essential tool for creating visually stunning works of art. Whether it’s particle effects to create realistic environments or 3D modeling to create detailed characters, these techniques allow animators to push the boundaries of what is possible in animation. As technology continues to advance, it will be exciting to see how these techniques evolve and what new techniques will be developed in the future.

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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