Fancy Beasts - Animation Vocabulary Guide

Animation Vocabulary Guide

This document is intended for anyone who has or hasn’t worked in the animation industry before. Its purpose is to familiarize you with the terms and abbreviations used in the work you’ll be doing for us.

Art Director

The Art Director is in charge of creating the art style of the entire production. They create the initial designs for how the Characters will be drawn, backgrounds will look, effects, props, etc.

Animatic

An Animatic is an in-motion conformed version of the Storyboards that are timed out as a reference and blueprint for the animators and voice actors.

Animation

Animation is the process of making still images appear to move by showing them one after another very quickly. These are called frames and each one is hand drawn by an artist. The frame rate that these frames are animated at are usually done by 24 frames per second aka 24fps.

Animation Director

The Animation Director is someone who directs and guides the animators on the direction of how the animation should be timed, drawn, or cleaned up. They will provide guidance that deals with them doing “draw overs” which are lining the animator's work in red pencil correcting their animation for the animator to correct their mistakes or change in direction by the Animation Director.

Animator

An Animator is someone who draws multiple frames of a sequence based off the blueprint provided by the Animatic and Storyboards.

Background Artist

A Background Artist is someone who draws backgrounds that will be placed behind the characters that are being animated by the Animators. They will use the Storyboards as a guide as to what they should be drawing for the scenes.

Background Painter

Background Painters are artists who paint over backgrounds that have only been inked digitally or traditionally in line art only. Sometimes this requires the artist to paint over the lineart of the backgrounds provided by the Background Artists and other times it requires them to paint under the lines using that as the foundation.

Clean-up / Clean-up Artist

Clean-up is the process in which an animator will clean-up the drawings of the animators to make their drawings more clear and digestible fior the viewer. These people are known as Cleanup Artists. Sometimes this position is done by people in other positions in the crew to help out. Clean-ups can also mean only cleaning up the animation lines but in some cases also include coloring the images completely as well.

Colorist

A Colorist is someone who colors all the art for props and character designs. Usually they will color these characters over backgrounds drawn by the background artists to match the lighting of a scene. If it is a daytime scene they will match the characters colors to reflect a warm sunny day. If it's a scene that takes place at night then the characters will be colored in cooler tones that match the environment. This works for any ambient or controlled lighting as well.

Director

The Director is in charge of guiding the storyboard artists to keep a consistent vision of the show/movie. They will sometimes work with the writers to fix mistakes or plot holes discovered in the Storyboarding process. Directors will also join the Showrunner (EP) to voice records and animatic editing due to the fact that they work closely with the board artists. They have the best insight into making sure the team's vision is accurately portrayed.

Designer

A Designer is someone who draws characters, props, efx, and backgrounds as material for the Storyboard Artists and Animators to use to insure everything is on model and consistent.

Executive Producer

The Executive Producer is a high-level official overseeing a production’s financial, administrative, and strategic aspects, often called the “Project CEO,” secures funding, manages major deals, and ensures the final product meets commercial goals.

Freelancer

Freelancers are work for hire that are not full-time or contracted as in-house employees. Sometimes, someone with unique skills are hired for specific jobs that are not required for full-time employment. Often, freelancers help pick up the pace on project areas falling behind or when there’s a larger workload.

Hybrid

A Hybrid employee is someone who is allowed to work in-house and allowed some days to work from home.

In-house

An In-house employee is someone who is required to work on site of the studio.

In-Betweens / In-betweener

In-betweens are the drawn frames that are drawn between Key frame drawings to add smoother and more animated motion.

Key Frames / Key Animator

Key Frames are the primary hand drawn frames that act as the blueprint for the in-betweeners to work off of.

Panel

A panel is a blank drawing frame in which the Storyboard Artist will draw on to create Storyboards.

Producer

In animation, a Producer is the central hub responsible for the project’s logistical, financial, and administrative success. While a Director focuses on the creative vision, the Producer ensures the team has the necessary resources to realize that vision.

Production Assistant

In animation, a Production Assistant (PA) is an important entry-level professional responsible for the administrative and logistical tasks that keep a studio running smoothly. Unlike PAs on live-action sets, who handle physical equipment or crowd control, animation PAs primarily manage digital assets, schedules, and inter-departmental communication. Sometimes this might include taking sequences of storyboards and conforming them together within the storyboard files.

Production Coordinator

In animation, a Production Coordinator is an important mid-level manager who oversees the production pipeline’s daily operations. They bridge departments, ensuring assets like character designs, storyboards, and background art move smoothly from stage to stage on schedule.

Some Duties May Include:

Digital Asset Tracking:

Maintaining production databases using industry-standard tools like Flow Production Tracking (formerly ShotGrid), Filer Maker, or ftrack.

Shipping & Delivery:

Preparing and sending digital "shipping packages" of episodes or assets to external vendor studios (often overseas) and confirming their receipt.

Meeting Coordination:

Scheduling reviews (e.g., storyboard pitches, design approvals, and retake sessions) and taking detailed notes to distribute to the team.

Workflow Management:

Tracking the status of every asset and shot in the pipeline to ensure deadlines are met.

Inter-Departmental Liaison:

Facilitating communication between artists, technical staff, and directors to resolve bottlenecks and relay creative feedback.

Props/EFX Designer

A props artist sometimes combined with efx (effects artist) or two different positions draws the model sheets for props such as vehicles, machines, objects, tools, etc. An efx artist is someone who draws the special effects model for animators to work off of. This can include explosions, electricity, fire, super powers, glowing light, etc.

Sequence

In animation, a “sequence” is a section of scenes or shots that work together to form a distinct "chapter" or major narrative segment of a story. These can be used as sections in Storyboards, Animatic, and Animation processes.

Scene

A scene is a "mini-story" with its own arc, beginning when a character's situation or goal is established and ending when that specific moment or interaction concludes. Unlike live-action filmmaking where a "scene" might consist of many individual camera cuts (shots), animation often uses the terms scene and shot interchangeably. 

Storyboard Artist

A Storyboard Artist is an artist who draws out the entire episode/movie acting as the guiding blueprint for the entire project to be worked off of by the designers, directors, animators, etc. In some cases Storyboard Artists are also the writers as well and in those situations the production would go from a “Script Driven” project to a “Outline Driven” project. Some people would consider a Storyboard Artist to be a “Mini-Director” due to the fact they are creating their own scenes, shots, and sequences.

Storyboard Revisionist

A Storyboard Revisionist revises any work directed by the Storyboard Supervisor and Director. After a sequence or storyboard is completed and approved by the Executives, Producer, Showrunner, and Director, it’s handed off to the Supervisor to address any changes or notes. Revisionists will fix and change these due to the fact the Storyboard Artists have not moved onto the next sequence or episode. In some cases the Storyboard Artists are given more time and adopt this position into their own as well.

Storyboard Supervisor

A Storyboard Supervisor, a high-level manager, oversees the Storyboard Revisionists and reports directly to the director, similar to Storyboard Artists. They receive notes from Executives, Showrunners, and Directors regarding changes. These notes are delegated to the Revisionists. Common changes include story beats or plots that are ineffective, no longer make sense, or the team wants to change a sequence or episode. This can lead to redoing portions, half, or even the entire episode or sequence. The notes are not usually due to artist or writer mistakes, but to issues that become apparent after the entire process has been completed.

Timer

In animation, an Animation Timer or Sheet Timer is a specialized tool or specialist responsible for detailing exactly how long every movement in a scene should last.

While the Director sets the overall vision, the Timer translates that vision into a frame-by-frame instruction manual for the animators to follow. 

The Human Role:

The Animation Timer 

In professional television and film production (especially when animation is outsourced), an Animation Timer—often a senior animator or director—completes Exposure Sheets (X-sheets or Dope Sheets).

Their work includes:

Action Timing:

Lip Syncing:

Instruction:

The Technical Tools

X-Sheets / Dope Sheets:

Animation Stopwatch:

Code-Based Timers:

Version

In animation, “versions” are different copies of files that help indicate the age and recency of a file.

Writer

In animation, a writer is similar to one that would also write of live action media. However in animation they need to be able to understand and accommodate for animation.

Art Formats and Files

.clip

A “.clip” is a unique file type that is only accessible through the illustration program Clip Studio Paint. This program comes in two forms such as CSP Pro and CSP EX and the difference is that CSP EX allows for animation. CSP Pro cannot edit or change animated projects that were made with CSP EX, but only accessible in [Read-Only] mode.

.psd

A “.psd” is a Photoshop Document which is an illustration file from the program Adobe Photoshop. Its a unique file that artists use to make illustrations and sometimes animation.
These file types can be opened by most art programs.

.procreate

| A “.procreate” file is a Procreate file that is used to create illustrations exclusively on Apple’s iPad.

.fla

A “.fla” file is the editable source project file for Adobe Animate (formerly Adobe Flash). 

Think of it as a work-in-progress digital workspace—it contains all the "raw materials" needed to build an animation, including vector graphics, audio, video, timeline data, layers, and code. 

.swf

A .”swf” file (pronounced "swiff") stands for Small Web Format (originally Shockwave Flash). It is the compressed, finalized version of an animation project exported for viewing. 

In 2026, it is considered a legacy format, as Adobe officially ended support for the Flash Player in late 2020 due to security and performance issues.

.drm

A ”.drm” file (pronounced "dream") is a unique file exclusive to animation software Procreate Dreams on the Apple iPad.

.sboard

An “.sboard” file is the proprietary project file format for Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, the industry-standard software used for creating storyboards and animatics.

.sbpz

An “.sbpz” file is a Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Project Package. It is essentially a compressed, "all-in-one" version of a standard storyboard project.

Easy Sharing:

Compression:

Archiving:

Safety:

.blender

A “.blend” file is the native project format for Blender, the open-source 3D creation suite used for modeling, animation, and rendering

Unlike common export formats like .fbx or .obj, which only store the "shell" of a 3D model, a .blend file is a comprehensive workspace container that saves the entire state of your project. 

What is Inside a .blend File?

3D Assets:

Animation Data:

Scene Information:

Key Technical Features

"Memory Dump" Format:

Forward and Backward Compatibility:

Packing Textures:

.blend1, .blend2, etc.:

.blend@:

Video Formats

.mov

A .mov file is a high-quality multimedia container format developed by Apple, formally known as the QuickTime File Format (QTFF). It is a professional industry standard for video production and animation because it preserves high visual fidelity while being flexible for editing.

.mp4

An “.mp4” file (MPEG-4 Part 14) is the most widely used digital multimedia container format in 2026. It is the universal standard for sharing and streaming video because it offers a near-perfect balance between high visual quality and small file size.

In the animation industry, “.mp4” is primarily a delivery format.

The Final Step:

Animators typically work in high-fidelity formats like .mov or .sboard, but they export to .mp4 when the project is ready to be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or sent to a client for review.

Limitation:

Unlike some .mov files, standard .mp4 files do not support transparency (alpha channels). If you need an animation with a transparent background to layer over another video, you would use a different format.

.mkv

A “.mkv” file (Matroska Video) is an open-standard, "universal" multimedia container. It is often called the "Russian Nesting Doll" of video formats because it can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, and subtitle tracks within a single file.

Distribution of Anime:

Archiving:

.avi

In 2026, .avi (Audio Video Interleave) is considered a legacy container format. Introduced by Microsoft in 1992, it was the standard for Windows video for decades, but it has largely been replaced by modern formats like .mp4 and .mov.

Internal Mastering:

Legacy Pipelines:

Major Drawbacks:

Not Web-Friendly:

Inefficiency:

.webm

In 2026, a “.webm” file is a royalty-free, open-source multimedia container specifically designed for use on the web. It is the "lightweight hero" of web animation because it provides a modern alternative to the patented .mp4 and .mov formats.

A "GIF Killer":

Browser-First Delivery:

Tool Compatibility:

.gif

A “.gif” (Graphics Interchange Format) is a legacy bitmap image format used for short, looping animations. While technically inferior to modern formats like beneficialwebm, it remains the universal language of internet culture due to its "plug-and-play" simplicity.**

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