Glossary of 

Animation Terms
2D Animation:
 The rapid display of a series of drawings in a two-dimensionalenvironment,
such as through traditional cel animation or via animation software.The illusion of
motion is achieved by slight progressive changes in each drawingor "frame."
3D Animation:
The animation of objects in a three-dimensional, digitalenvironment.
ActionScript:
The object-oriented programming language used in Flashsoftware to create
interactive animation and develop applications.
Animatic:
 An animatic is used to set the rhythm and timing of a project andprovide a
preview of action before production begins. It generally consists ofshots of the
storyboard synchronied with the soundtrac!.
Anticipation:
 Anything a character does to prepare for an action a device toprepare the
viewer for the action. For e#ample$ pulling your character%s arm bac!before he
punches someone in the face.
Aspect Ratio:
 The ratio of the width to height for any frame or film format, usedwhen
discussing screen sie standards such as a &$' aspect ratio for web
ortelevision, or ()$* for widescreen. +A &$' ratio would be a )& # & pi#el-
siedFlash document.
Breakdown:
 A chart indicating where in-between frames should be drawn.
Cel ("Cellloid"!:
 A cel is a transparent sheet of plastic upon which traditionalanimation artwor!
was transferred, laid over a bac!ground and filmed. /arly celanimation was done
on nitrate cels, which were highly flammable. 0afer andmore durable acetate
cels became the industry standard.
CG ("Compter#Generated ma$ery"!:
 Artwor! or animation created withcomputers. The term "12I" is most often used
in reference to '3 animation.
Clean#%p:
 In 43 animation, "clean-up" refers to the process of finessing therough artwor!
using consistent line art and line weights before moving on to thene#t stage of
production.
&'tremes:
 5oses at the e#treme end of any motion.
rame Rate:
The measurement of the number of consecutive images +frames inan
animated movie. Frame rate is most commonly e#pressed in frames persecond
+F50.

 
rame:
 A single image out of the se6uence comprising an animation.
Grap)ics Ta*let:
 A computer peripheral device that enables direct-to-computer-screen input and
facilitates "drawing" on the screen using a pen7stylus or amouse.
n#Between (or "Tween"!:
 0uccessive frames of animation added between !eyposes to create fluid
transitions. Flash software features "shape tweening" and"motion tweening"
processes, whereby the user defines two !ey frames, and in-between frames are
automatically generated.
+ey rame:
 A single still image representing a !ey pose in an animatedse6uence.
,ayot:
 A process similar to a cinematographer bloc!ing out shots on a live-action
film. 8ac!ground layout artists figure out camera angles and paths as wellas how
a scene is lit. 1haracter layout artists design the main poses forcharacters in the
scene.
,ip Sync:
 The process of synchroniing a character9s mouth to sounds in thedialogue
soundtrac! to give the illusion that the character is spea!ing orgenerating sounds.
-nes. Twos and T)rees:
 Techni6ues for drawing fewer frames$ drawing a newpicture for every frame
+"animating on the ones" is much more time-consumingthan animating on the
twos or threes. :ost 43 cartoons are successfullyanimated on the twos, with only
occasional ones.
-nion#Skinnin$:
 ;iewing partially translucent frames before or after the currentframe to aide in
drawing
/ersistence of 0ision:
 5henomenon where the eye%s retina retains an image for a split-second after
the image was actually seen, creating the illusion of motionwhen viewing images
in closely-timed se6uence to one another.
/i'el:
0hort for 5icture /lement, a pi#el is the smallest element of an imagedisplayed on
a monitor or T; screen. It is a single point in a raster image.
Raster:
 An image +also called "bitmap image" in which each pi#el%s color valueis
resolution dependent and thus cannot scale up without loss of 6uality.
<astergraphics are better suited for photographs and photo-realistic images.
1ommonraster image formats are =52, 2IF and 8:5.
Renderin$:
 The last step when animating by computer, rendering createscomputer-
generated images from a series of mathematical calculations defined
 
by a user%s specifications. To "render" a digital scene, the software
programwould composit the various settings as viewed by virtual "cameras" into
a finalimage or video.
Rotoscopin$:
Techni6ue in which live action video is traced frame by frame tocreate animation
that loo!s li!e the video. 5rojection e6uipment +a rotoscopewas used in this
process before the advent of computers.
S1as) and Stretc):
 An animation techni6ue used on characters or objects todepict e#aggeration
and fluidity in motion as well as add humor and create theillusion that drawings
have dimension and volume.
Stop#otion Animation:
 Animation produced by arranging real objects, ta!ing apicture of them,
repositioning the objects minutely, then ta!ing another picture ofthem to create a
se6uence of consecutive images that create the illusion ofmotion. >ne of the
most common forms of stop-motion animation is 1laymation."2o-:otion" is stop-
motion animation in which motion blur is added to eachframe to reduce the
staccato effect of traditional stop-motion animation.
Takes and do*le#takes:
?ow a character reacts to seeing something unusual.
Timeline:
 The frame-by-frame layout of all animation occurring in linear orderfrom
beginning to end. Timelines may be numbered by frame, by second +orother
interval of time, or both.
0ector Animation:
 Animation whose art or motion is controlled by vectors ratherthan
pi#els. ;ector animation is often cleaner and smoother because images
aredisplayed and7or resied using mathematical values instead of stored
pi#elvalues. >ne of the most commonly used vector animation programs is
Flash.
0ector ma$e:
  A vector-based image is made up of points and beier curves.;ector
images have no fi#ed sie or resolution and thus scale easily.
alk Cycle:
The animation of a character%s side-angle wal!, which can belooped for longer
wal!ing scenes.