Digital Art and Animation Glossary

A channel in a digital image that stores transparency information for each pixel.

A shading technique that calculates how exposed each point on a surface is to ambient light, adding soft shadows in crevices and corners.

A virtual skeleton structure used in 3D animation to control the deformation and movement of a character model.

A smooth curve defined by control points, used in vector drawing, animation paths, and font design.

An image represented as a grid of pixels, where each pixel stores color and sometimes transparency values.

A mathematical formula that determines how a layer's pixels combine with the pixels of underlying layers.

Combining multiple visual elements from different sources into a single cohesive image or sequence.

A measure of print resolution indicating how many ink dots fit in one linear inch. Higher DPI means finer detail.

Gradual acceleration or deceleration of motion in animation, controlled by interpolation curves between keyframes.

The number of individual frames or images displayed per second in an animation or video.

A group of rendering algorithms that simulate how light bounces between surfaces, producing realistic indirect lighting.

An image with a greater range of luminance than standard images, used in 3D rendering to provide realistic environment lighting.

The automatic calculation of intermediate values between two defined keyframes to create smooth transitions.

A frame in an animation where a specific property value is explicitly defined by the animator.

A collection of vertices, edges, and faces that define the shape of a 3D object.

The process of recording physical movement and translating it into digital data for animating 3D characters.

A texture that encodes surface direction data to simulate detailed geometry without additional polygons.

A display technique showing semi-transparent views of adjacent animation frames for reference while drawing.

A flat geometric shape defined by three or more vertices connected by edges, the basic building block of 3D meshes.

Creating content algorithmically rather than manually, commonly used for textures, terrain, and patterns.

The process of converting vector graphics or 3D geometry into a pixel-based image for display on screen.

Building a control system of bones and constraints inside a 3D model to enable posing and animation.

A program that runs on the GPU to determine how a surface appears, calculating color, lighting, and material properties.

The arrangement and flow of polygons in a 3D mesh, which affects deformation quality, rendering, and subdivision behavior.

Assigning influence values to vertices that determine how much each bone in a rig affects surrounding mesh geometry.