Glossary
Our comprehensive glossary covers all the essential terminology used in game development and animation. Whether you're a beginner just starting out or an experienced professional looking to refresh your knowledge, you'll find clear definitions and explanations for industry terms.
Animation Animation
The process of creating the illusion of motion and change by displaying a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other.
Asset Game Dev
Any digital media used in a game, including models, textures, sounds, music, and scripts.
Blend Shapes Animation
A method of 3D modeling where a series of different expressions or poses are created for a single model, which can then be blended together to create smooth transitions between them.
Bump Mapping 3D Modeling
A technique in computer graphics for simulating bumps and wrinkles on the surface of an object without increasing the geometric complexity.
Character Rigging Animation
The process of creating a skeleton for a 3D model that allows it to be animated. This involves creating bones, joints, and controls that animators can manipulate.
Digital Sculpting 3D Modeling
A method of 3D modeling that allows artists to manipulate a digital object as if it were clay, pushing, pulling, smoothing, and pinching the surface to create detailed models.
Environment Art Game Dev
The creation of the worlds and settings in which games take place, including landscapes, architecture, and props.
Frame Rate Animation
The frequency at which consecutive images called frames appear on a display. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems.
Game Engine Game Dev
A software framework designed for the creation and development of video games. Developers use game engines to create games for consoles, mobile devices, and personal computers.
IK (Inverse Kinematics) Animation
A method of animating that calculates the movement of a chain of joints based on the desired position of the end of the chain, rather than moving each joint individually.
Joints Animation
Connection points between bones in a skeletal rig that allow for rotation and movement, similar to joints in a real skeleton.
Keyframe Animation
A drawing that defines the starting and ending points of any smooth transition. These frames are called "frames" because their position in time is measured in frames on a strip of film.
Lighting 3D Modeling
The process of placing light sources within a 3D scene to achieve a desired visual effect. Proper lighting is crucial for creating realistic and visually appealing scenes.
Motion Capture Animation
The process of recording movements of objects or people and translating them into digital data that can be used to animate 3D models.
Normal Mapping 3D Modeling
A technique used to fake the lighting of bumps and dents on a surface, adding detail without using more polygons.
Particle System Game Dev
A technique in game physics and graphics that uses a large number of small sprites or other graphic objects to simulate certain kinds of "fuzzy" phenomena, which are otherwise very hard to reproduce with conventional rendering techniques.
Rendering 3D Modeling
The process of generating an image from a model by means of computer programs. The model is a description of three-dimensional objects in a strictly defined language or data structure.
Shaders 3D Modeling
A small program or set of algorithms that determine how 3D surface properties (lighting, color, etc.) are calculated and displayed in a rendering engine.
Texturing 3D Modeling
The process of applying a 2D image to a 3D model to add color, detail, and surface properties like roughness or shininess.
UV Mapping 3D Modeling
The 3D modeling process of making a 2D image representation of a 3D model's surface. The UV mapping process involves assigning pixels in a 2D image to points on the surface of a 3D model.
Vertex 3D Modeling
A point in 3D space with an X, Y, and Z coordinate. Vertices are the building blocks of 3D models, connected by edges to form polygons.
Wireframe 3D Modeling
A visual representation of a 3D model that shows only the edges and vertices, without any surfaces or textures. It's often used during the modeling process to check the structure of a model.