Animator: An artist who brings characters to life (in regards to this book, the artist’s technique is the use of pencil and paper).
Background: A painting that serves as the backdrop and stage for the animated character.
Cartoony: The term for describing an animation style that is broad and exaggerated.
Cel: A transparent sheet of celluloid on which an animation drawing is inked and painted.
Clean-up: The process of refining the lines of rough animation by redrawing a scene in a detailed fine line.
Effects animation: The art of moving special illusions like clouds, water, or shadows in support of the character’s actions.
Exposure sheet: A form that details the action, dialogue, and music for a scene. Each horizontal line represents one frame of film.
Extreme drawing: The farthest point of an action or expression.
Flipping: To hold a group of drawings so that they will fall in an even pattern and give the viewer the illusion of movement.
Frame: The individual picture on the film. There are 16 frames to each foot of film, 24 frames to each second of running time on the screen.
Full animation: The process of creating fluid movement by showing between 12 and 24 drawings for each second of film.
Hold: To keep a drawing stationary for a number of frames.
In-betweener: The artist who finishes the needed number of drawings in between those created by the animator. This process is required for rough as well as clean-up animation.
Inker: The artist who traces drawings onto cells with ink.
Layout: The black-and-white rendering done by a layout artist that determines the basic composition of a scene.
Limited animation: The process of using animation drawings economically by often holding the character’s pose still and only show mouth movement.
Painter: The artist who paints colors on cells.
Rotoscope: The use of live-action film reference to aid the animator with realistic movements.
Rough: The animator’s sketchy drawings.
Squash and stretch: An animation principle that depicts the character in a compressed and elongated position, adding fluidity and comedy to the motion.
Staging: The basic visual presentation of a scene.
Storyboard: A large board on which pinned sketches tell a story in comic-strip fashion.
Story reel: A filmed sequence as a work in progress.
Story sketch: A simple, storytelling drawing done by a story artist.
Sweat box: A small projection room in which films are run for criticism.
Touch-up: The process of tying down the animator’s rough drawing on the same sheet of paper by erasing extraneous pencil lines.
