Common Terminology for 3D Animation

Jumping into animation presents its own language that can leave you scratching your head at
times if youre not quite sure what the terms mean. Use this list of the most used animation
terminology to help you while learning and to start creating your own animations.

Keyframe Keyframe
Timeline

Timeline Keyframe
The timeline shows the frame numbers A keyframe is basically the building block for
within your scene and can be adjusted to all animations. In 3D animation you must
any frame length desired. This is where create a keyframe to lock down a movement
the frames can be seen and adjusted. in time. When a keyframe is created it tells
You will also have the ability to play your the computer where you want to have a
animation directly in the 3D application change in movement. You need at least two
with the timeline. keyframes for the computer to know the
change that you want to make.

24 FPS
12 F = .5 S
ANIMATION TERMS

Frame rate
The frame rate is the amount of frames per second. Its important to find out what frame
rate your animation needs to be on before starting any animation, so you can be sure your
animation will be timed right. For example, in film the frame rate is 24 frames per second,
meaning 24 different images are displayed over the course of 1 second. As one of the more
common frame rates, 24 frames per second is a great frame rate to default to if youre not
sure what frame rate your project needs.

1
www.digitaltutors.com Copyright 2002-2014 Digital-Tutors, a Pluralsight company.
 Poses
A pose in animation
represents how the
character is positioned. You
can think of a pose the same
way a statue is posed. Except
in animation there are
many poses that make up
the animation. If you were
to freeze an animation at
any point in time, whatever
position that character is in
could be considered a pose.

C Shape S Shape Backwards C Shape

Line of Action
ANIMATION TERMS

The line of action is an invisible line that can be drawn along a characters pose. Typically
there will be a few main lines for a pose, a C shape, a backwards C shape, and an
S shape. When posing out your character youll want to ensure you have a strong line
of action that typically resembles one of these shapes to help you establish a dynamic
pose. An unappealing line of action would be a simple straight line that flows from your
characters head to their feet.

2
www.digitaltutors.com Copyright 2002-2014 Digital-Tutors, a Pluralsight company.
 Blocking Breakdown Inbetweens
Blocking is an animation A breakdown describes how Not to be confused with a
technique where the most the character or object is breakdown. An inbetween
important story telling going to get from one pose basically fills in what is
poses are created to to the other. A breakdown happening between the
establish the placement of can be considered a type breakdowns for pose A
character or object and how of inbetween but a very and pose B. In computer
they will move in the scene. specific one. When you have animation often times
This technique is used very a pose on frame 1 and a the inbetweens will be
early on in the animation different pose on frame 10 created by the computer.
process and helps tell the the next step would be to In traditional 2D animation
story of the animation. add in a breakdown. there were often times
Blocking is often the first assistants to the animators
step in pose-to-pose called inbetweeners that did
ANIMATION TERMS

animation. this fill in work.

3
www.digitaltutors.com Copyright 2002-2014 Digital-Tutors, a Pluralsight company.
Twinning Moving Holds
Twinning is a term used when one half of A moving hold in animation means that a
a characters body mirrors the opposite character freezes or moves very slightly in
half producing an unnatural symmetry. a particular pose for whatever length of
Twinning can be avoided by simply offsetting time that you have set for it. Moving holds
a characters pose on one half of its body are used in animation to help break up
ever so slightly from the other half. Avoiding the movement, and add to an emotion a
twinning in your animation is one of the first character is trying to compose. Moving holds
steps in creating appealing posing. Twinning should be used sparingly and only where
can be a very quick fix, simply by adjusting needed. If there are too many moving holds
the position of the arms or legs. it can give the animation a stop and go feel.

ANIMATION TERMS

Polish Pass
The polish pass refers to the very last step in an animation. This is the point when an animator
will add in the very small finishing touches to the work. Things like eye movements, finger
adjustments, tracking arcs, etc. are all usually animated in the polish pass after all of the main
movements have been finalized.

4
www.digitaltutors.com Copyright 2002-2014 Digital-Tutors, a Pluralsight company.
Gimbal Lock
In computer animation gimbal lock is the loss of one degree of rotation in a joint. In computer
animation this means that there has been a significant amount of rotation that has passed the
180 degree mark, and the computer doesnt understand which direction you want to rotate. This
will look like a very fast rotation hiccup when your animation is played back. To avoid gimbal lock
make sure you choose a rotation order that would be suitable for your animation. The rotation
order allows you to reevaluate how each axis reacts as an object is rotated. Certain applications
also include tools that reinterpret rotation values that cause gimbal lock in order to help iron out
discontinuities in animated-rotation data sets.

Breaking Joints
Breaking joints basically refers to rotating
joints in the opposite direction to its normal
bending. In the real world this wouldnt
be physically possible without actually
breaking a joint. In animation bending the
joints in the opposite direction will add a lot
of flexibility to a movement, and is typically
used for a more cartoony style animation.
Since youre only breaking the joint for
a frame or two when played back at full
speed it isnt noticeable.
ANIMATION TERMS

Learning basic 3D animation terminology will greatly help your early

animation journey. Find more animation posts here and make sure to
check out our growing library of 3d animation tutorials from industry
professionals to really ramp up your learning.

5
www.digitaltutors.com Copyright 2002-2014 Digital-Tutors, a Pluralsight company.