ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Character animation

Hey there kiddo! Do you watch cartoons or movies with animated characters? You know how those characters move and look like real people or animals? That's called character animation!

So when a person wants to create an animated character, they first draw what the character should look like from different angles. These drawings are called "model sheets".

Once they have the model sheets, they can start moving the character around using a type of computer program called "animation software". The person can change the position of the character's arms, legs, and body to make them do different things.

Now, making the character move isn't as easy as it sounds. The person has to create lots of different "frames" that show the character in slightly different positions for each moment of the movement. These frames are like pictures in a flipbook that you flip through quickly to make it look like the character is moving smoothly.

The person making the animation also adds in details like facial expressions and movement of the eyes to make the character seem more lifelike. They may even add sound effects and music to go with the animation.

Once everything is added and the animation is complete, they can show it to other people and let them enjoy the character's movements and story. That's how character animation works in a nutshell, kiddo!