Animation work has its own vocabulary, and a multimedia designer must use it correctly when planning a project, briefing an animator or following a software tutorial. The terms below are used throughout this chapter for both 2D and 3D animation.
Example: when an editor asks for "a 15-second 2D explainer at 25 fps with eased transitions between three keyframed charts", every word in the request is one of the terms defined here.
Animation is the technique of creating the illusion of movement by showing a sequence of still images (frames) in quick succession, each slightly different from the one before. In journalism it is used for explainers, animated charts and maps, and animated titles.
A frame is a single still image in an animation or video. Motion is built from many frames played one after another.
Frame rate is the number of frames shown each second, measured in frames per second (fps). Animation for broadcast in Kenya is usually made at 25 fps, while 24 fps is common for a film look and 30 or 60 fps for some online platforms.
A keyframe is a frame where the animator sets an important position, size, colour or other value. The software works out the frames between two keyframes automatically.
Tweening is the creation of the in-between frames that move an object smoothly from one keyframe to the next. In traditional animation this was drawn by hand; in software it is calculated.
Easing controls how fast a movement starts and ends. An ease-in starts slowly and speeds up, an ease-out slows down at the end; easing makes movement look natural instead of mechanical.
The timeline is the part of an animation program that shows frames or time from left to right, with layers stacked above one another, where keyframes are placed and edited.
A layer is a separate level of content (background, character, text, chart) that can be animated on its own without affecting the others.
2D animation is movement created on a flat surface with only width and height, using drawings, vector shapes or images. Animated charts, maps and cartoon explainers are 2D.
3D animation is movement of objects built in a three-dimensional space with width, height and depth, viewed through a virtual camera. A rotating model of a building or a reconstructed road junction is 3D.
Motion graphics are animated graphic design elements such as text, logos, icons, shapes and data, rather than characters telling a story. News titles, lower thirds and animated statistics are motion graphics.
Modelling is building the shape of a 3D object as a mesh made of vertices, edges and faces.
Rigging is fitting a model or character with a skeleton of bones and controls so it can be posed and moved.
Texturing is applying surface images and materials to a 3D model so it looks like wood, metal, skin or fabric.
Rendering is the process in which the computer calculates and outputs the final images or video from an animation project, including lighting, shadows and effects.
Onion skinning shows faint copies of the previous and next frames while drawing the current one, helping the animator keep movement smooth.
A storyboard is a sequence of sketches with notes that plans each scene of an animation before production starts.
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