The animation dictionary.

A classic set of guidelines for convincing movement and performance: squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, straight ahead and pose to pose, follow through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing and appeal.

A filmmaking convention that keeps the camera on one side of an imaginary line between subjects, helping screen direction remain consistent.

Twenty-four frames per second, a common cinema frame rate. A film at 24 FPS can hold the same drawing across several frames; it does not always need 24 different drawings each second.

Animation created in a two-dimensional visual space. It can use drawings, digital rigs, cut-out artwork or a mixture of techniques.

Video captured or rendered in every direction around a viewpoint, allowing viewers to choose where to look.

Animation using three-dimensional digital models, with movement, cameras, lighting and materials arranged in a virtual scene.

A context-dependent label, often used for 3D visuals shown with physical effects such as moving seats. It is not a single standard animation technique.

Automated dialogue replacement: recording dialogue after filming to replace or improve the original sound.

Image information that controls transparency, allowing a foreground element to be combined with a background.

A timed sequence of storyboard images, often with temporary dialogue, music and sound, used to test a film before full animation.

Creating the impression of movement by displaying a sequence of changing images or poses over time.

On ones, a new drawing or pose appears every frame; on twos, each is held for two frames. Animators can mix these timings for different effects.

A term commonly used outside Japan for Japanese animation, encompassing many genres and visual styles.

An action that prepares the audience for what follows, such as a character crouching before a jump.

The clarity and interest of a character or design. Appeal can apply to villains and unusual characters as well as likeable ones.

Curved paths of movement that can make an action feel natural and fluid.

The relationship between an image’s width and height, such as 16:9 or 1:1.

Digital content placed into a view of the real world, often through a phone camera.

Supporting footage used alongside the main action or interview to provide context and visual variety.

Lighting a subject from behind to separate its outline from the background or create a silhouette.

An image made from a grid of pixels. Enlarging it beyond its resolution can reveal softness or pixelation.

The amount of data used per second of encoded video or audio. It influences file size and can affect quality.

An alternative mesh shape blended with the original, often used for facial expressions and lip sync.

Planning the main poses, actions and timing of an animated scene before refining the movement.

A classic animation exercise for practising timing, spacing, weight and squash and stretch.

A pose between key poses that defines how the movement travels from one to the next.

A transparent sheet traditionally used to hold painted animation artwork over a background.

Traditional animation using drawings transferred onto transparent cels and photographed in sequence.

A rendering style that gives 3D objects flatter colours and defined shading, often resembling drawn animation.

Images created with computer graphics, including 2D and 3D imagery for animation, visual effects and still artwork.

Giving a character movement and performance that communicates personality, intention and emotion.

Developing a character’s appearance, proportions, expressions and visual identity.

Stop-motion animation made with clay or similar malleable materials.

Refining rough animation drawings into consistent finished lines ready for colour or further production.

A shot that frames a subject tightly, often a face or important detail.

A method or software system for encoding and decoding video or audio, such as H.264.

Adjusting footage to balance exposure and colour and make shots consistent.

Shaping the colour and contrast of a film to create a particular look or mood.

Combining separate visual elements into a finished image, such as rendered characters, backgrounds and effects.

Animation created using computer tools, including digital 2D and 3D techniques.

Exploratory artwork used to develop the look of characters, environments and other visual elements.

Consistency of action, appearance, positions and details between shots.

An immediate transition from one shot to another.

Animation made by moving separate flat pieces of artwork, physically or digitally.

Repeated sequences of movement, such as walking or running. Also called animation loops.

Footage or work in progress viewed by the production team for review and feedback.

Changing the shape of a model or drawing, for example when a rig bends an arm.

The range of distances that appear acceptably sharp in an image.

A transition where one image fades out while another fades in.

A camera-support platform used to move the camera smoothly; also a camera movement towards or away from a subject.

Moving the camera while adjusting lens zoom in the opposite direction, keeping a subject similarly sized while the background perspective changes.

A timing record used to organise animation drawings, actions, dialogue and exposure across frames.

Replacing or adding recorded dialogue, often in another language.

Gradually increasing or decreasing the speed of movement rather than starting or stopping abruptly.

Selecting and arranging shots and sound into a sequence. Digital non-linear editing allows material to be rearranged without altering the original files.

A shot that introduces the location or wider context of a scene.

Pushing a pose, expression or action beyond realism to communicate it more clearly.

In animation software, a formula or small piece of code that controls a property automatically.

An edit that connects a character looking off-screen with a shot of what they appear to see.

Light used to soften shadows created by the main light.

A historical name for animation made with Adobe Flash, whose animation authoring tools evolved into Adobe Animate.

Sound effects performed and recorded to match actions on screen, such as footsteps or clothing movement.

Movement that continues after the main action stops, such as hair settling after a turn.

Posing a joint chain by rotating its joints individually, working through the hierarchy.

One image in a film or animation sequence.

The number of frames displayed each second. It affects the timing and appearance of movement.

Animation created by setting or drawing successive frames individually.

Animation of effects such as fire, water, smoke, sparks or magic.

Simulating how hair moves in response to motion, forces and collisions.

A lighting style with a bright overall appearance and relatively low contrast.

A set whose arrangement must be preserved so filming can resume with continuity intact.

Creating intermediate drawings or poses between key poses. This may be done by an animator or calculated by software.

A system that calculates joint positions from a target, such as positioning a hand and letting the arm follow.

An edit where the sound of the next shot begins before its picture appears.

A cut between similar views that makes time or movement appear to jump.

The main light shaping a subject in a scene.

A frame where a particular pose or property value is set, helping define an animation over time.

An edit where a shot’s sound continues after the picture cuts to the next shot.

Organising artwork, sound or effects into separate layers for control and combination.

Planning the placement of characters, backgrounds and cameras within a shot.

Matching a character’s mouth movements to speech or singing.

Repeating a sequence, ideally with a smooth transition from its end back to its start.

A lighting style with strong shadows and contrast, often used for atmosphere or drama.

A transition that connects shots through a similar shape, movement, composition or idea.

Cutting between views of the same action so the movement continues smoothly across the edit.

Settings that describe how a surface interacts with light, including properties such as colour, roughness and transparency.

Artwork used to create or extend environments, combined with other elements in a shot.

A framing that shows a subject at a middle distance, often roughly from the waist up for a person.

A 3D surface built from connected vertices, edges and faces.

Reference drawings showing a character’s proportions and appearance from different angles.

A transformation that changes one image or shape into another.

The blurred appearance of a moving subject during an exposure, captured by a camera or added in rendering.

Recording movement from a performer or object and using that data to drive digital animation.

Graphic design animated over time, including moving typography, shapes and brand elements.

A procedural pattern of variation that can be used to create surface detail, colour variation or other effects.

A drawing or pose that departs from a character’s established design. This can be an inconsistency or a deliberate expressive choice.

Displaying nearby animation frames as translucent guides while working on the current frame.

Recording at a higher frame rate than playback to create slow motion.

A shot looking down on a scene from above.

Different parts of a character or object moving and settling at different times.

Rotating a camera horizontally from a fixed position.

The apparent difference in movement between nearer and more distant objects as the viewpoint changes.

Moving layers at different speeds during scrolling to create an impression of depth.

A historical explanation involving brief visual retention. Perceived motion in animation also depends on how the visual system interprets successive images.

Artwork made with deliberately visible pixels, often using a restricted resolution or colour palette.

Planning key poses first, then adding breakdowns and inbetweens.

Work after the main production stage, including editing, compositing, sound and finishing.

Planning before production, including scripts, design, storyboards, budgets and animatics.

A simplified visual version of a sequence used to explore cameras, action and timing before final production.

The main action or idea an animated performance needs to communicate.

Changing focus during a shot to shift attention between subjects at different distances.

Generating images quickly enough to respond interactively, as in games and some virtual production systems.

A separate output from a render, such as shadows or reflections, used for control in compositing.

Generating a finished image or sequence from scene data, lighting, materials and other settings.

The pixel dimensions of an image or video, such as 1920 × 1080.

Building controls and relationships that let animators pose and move a digital character or object.

Tracing or isolating elements from live-action footage. It can support animation or create masks for visual effects.

Changing an object’s size, uniformly or along selected axes.

A part of a story occurring within a particular setting or situation, often made from several shots.

The written plan for a film, including action, dialogue and other information needed to tell the story.

An additional action that supports the main performance without distracting from it.

A set of instructions that determines how a surface or other visual element is drawn or rendered.

A continuous view between edits, captured by a camera or created in animation.

The outline of a subject, used by animators to check whether a pose reads clearly.

Connecting a model’s surface to a rig so it deforms as the joints move.

Understanding form, weight, balance and volume so drawings feel convincing.

Creating and shaping the sonic world of a film through sound effects, ambience and other audio elements.

The distance a subject moves between successive frames. Together with timing, it determines the feel of movement.

Changing shape to express weight, flexibility or impact, often while maintaining an impression of consistent volume.

Presenting an action or idea clearly through composition, posing, lighting and timing.

Animation made by photographing physical objects, moving them slightly between frames.

A sequence of drawings that plans the shots and action of a film.

Animating in sequence from the first frame onwards rather than planning all the main poses first.

A finished-looking still that demonstrates the proposed visual style of a film.

Applying image or procedural detail to a 3D surface.

Rotating a camera vertically from a fixed position.

Recording images at intervals and playing them faster to show slow changes in a shorter time.

A software view that organises animation, clips or sound over time.

The duration of an action and when its key moments occur, shaping weight, rhythm and performance.

The arrangement of vertices, edges and faces in a mesh, affecting how it deforms and renders.

A shot in which the camera moves through space, often following a subject.

Animation based on successive drawings, historically on paper and cels and now also using digital drawing tools.

Laying out a 3D surface in two dimensions so textures can be placed on it.

Artwork described by mathematical paths and shapes, which can be scaled without the pixelation of a bitmap.

A point in a 3D mesh, connected to other points to form edges and faces.

Creating or modifying screen imagery beyond what was captured during filming, often combining live action and computer-generated elements.

Moving-image content stored or transmitted electronically. A video file commonly contains encoded picture and sound within a container format.

A gradual change, often darkening, towards the edges of an image.

An immersive digital environment viewed through a headset, usually responding to the viewer’s movement.

Recorded speech heard over images, often narration or a voice that is not coming from a visible speaker.

Light made visible as it travels through a medium such as fog, smoke or dust.

A repeating sequence of poses that creates a continuous walking action.

A shot showing a subject with a substantial amount of the surrounding environment.

A transition where one image replaces another across a moving boundary.

A display of a 3D model’s edges, used to inspect its structure.

The three coordinate axes used to describe positions and movement in 3D space. Which axis represents up depends on the software or convention.

Three rotations describing changes in orientation: turning left or right, tilting up or down, and banking.

Information describing distance from the camera, often used in compositing for depth-related effects.

Changing the camera lens’s focal length to alter framing without moving the camera’s position.

A lens with a variable focal length, allowing the framing to change from wider to tighter views.