Animation Terms

Also called: Twelve principles

A set of guidelines for believable motion, set out by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life. They are squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose, follow-through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal.

See also: Squash and Stretch, Anticipation, Staging, Timing, Appeal

A guideline to keep the camera on one side of an imaginary line between two characters, so their screen positions stay consistent and viewers stay oriented.

See also: Staging, Continuity

Animation made in a flat, two-dimensional space using hand-drawn or digitally drawn images, vector shapes, or cutouts. It ranges from traditional cel animation to modern software.

See also: Traditional Animation, Vector Graphics, 3D Animation

Also called: Computer animation

Animation created with objects modeled and posed in a three-dimensional digital space, then rendered to images or video. A virtual camera can move anywhere in the scene.

See also: CGI, Rigging, Rendering

Also called: Dialogue replacement, Additional dialogue recording

Recording or re-recording dialogue in a studio to match finished picture. In Japanese anime, voices are often recorded after the animation is made.

See also: Seiyuu, Lip Sync

Using machine learning to draw the frames between key drawings in assistive tools for hand-drawn animation. Results usually need artist review and correction.

See also: Inbetween, Frame Interpolation

An extra image channel that stores transparency, letting a graphic or animation sit cleanly over other footage.

See also: Compositing, Masking

Also called: Story reel, Leica reel

A storyboard timed to sound and sometimes simple movement, used to test pacing before costly animation begins.

See also: Storyboard, Previs

Also called: On twos, Shooting on twos

A choice of how long each drawing or pose is held. On ones, every frame is a new image; on twos, each image lasts two frames (12 unique images per second at 24 fps); on threes, each lasts three.

See also: Frame Rate, Limited Animation, Timing

The craft of creating the illusion of movement by showing a sequence of still images, drawings, or poses in quick succession. It can be hand-drawn, computer-generated, or photographed one frame at a time.

See also: Frame, Frame Rate, Persistence of Vision

作画監督

Also called: Sakuga kantoku, Sakkan

The person who supervises drawing quality and keeps characters on model by correcting animators’ work. Large productions may also have a chief animation director.

See also: Chief Animation Director, Key Animator

A separate layer of keyframes added on top of existing animation so adjustments can be made without changing the original.

See also: Keyframe, Polish

Also called: Production pipeline

The sequence of stages and handoffs that takes a project from idea to final delivery, usually pre-production, production, and post-production.

See also: Pre-Production, Post-Production

A game-engine system that decides which animation plays and how it blends into the next, based on conditions such as speed or button input.

See also: Root Motion, Cycle

Animation produced in, or in the style of, Japan’s animation industry. In Japan the word covers all animation; elsewhere it usually means Japanese-style animated series and films.

See also: Sakuga, Cour, Limited Animation

A small preparatory movement before the main action, like a wind-up before a throw. It prepares the audience and makes the action easier to read.

See also: Timing, Staging

The quality that makes a character or pose engaging to watch. Appeal comes from clear design, personality, and readable acting, not just prettiness.

See also: Line of Action, Character Design

Most natural movements follow curved paths rather than straight lines. Animating along arcs makes motion look organic.

See also: Breakdown, Graph Editor

A posable internal skeleton, often wire or metal joints, inside a stop-motion puppet that lets it hold its pose between frames.

See also: Puppet Animation, Rigging

The ratio of an image’s width to its height, such as 16:9 or 4:3.

See also: Field of View

Also called: Bake animation

Converting procedural, constrained, or simulated motion into ordinary keyframes on every frame so it can be edited or exported.

See also: Dynamic Simulation, Constraint

Also called: Bank footage

Reusing previously animated sequences, such as a transformation or an attack, across episodes to save time and money.

See also: Limited Animation, Cut (Anime)

Also called: Morph targets, Shape keys

Stored alternative shapes of a mesh, such as a smile or a blink, that can be mixed with sliders. They are widely used for facial animation.

See also: Lip Sync, Viseme, Skinning

The first animation pass, in which key poses are set with stepped (non-smooth) timing to establish performance, staging, and timing before anything is smoothed.

See also: Splining, Polish, Pose-to-Pose

The slight wobble of outlines caused by redrawing each frame by hand, even when a character stays still. It can also be a deliberate stylistic choice.

See also: Frame-by-Frame Animation, Clean-Up

A pose between two keyframes that shows how the motion travels from one to the other, such as the arc of a limb. Breakdowns come after the key poses and before the inbetweens.

See also: Keyframe, Arcs, Inbetween

Also called: Celluloid

A transparent sheet, historically celluloid, on which a character or object was inked and painted. Layered over a painted background, cels let characters move without redrawing the whole scene.

See also: Traditional Animation, Multiplane Camera

Also called: Toon shading

A 3D rendering style that uses flat bands of color and outlines so models look hand-drawn or like 2D animation.

See also: Rendering, 2D Animation

Also called: Computer-generated imagery, CG

Computer-generated imagery: visuals made with computers, from fully animated films to effects added to live-action footage.

See also: 3D Animation, VFX

Creating a character’s appearance, proportions, costume, and personality cues so it can be animated consistently.

See also: Model Sheet, Turnaround

総作画監督

Also called: Sou sakkan

A senior role that oversees character consistency across an episode or film, often held by the character designer.

See also: Animation Director, Model Sheet

Also called: Green screen, Blue screen

Removing a solid background color, usually green or blue, so another background can be placed behind the subject.

See also: Compositing, VFX

Also called: Clay animation

Stop motion using clay or plasticine figures. The word was popularized in the 1970s and is now often used for any clay animation.

See also: Stop Motion, Armature

Also called: Cleanup, Tie-down

The step where rough animation drawings are redrawn with clean, consistent final lines that stay on model.

See also: Model Sheet, Douga, Rough Animation

Also called: CU

A tightly framed shot of a face or object, used to highlight emotion or detail.

See also: Establishing Shot, Depth of Field

Combining multiple image layers or elements, such as live action, CG, and backgrounds, into one final image.

See also: Alpha Channel, Chroma Key, VFX

Illustrations that explore the look and mood of characters, environments, and props before final designs are chosen.

See also: Character Design, Pre-Production

A rule that links one object’s position, rotation, or scale to another, such as making a hand follow a prop. Constraints make complex interactions easier to animate.

See also: Control Rig, Inverse Kinematics (IK)

Also called: Hook-up

Keeping details such as positions, props, lighting, and costumes consistent from shot to shot.

See also: Layout, Dailies

Also called: Animation controls

The set of handles and controls animators actually grab to pose a character, sitting on top of the underlying skeleton.

See also: Rigging, Constraint

A broadcast block of about three months, typically 12 to 13 episodes. A series may run for one cour, two, or more.

See also: Anime, Simulcast

Also called: Cut

In anime production, a single continuous shot and the basic unit of work handed out to animators. A TV episode is made of many cuts.

See also: Storyboard, Genga

Also called: Cut

An instant transition from one shot to the next.

See also: Dissolve, Match Cut

Animation using flat shapes or puppet pieces that are moved or rigged instead of redrawn. It can be done with physical paper under a camera or digitally in software.

See also: Stop Motion, Rigging

Also called: Loop, Looping animation, Seamless loop

An animation built so its last frame connects smoothly to its first, letting it repeat without a visible jump. Walk cycles, run cycles, idles, and looping GIFs are typical examples.

See also: Walk Cycle, Sprite Sheet, GIF

Also called: Rushes

Review sessions, or clips, of the latest work shown to directors and supervisors for feedback.

See also: Retake, Polish

Also called: Showreel

A short video of an animator’s best work, used as a portfolio when applying for jobs.

See also: Animation Pipeline

Also called: DOF

The range of distance in a shot that appears in sharp focus. Shallow depth of field blurs foreground and background to isolate a subject.

See also: Focal Length, Staging

A type of generative model that creates images or video by gradually removing noise from a random starting point, guided by a prompt.

See also: Generative AI, Text-to-Video

Also called: Cross-dissolve

A transition in which one shot gradually fades into the next, often to suggest the passing of time.

See also: Cut (Editing), Match Cut

Also called: Dolly shot, Tracking shot

Moving the camera toward, away from, or alongside the subject. Unlike a zoom, perspective changes during a dolly.

See also: Pan, Focal Length

動画

Also called: In-between animation

In-between animation: the drawings that fill the gaps between key drawings, plus the cleaned-up lines that appear in the finished film. The same characters are also the everyday Japanese word for “video”.

See also: Genga, Inbetween, Clean-Up

Also called: Dutch tilt

A camera tilted off the horizontal so the horizon is slanted, used to suggest tension or disorientation.

See also: Tilt, Staging

Also called: Simulation, Sim

Using physics calculations to animate cloth, hair, fluids, smoke, or debris instead of keyframing them by hand.

See also: Particle System, Baking

Also called: Ease in, Ease out, Ease in-out

Gradual acceleration or deceleration of a movement instead of constant speed. Ease-in starts slowly, ease-out ends slowly. It is the digital counterpart of slow in and slow out.

See also: Slow In and Slow Out, Interpolation, Graph Editor

A wide shot, usually at the start of a scene, that shows where the action takes place.

See also: Close-Up, Staging

Pushing poses, expressions, or motion beyond realism to make the action clearer or more entertaining, while staying believable within the style.

See also: Squash and Stretch, Appeal

Also called: X-sheet, Dope sheet

A chart that lists what happens on each frame, including dialogue, action, and camera moves, so animators and camera operators can plan timing.

See also: Timing, Frame

Also called: FOV

How much of the scene the camera can see, usually measured in degrees. A wide field of view shows more; a narrow one compresses the view.

See also: Focal Length, Aspect Ratio

Episodes or arcs not based on the source manga or light novel, often made when an adaptation catches up to its source material.

See also: Anime, Cour

The lens property, measured in millimeters, that sets how wide or tight the view is. Short focal lengths give wide views; long ones appear zoomed in.

See also: Field of View, Depth of Field

Custom sound effects such as footsteps and cloth movement, performed and recorded in sync with the picture.

See also: Post-Production, ADR

Parts of a body or object keep moving after the main body stops (follow-through) and move at different rates from one another (overlapping action), like hair, tails, or clothing.

See also: Overshoot, Moving Hold

Also called: FK

Posing a chain of joints from the top down: rotate the shoulder, then the elbow, then the wrist. FK gives smooth arcs and suits swinging, flowing motion.

See also: Inverse Kinematics (IK), Arcs

A single still image in an animation. Motion appears when frames are played back in order at a steady speed.

See also: Frame Rate, Keyframe

Also called: AI slow motion

Generating new in-between frames, often with AI that estimates motion, to raise the frame rate or create slow motion.

See also: Inbetween, Frame Rate

Also called: FPS, Frames per second

The number of frames shown each second, measured in frames per second (fps). Cinema has long used 24 fps, while video and games commonly use 25, 30, 50, or 60 fps.

See also: Frame, Animating on Ones, Twos, and Threes

Creating every frame as an individual drawing or pose rather than relying on tweening. It gives full control over each image.

See also: Onion Skinning, Inbetween

Also called: GenAI

AI systems that create new content, such as images, video, audio, or text, from patterns learned in training data.

See also: Diffusion Model, Text-to-Video

原画

Also called: Key animation, Key drawings

Key animation: the drawings that define the main poses and timing of a cut. Genga are drawn by key animators and later cleaned up and filled in as douga.

See also: Douga, Key Animator, Sakuga

Also called: Graphics Interchange Format

A bitmap image format that supports short looping animations with limited color. Widely used for memes and web graphics, though video formats are often more efficient.

See also: Cycle, Sprite Sheet

A problem in rotation systems where two rotation axes line up and one degree of freedom is lost, causing unexpected flips or stuck rotations.

See also: Graph Editor, Control Rig

A stop-motion technique that moves the model during each exposure to create natural motion blur. It was developed at Industrial Light & Magic in the early 1980s.

See also: Stop Motion, Motion Blur

Also called: Curve editor, F-curves

A tool that shows animation values as curves over time so the animator can adjust timing, easing, and arcs precisely.

See also: Interpolation, Easing

A stretch of frames in which a pose stays still. Holds give the audience time to read a pose, an emotion, or a line of dialogue.

See also: Moving Hold, Timing

Also called: I2V

Generating a video clip that animates a still image, often guided by a motion prompt.

See also: Text-to-Video, Video-to-Video

Also called: Tweening, In-betweening, Tween

A frame that fills the gap between two keyframes to complete the movement. In traditional animation an assistant draws them; in software, tweening generates them automatically.

See also: Keyframe, Interpolation, Douga

The calculation software uses to generate values between keyframes. Common types are linear (constant speed), Bezier or spline (smooth curves), and stepped (no blending, used for blocking).

See also: Easing, Graph Editor, Blocking

Also called: IK

Placing the end of a joint chain, such as a foot or hand, and letting software calculate the rest of the limb. IK keeps feet planted and hands on objects.

See also: Forward Kinematics (FK), Rigging

Also called: Genga-man

An artist who draws the genga, setting the key poses, timing, and acting for a cut.

See also: Genga, Animation Director

The main promotional illustration for an anime, used on posters and announcements and often revealed before the series airs.

See also: Anime, Character Design

Also called: Key pose, Key

A frame that marks an important moment in a motion, such as the start, an extreme, or the end of an action. The animator sets keyframes first, then fills the gaps with inbetweens.

See also: Inbetween, Breakdown, Pose-to-Pose, Genga

Animating text so its movement, timing, and style express meaning or emotion, often synced to audio.

See also: Motion Graphics, Easing

Also called: LO

Drawings or scenes that set up each shot, including staging, camera, composition, and character placement, before animation begins.

See also: Storyboard, Staging

A cost-saving style that reuses drawings, holds poses, and animates on threes or fours instead of full motion. It shaped the look of TV anime and much of television animation.

See also: Animating on Ones, Twos, and Threes, Bank System

An imaginary line through a pose that shows its main direction and energy. A clear, curved line of action makes a pose feel dynamic.

See also: Silhouette, Appeal

Also called: Lip-sync, Lip syncing

Matching a character’s mouth shapes to recorded dialogue so speech looks believable. Animators use a set of mouth shapes, called visemes, timed to the sounds in the audio.

See also: Viseme, Blend Shapes

Low-rank adaptation: a lightweight add-on that fine-tunes a generative model toward a specific style or character without retraining the whole model.

See also: Style Transfer, Diffusion Model

A lightweight JSON-based format for vector animations that play on web and mobile apps, often exported from After Effects.

See also: Vector Graphics, Motion Graphics

Also called: Matte, Mask

Hiding or revealing part of a layer with a shape or matte. It is used for reveals, cutouts, and isolating elements.

See also: Alpha Channel, Rotoscoping

A cut between two shots linked by a similar shape, movement, or composition.

See also: Cut (Editing), Dissolve

A painted or digital environment used to extend or replace a set or location. Once painted on glass, it is now usually made digitally.

See also: Compositing, VFX

Also called: Character sheet

A reference page showing a character from several angles, with expressions and proportions, so every artist draws it consistently.

See also: Turnaround, Character Design

Building the 3D shape of a character, prop, or environment, usually as a mesh of polygons.

See also: Rigging, Texturing and Shading

Smoothly transforming one image or shape into another by blending the two.

See also: Blend Shapes, VFX

Streaking of fast-moving objects that imitates how a camera captures motion during exposure. It makes movement look smoother and more natural.

See also: Smear Frame, Frame Rate

Also called: Mocap

Recording the movement of real performers with sensors, markers, or cameras and applying it to a digital character. The data usually needs cleanup and artistic adjustment.

See also: Rotoscoping, Retargeting

Also called: Moco

A camera or rig movement programmed to repeat the exact same path every time, so several passes can be combined or the camera can move precisely between frames.

See also: Stop Motion, Compositing

Also called: Motion design

Animated graphic design: text, shapes, logos, and illustrations in motion, typically for titles, explainers, ads, and interfaces rather than character storytelling.

See also: Kinetic Typography, Compositing

Also called: Camera tracking, Match moving

Following a point or object across the frames of footage so graphics, effects, or 3D elements can be attached to it.

See also: Compositing, VFX

A hold with small continued movements so the pose stays alive instead of looking frozen. It is common in acting and dialogue shots, especially in 3D.

See also: Hold, Follow-Through and Overlapping Action

A camera setup that shoots several layers of artwork placed at different distances, moving them at different speeds to create depth and parallax.

See also: Parallax, Cel

Text describing what a generative model should avoid, supported by some tools.

See also: Prompt, Seed

Also called: Original net animation

Original net animation: anime made for online release, often on streaming platforms, rather than for TV.

See also: OVA, Simulcast

Also called: Ghosting

A drawing aid that shows faint copies of the previous and next frames so the animator can judge spacing and arcs. The name comes from thin, translucent onionskin paper.

See also: Frame-by-Frame Animation, Arcs

Also called: OAV, Original video animation

Original video animation: anime released directly to home video rather than to TV or cinemas. The term is less common now that streaming has replaced much of the format.

See also: ONA, Anime

Also called: Settle

When a movement goes slightly past its final position and then settles back, adding life and a sense of momentum.

See also: Follow-Through and Overlapping Action, Easing

Also called: Panning

Rotating the camera horizontally from a fixed position to follow action or reveal a space.

See also: Tilt, Whip Pan

The effect where objects at different distances appear to move at different speeds as the viewpoint moves, creating a sense of depth, especially in 2D scenes.

See also: Multiplane Camera, Motion Graphics

A tool that animates many small elements, such as sparks, rain, smoke, or dust, using rules for emission, movement, and lifespan.

See also: Dynamic Simulation, VFX

A popular explanation for why a quick series of still images looks like continuous motion: the eye and brain hold each image for a moment after it disappears. Modern vision science also credits related effects such as the phi phenomenon.

See also: Animation, Frame Rate

The point at which the edit is final and the timing of picture will not change, so sound and effects work can be completed.

See also: Post-Production, Foley

Stop motion that uses live people or animals as the animated subject, moved in small steps between photographs.

See also: Stop Motion

Also called: Refine

The final animation pass, where small timing issues, overlaps, and details are cleaned up before a shot is approved.

See also: Splining, Retake

Planning the main poses first, then adding breakdowns and inbetweens. It gives control over timing and structure and is the usual approach for character acting.

See also: Straight-Ahead Action, Keyframe, Blocking

Everything after animation or rendering is complete: editing, compositing, color work, sound design, music, mixing, and final delivery.

See also: Picture Lock, Compositing

The planning stage before animating: story, script, character design, storyboards, and schedules.

See also: Storyboard, Concept Art, Animation Pipeline

Also called: Previsualization

Rough, low-detail animation of scenes made before final production to plan camera, staging, and effects.

See also: Animatic, Layout

The text, and sometimes images, given to a generative model to describe the result you want.

See also: Negative Prompt, Reference Image

Animation of articulated puppets, usually filmed frame by frame in stop motion.

See also: Armature, Stop Motion

Also called: Character consistency

An image supplied to guide a generator’s look for a character, style, or scene, helping keep it consistent across shots.

See also: Prompt, Temporal Consistency

A network of computers that share the work of rendering frames so large projects finish faster.

See also: Rendering

Also called: Render

Calculating the final image or video from a 3D scene, including its lighting, materials, and camera. It can take seconds or many hours per frame.

See also: Render Farm, 3D Animation

Stop motion in which parts of a puppet, such as faces or mouths, are swapped for pre-made versions between frames. It is common for lip sync and expressions.

See also: Stop Motion, Lip Sync

A request to fix or redo a shot after review, or the revised shot itself.

See also: Dailies, Polish

Transferring animation from one skeleton or character to another, for example applying captured motion to a character with different proportions.

See also: Motion Capture, Rigging

Also called: Character rigging

Building a digital skeleton and control system inside a 3D model so animators can pose it. A good rig makes complex movement simple and predictable.

See also: Skinning, Control Rig, Inverse Kinematics (IK)

Movement of a character’s whole body through the world that is driven by the animation itself rather than by code, so footsteps match the distance traveled.

See also: Animation State Machine, Walk Cycle

Also called: Rotoscope, Roto

Tracing over live-action footage frame by frame to create realistic animation, or to cut out a subject for visual effects.

See also: Motion Capture, Compositing

Loose early drawings of animation that focus on movement and acting rather than clean lines.

See also: Clean-Up, Keyframe

A composition guideline that divides the frame into a 3×3 grid and places key elements along the lines or at the intersections.

See also: Staging, Aspect Ratio

作画

A Japanese production term for animation drawing. Among international fans it usually means a standout sequence of especially expressive or technically impressive animation.

See also: Genga, Douga, Animation Director

A smaller action that supports the main one and adds personality, such as a facial expression changing during a walk. It should add to the scene without stealing focus.

See also: Staging, Appeal

A number that sets a generator’s starting randomness. Using the same seed and settings with the same model can reproduce a similar result.

See also: Prompt, Temporal Consistency

声優

Also called: Voice actor

A Japanese voice actor, especially one working in anime, games, and dubbing.

See also: Sub vs Dub, ADR

The outline of a pose when filled in solid. If an action reads clearly as a silhouette, the pose is likely to be clear and appealing on screen.

See also: Staging, Line of Action

Releasing a show with subtitles on streaming platforms at the same time as, or shortly after, its Japanese broadcast.

See also: Sub vs Dub, Cour

Also called: Weight painting, Weighting

Binding a model’s surface to its skeleton and setting how strongly each joint influences each part of the mesh, so bending a joint deforms the skin naturally.

See also: Rigging, Blend Shapes

Placing more frames near the start and end of a movement and fewer in the middle, so motion eases in and out the way real movement accelerates and decelerates.

See also: Easing, Spacing

Also called: Smear

A stretched or blurred drawing used for a frame or two of fast motion so the movement reads smoothly instead of strobing.

See also: Motion Blur, Squash and Stretch

Giving forms volume, weight, and balance in three-dimensional space, even in 2D. In 3D animation it translates to strong posing and good form.

See also: Silhouette, Model Sheet

The distance between an object’s positions from one frame to the next. Tight spacing reads as slow and wide spacing as fast; together with timing, it shapes speed and weight.

See also: Timing, Easing

The pass after blocking in which stepped keys are converted to smooth curves and refined so movement flows between poses.

See also: Blocking, Polish

Also called: Sprite atlas

A single image containing many animation frames in a grid, used in games to play animation efficiently.

See also: Cycle, Frame-by-Frame Animation

Deforming an object as it moves to show flexibility and weight while keeping its volume consistent. A bouncing ball flattens on impact and elongates in flight.

See also: Weight, Smear Frame

Presenting an idea so it is unmistakably clear, using pose, camera, composition, and lighting to direct attention to what matters in the shot.

See also: Silhouette, Establishing Shot

Also called: Stop-motion, Stop-frame animation

Animation made by physically moving an object a tiny amount, photographing it, and repeating, so that playback makes the object appear to move on its own.

See also: Claymation, Armature, Puppet Animation

絵コンテ

Also called: E-konte

A sequence of drawings that plans a story shot by shot, showing composition, action, and camera moves. In anime it is called e-konte.

See also: Animatic, Layout, Cut (Anime)

Animating a movement in order from the first drawing to the last without planning key poses. It gives spontaneous, fluid results and suits effects like fire and smoke.

See also: Pose-to-Pose

Applying the visual look of one image or style to another image or video.

See also: Video-to-Video, LoRA

Also called: Subbed, Dubbed, Dubbing

A sub keeps the original audio and adds subtitles; a dub replaces the voices with a new-language recording.

See also: Simulcast, Seiyuu

Also called: Deepfake

Media created or altered by AI. It includes deepfakes: realistic fake depictions of real people, which raise consent and disclosure concerns.

See also: Generative AI, Video-to-Video

Also called: Temporal coherence

How stable subjects, colors, and details stay from frame to frame. Poor consistency shows up as flicker, shifting faces, or changing backgrounds.

See also: Reference Image, Frame Interpolation

Also called: T2V

Generating a video clip from a written prompt.

See also: Image-to-Video, Prompt

Also called: Texturing, Shaders

Applying images and material properties to a 3D model’s surface to give it color, detail, and physical qualities such as roughness or shine.

See also: Modeling, Rendering

Rotating the camera vertically, up or down, from a fixed position.

See also: Pan, Dolly

The number of frames an action takes. Timing controls speed, mood, and weight: fewer frames feel fast and light, more frames feel slow and heavy.

See also: Spacing, Frame Rate, Weight

Also called: Cel animation, Hand-drawn animation

Hand-drawn animation in which each frame is drawn on paper, traced onto transparent cels, painted, and photographed over a background.

See also: Cel, Clean-Up, 2D Animation

Also called: Character turnaround

A set of drawings or renders of a character from the front, side, back, and three-quarter views so everyone draws or models it the same way.

See also: Model Sheet, Character Design

Also called: Super-resolution

Increasing the resolution of an image or video; AI methods often add plausible detail.

See also: Frame Interpolation

Images built from mathematical shapes and curves instead of pixels, so they scale without losing sharpness. Common in 2D and web animation.

See also: 2D Animation, Lottie

Also called: Visual effects

Visual effects: imagery created or altered digitally and combined with filmed or animated material, as opposed to special effects done physically on set.

See also: Compositing, CGI

Also called: V2V

Using AI to transform existing footage, for example by changing its visual style.

See also: Image-to-Video, Style Transfer

A visible mouth shape that stands for one or more speech sounds. Lip-sync artists build a small library of visemes and key them to the audio.

See also: Lip Sync, Blend Shapes

A looping animation of a character walking in place, usually built from four main poses: contact, down, passing, and up. It is one of the first exercises most animators learn.

See also: Cycle, Keyframe, Weight

The sense that a character or object has mass. Animators show weight through timing, spacing, anticipation, and how a body settles after moving.

See also: Squash and Stretch, Timing

Also called: Zip pan, Swish pan

A very fast pan that blurs the image, often used as a transition or to add energy.

See also: Pan, Motion Blur