Computer words#
apt – the command that installs and updates software on Debian and Animux.
BIOS / UEFI – the small program inside a computer that starts before the operating system. UEFI is the modern kind; Secure Boot is a UEFI feature that may need to be switched off for Animux.
Boot – starting a computer. Boot menu: the list where you choose what to start.
CPU (processor) – the computer's main chip. Rendering speed depends a lot on its number of cores.
Debian – the Linux distribution Animux is built on.
Distribution (distro) – a complete Linux system with programs, like Animux.
Firmware – small programs needed by hardware such as Wi-Fi chips and graphics cards.
GPU (graphics card) – the chip that draws the screen; also used for fast 3D and rendering.
Home folder (~) – your personal folder, /home/your-name.
ISO file – a whole disc in one file.
Linux – the free operating system kernel at the heart of Animux, Android and most servers.
Live session – Animux running from the USB stick or ISO without installing; nothing is kept after a restart.
Package – a program prepared for installing with apt (a .deb file).
Partition – a section of a disk. A disk can hold several systems in separate partitions.
RAM (memory) – fast working memory; lost when the computer is switched off.
Repository – an online store of packages that apt installs from.
sudo – run one command as the administrator (root).
Terminal – a window for typing commands.
Virtual machine (VM) – a pretend computer that runs inside your real one.
Xfce – the desktop environment of Animux (panel, menu, windows).
Animation and 3D words#
Animatic – a storyboard timed with sound, to check the story before animating.
Armature / rig – the skeleton inside a character that animators move.
Bitmap / raster – a picture made of pixels (PNG, JPEG). Gets blurry when enlarged.
Codec – the method used to compress a video (H.264, ProRes) or sound (AAC).
Compositing – combining rendered layers, effects and colour correction into the final picture.
EXR – a high-quality image format with many layers and true light values, used in film.
Frame – one picture of a film. fps – frames per second (24 for film, 25 in Europe for TV, 30 for web/US).
Image sequence – one image file per frame (shot_0001.png, shot_0002.png…), the safest way to render.
In-between (tween) – the drawings between two key poses. Tweening = the computer makes them.
Keyframe – a frame where you set a value (position, rotation…); the program interpolates between keyframes.
Material / shader – how a surface looks: colour, shininess, transparency.
Mesh – a 3D object made of points (vertices), edges and faces (polygons).
Modifier – a non-destructive operation on an object in Blender (smoothing, mirror, array…).
Onion skin – seeing the previous and next frames faintly while drawing.
Render – calculating the final images from a scene. Render farm: many computers rendering together.
Samples – how many light paths a renderer traces per pixel. More samples = less noise, slower.
Storyboard – the film drawn as a sequence of panels, one per shot.
Timeline – the strip of frames along which you animate or edit.
Turntable – an animation of a model turning once around.
USD, Alembic, FBX, glTF, OBJ – 3D file formats for moving scenes and models between programs.
Vector – a picture made of shapes and curves (SVG); stays sharp at any size.
Waypoint – Synfig's name for a keyframe on one parameter.