Animation Glossary - S

Tej Kohli Animation Glossary - Words begining with 'S'

Scene : A set of 3D objects, including the models themselves and the lights and camera that will be used when rendering them out.

Scene file See : File format.
Script : A small piece of code created in a 3D software package’s own internal programming language, and used to automate common or complex tasks.

Shading : The mathematical process of calculating how a model’s surfaces react to light. A variety of alternative algorithms can be used for the task, including Phong, Lambert, and Blinn shading models. Shaders are often built up as node-based shading trees, with each node controlling a specific aspect of the process.

Skinning : The process of binding the surface of a model to the underlying skeleton during character rigging.

Skeleton : An underlying network of bones used to define and control the motion of a model during character animation. Moving a bone causes the mesh of the model to move and deform.

Snapping : The automatic alignment of one object to another or to a reference grid, intended to aid the precise placement of objects within a scene or modelling hierarchy.

Soft-Body Dynamics : The simulation of the behaviour of soft bodies that deform on collision with other objects, such as cloth or fluid flows.

Specularity : A surface property of an object that determines the way in which highlights appear on that surface.

Spline See: NURBS.

Subdivision Surface : Also known as Sub-Ds, subdivision surfaces are surfaces created using a technique midway between polygon and NURBS modelling. They consist of an underlying polygonal base mesh, which is automatically subdivided by the software to create a smoothed final form. Sub-Ds combine much of the power of NURBS surfaces with the intuitive characteristics and ease of use of polygonal modelling tools.

Sweep : A modelling technique similar to extrusion in which a twodimensional profile is replicated along a path, then joined to form a continuous three-dimensional surface. Unlike extrusion, however, this path need not be perpendicular to the profile. By sweeping a circular profile along a helical path, for example, it would be possible to model a coiled cable of the type commonly found on telephones.

Symmetry : A modelling option in which any changes made to the model are duplicated across an axis of reflectional symmetry. This makes it possible to create complex symmetrical objects, such as a human or animal head, without having to work directly on more than one half of the model.

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