Animation Definitions

Here are some things I may talk about in this blog; I am writing these in my own words; so any errors are mine. They aren’t in alphabetical order, either, but grouped (mostly) with similar definitions. If I use any of these terms in a blog, I will put an asterisk * after the term.

Character sheet: Drawings of many poses of a character to help other animators draw it. It also helps if I am animating by myself to keep the character looking the same in every drawing.

Maquette: A clay model of the character. In the George/Gracie animation I made maquettes of both of their heads. If you look at Disney maquettes, usually they are of the entire body. Helps an animator draw from any perspective.

Keys: The main poses of a character. In a finger point, like Gracie does, it’s the third drawing (the first two are anticipation) and the second to last.

Inbetweens/inbetweener: Drawings between the keys. The lead animator draws the keys and the inbetweener draws the inbetweens. (The teacher in me says don’t define with the definition word! Oh, well!) Or, if you are me, you do it all yourself.

Drawing numbering: Keys and inbetweens are whole numbers. Additions are added with A, B, C, etc. after the number. OR the keys can be a whole number and the inbetweens with the letters: for example: an eye scan to midline and back can be 1, 1A , 1B, 2, IB, 1A, 1.

Extremes: I see this as an exaggeration of a pose, the pull back of a punch and the punch hitting it’s target. (Keys and extremes are sometimes the same drawing, but don’t have to be!)

Anticipation: A movement to (as my karate teacher used to call it) “telegraph” what’s going to happen.

Resolution/settling: The settling of a movement. Gracie’s hands go down (key) but come back up and go down again to “resolve” the movement. I was skeptical this works until I saw it!

Accent: A movement that puts emphasis on speech...the important words. Sometimes this is as simple as a head movement down or up.

Lip sync: Making the lips match the sound, but not on every phonetic part. Most animation books (and instructors) say Jim Henson did this the best with his Muppets!

Frame: A frame of film. 24 in animation class per second. Some programs have cinema at 30. Silent film is 18. Also, a drawing can be shot for a number of frames and I’ve made the mistake of using these interchangeably.

Timing: The time it takes to perform an action AND the speed at which the action takes place. The ball roll on the skateboarding pipe is an exercise in timing.

Lunchbox: A device that captures frames and edits. Also can add sound and download it to other devices. It does look like an old fashioned lunchbox.

Camera stand/lightbox/peg bar: The camera (digital video or still) is mounted on an arm so it is pointed downward. Drawings are placed over a lightbox on a peg bar which registers the drawings (holds them in place). The camera can be connected to a computer, video output or a Lunchbox.

10 field/12 field: The size of the animation sheet (and the aspect). 12 field is used for the real thing. 10 field is 8.5 x 11 inches and 12 field is 9 x 13 inches.

Aspect (ratio): The width and the height of the picture. Think TV vs. letterbox. Different uses of the animation need different aspects. There is a field guide for this, which is a hard plastic transparency grid to put beneath the animation paper, so no action goes out of the frame. With the use of letterbox shaped flat screens 16:9 ratio is now the norm. 4:3 TV is considered obsolete.

Exposure sheet: Also called “x-sheet,” this is where the animator works out frames (how many times a drawing is shot and in what order), timing, lip sync, how long backgrounds are placed, etc. This should be written so anyone can shoot the animation.

Weight: When a character lifts a mallet, his muscles bulge, the timing also shows that the mallet has weight to be overcome. The first few frames are slower, but as the mallet comes down gravity helps and it speeds up. Also a foot squashes a bit when it takes weight. I watched a Mark Kistler, a cartoonist, draw a dinosaur playing basketball next to Karen Johnson, an animator, drawing one pose of the same thing. Her drawing showed weight, his did not.

Volume: Characters and objects squash and stretch as they move, but the volume doesn’t change. When I did the ball roll, I drew a ball then ripped the animation paper around it, tracing it every time I used it or it would get bigger and smaller as it rolled (perspective was not an issue, here: or it would as it came toward or retreated away).

Silhouette: The shape of the character needs to be distinct. On the Drawn! web site, a sheet of cartoon characters was filled in with black ink. I could guess every one. Think of Daffy Duck’s shape, Betty Boop or Snoopy.

Overlap/wave action: The action of a flag is the best example. As the flag changes direction, the edges hesitate and then move. This is used all the time: hair, fire, loose clothing, body movement, trees, seaweed, etc. I turned this in the first time having animated it BACKWARDS! I’m getting better but still struggle with it.