3D Animation Key Terms

An understanding of 3D animation terms can help you collaborate with animators
By Deborah Barr When your business or advertising needs call for 3D animation services you'll need to communicate and collaborate with an animator. As with other specialties, the 3D animation profession has its own terminology. The more familiar you are with the language of 3D animation, the easier it will be for you to effectively communicate your goals and vision to the animator and to understand the technical references he or she may make when discussing your project.

Aliasing and anti-aliasing

You've probably seen aliasing--it looks like a jagged stair-stepping along the edges of an animated object. This distortion occurs in a digital image when more work is needed to create a smooth transition between highly contrasted edges. Anti-aliasing gets rid of these jagged artifacts. Oversampling, supersampling and filtering are anti-aliasing techniques used to accomplish this.
Try:  To see an example of aliasing and its anti-aliasing fix, look closely at the examples on the Geek Girl website.

Subsurface scattering (SSS)

Animators use SSS to make skin look soft and real or to make other organic materials appear realistic. SSS conveys the sense that light is penetrating a surface and giving illumination to its inner layers.
Try:  To see the effects of SSS go to the Blender Foundation.

Keyframe

In an animation sequence, a frame in which a significant transition occurs is called a keyframe. In creating digital effects, the animator must define a minimum of two keyframes and, if the animation is complex, might even define as many as 100. Keyframes enable transitions such as a gradual color change or an object that slowly appears or disappears.
Try:  There is a good article about keyframes on the Videomaker website.

Storyboard

A storyboard is a planning tool that creates a timeline for controlling animations. It provides you with an idea of the animation's projected look, movement and timing. Often made up of still shots, an animation storyboard can include music or dialog to create a sense of the intended final product.
Try:  You can read more about storyboards at The Regents of the University of California website.

Dynamics

Dynamics is a branch of mechanics. It explains how masses move as they are influenced by forces and torques. Increasingly, the physical laws of dynamics are being applied to animations. Incorporating dynamics produces very realistic-looking animations.
Try:  You can find links to many technical articles on this topic at the Physics-Based Animation website.

Texture map

A texture map is actually a color map--confusing, since there are other types of mapping that actually do affect texture. A texture map controls the color of a surface on a pixel-by-pixel basis, rather than by assigning a one overall color value. (A pixel--short for "picture element"--is one of the thousands or millions of tiny dots that make up a computer screen. Each pixel can be one color at a time.)
Try:  You can learn about texture mapping at WebReference.com.