What Are Keyframes In Animation?

Keyframes in animation are specific points that denote the start and end of a
transition.

They define the precise moments when movements or transformations begin and
finish, allowing animators to map out the animation’s timing and motion path.

Table of Contents:

 What is a keyframe?
 Where does the word keyframe come from?
 What is the difference between a frame and a keyframe?
 What is a frame?
 How are keyframes used in keyframe animation software?
 What changes can you make with keyframes on an object?
 What changes can you make to keyframes?
 What are the main types of keyframes?
 What are the advantages of keyframes?
 What are the disadvantages of keyframes?
 What are the use cases for keyframes?
 How can you use keyframes in SVGator?

What is a keyframe?

A keyframe in animation is a specific reference point in an animation where a

change or adjustment is made to an object's state or property.
Usually, all keyframe-based animation tools use keyframes to change states for
animators such as:

 Position

 Scale

 Rotation

 Opacity

 And many others

This list includes any other transition that takes place between the predefined
starting and ending points. Keyframes are essential for precise control over
animation effects and timing in creating motion graphics.
For example, if you would like to create an animated element that moves from the
left to the right over the duration of 3 seconds, you should:

1. Set a keyframe at the starting position (A)

2. Set another keyframe at the ending position (B)

The animation software will automatically create the in-between positions and create
a smooth transition between point (A) and point (B).
The speed of the transition is determined by the distance between the two keyframes
in the timeline. A longer distance will mean a slower speed for the element to get
from (A) to (B).

Keyframe Animation Example - Made by SVGator

Where does the word "keyframe" come from?
The word "keyframe" comes from the early days of keyframe animation, when each
frame was drawn by hand, which was a very time-consuming and difficult task.

Disney pioneered keyframe animation in the 30s by setting up the main poses of
movement to be drawn by artists and the in between frames were created by less
experienced colleagues or machines.

The company was the first to set up the principles of animation and influenced other
studios to adopt their techniques.

Computer animation arose in the 70s as a new technique for producing animations.
It followed the keyframe animation principles and adapted them to the digital image
generation using mathematical models and algorithms.
What is the difference between a frame and a keyframe?

The difference between a keyframe and a frame is that a frame is a single

component from a sequence of frames, while a keyframe is a reference point that
marks how the object or element transitions, or changes to that particular frame.

 Frame:one single component from a sequence of frames

 Keyframe: marks the changes/transitions assigned to a particular frame

What is a frame?

A frame is a single image within a sequence of images. It is the building

block of any video, film, or animation. Each frame is flashed on the screen for a
fraction of a second and human persistence of vision blends them together,
producing the illusion of movement.

The number of frames displayed within a second are measured by FPS

(frames per second). The standard FPS for videos is 24; higher frame rates
produce even smoother motions.

How are keyframes used in keyframe animation software?

Every keyframe animation software follows the same logic and can be used by
following the next steps:

1. Mark the initial state of an object with a keyframe.

2. Choose whether to leave the initial state as it is or apply more
changes to it, which, of course, will represent the new initial state of the
animation.
3. Define how long the animation will be by adding a second keyframe on
the timeline at a certain second. This will mark the ending point of the
animation.
4. Change the state of the object at the timing marked by the second
keyframe, so that it is different from the state of the object at the first
keyframe.
5. Hit play and see a smooth transition between the two states of the object

The state of the object that you are changing should be the same state as the
assigned animator that you are adding keyframes to.

Take for example the Rotation animator. You will only change the degrees of the
object (between 0 degrees and 359 degrees from the center).
Changing the object’s position, scale level, or any other state except degrees of
rotation, won't result in any animated effect.

In SVGator, the first keyframe will be added along the animator right where the
playhead is positioned on the timeline. By dragging the playhead on a different
second and making the adjustments to the element, another keyframe will be
automatically added to mark the end of the transition. The adjustments should match
the chosen animator, so if you chose the Rotate animator, you can only adjust the
element’s rotation.

Pro Tip: You can also reuse keyframes on the timeline by simply copying and
pasting them along the timeline in order to repeat a certain transition for the same
element.

You can also copy them to a different element that you want to animate in the same
way. Additionally, you can make more adjustments to the keyframes that will change
the timing or the behaviour of the animation.

Using keyframe animation software - Made by SVGator

What changes can you make with keyframes on an object?
There are a large number of changes you can make with keyframes on an object.
For example, in SVGator, you have the following options:

Changes made with keyframes to an object

Position Changes the object’s location

Origin Changes the object’s origin (center) point

 Scale Makes the object bigger or smaller

Rotate Moves the object in a circle around a fixed point

Skew Makes the object oblique, asymmetrical

Changes the degree to which an object appears to be

Opacity
transparent

Fill Color Changes the object’s color

Fill Opacity Changes the object’s opacity

Stroke Color Changes a stroke’s color

Stroke
Changes a stroke’s opacity
Opacity

Stroke Width Changes a stroke’s width

Stroke Offset Changes the location of a dash along a path

Stroke
Changes the dash-gap pattern of a stroke
Dashes

Filters Adds filters to the object

Types of changes made with keyframes to an object

What changes can you make to keyframes?

The changes you can make to keyframes are the following:

 Timing between keyframes: Timing between keyframes dictates the speed

of the transition between the two keyframes. You can change the timing
between two keyframes by increasing or decreasing the distance between
them on the timeline.
  Position of the keyframes: By manipulating the position of the keyframes
you can reverse an animation by selecting its keyframes, right-clicking, and
choosing "Reverse keyframes." This action will simply interchange the
position of two or more keyframes on the timeline.
 Keyframe easing effects: Keyframe easing effects imply selecting at least
one keyframe, to which you can then apply an easing effect from the Easing
panel. The easing will apply on the transition from the selected keyframe
toward the second/following one.
 Skipping transitions between keyframes: Skipping transitions between
keyframes means that you can also eliminate the transition between two or
more keyframes by choosing the Step End or Step Start easing functions.
Also known as hold keyframes in other animation tools, these easing
functions will simply remove the transition and make jumps between the
steps of the element.

Note: Step keyframes support step numbers as well. You can set a certain number
of steps between two-step keyframes. The state of a step keyframe will be easy to
distinguish in the timeline as the keyframe shape will change to a square instead of a
rhombus.

Example of changes made to keyframes - Made by SVGator

What are the main types of keyframes?

There are 3 main types of keyframes used in animation software:

Linear Interpolation Bézier Interpolation
Hold Interpolation Keyframe
Keyframe Keyframe

Linear interpolation This maintains the object in a

This is a more complex
creates a uniform and particular pose. It is used to
interpolation that makes it
consistent change of freeze or block a certain
possible to specify the
values from the beginning keyframe in a static phase. It is
object's velocity and motion
to the end, at a constant also known as a stop-motion
path between two points.
speed. keyframe.

The 3 Main Types of Keyframes

Linear Interpolation Example

Bezier Interpolation Example

 Hold Interpolation Example
What is interpolation in the context of keyframes?
Interpolation in the context of keyframes is the process of filling data between two
keyframes. The changes made to property values can be calculated in different
ways based on what type of keyframes are set.

Interpolation in animation is a mathematical method used to fill in the unknown

values in between two or more specified points.

What are the advantages of keyframes?

The advantages of keyframes are:

 They speed up the animation process
 They let animators create any kind of movement with ease
 They create smooth transitions
 They make later changes easy to make
 They can be reused for other elements because they are easy to copy
and paste

The biggest advantage of using keyframes in animation is that they make the creation
process far quicker without losing quality.

The animator has to set up only a few important reference points instead of creating
hundreds of individual frames.

Keyframe animation software offers a huge range of different animation movements

on an advanced level and in a reasonably short time.

Another advantage of keyframes is that the final work will retain the artist’s personal
charm and specific hand-drawing style together with sleek movements and a
professional finish. Later changes are also easier with keyframes because the editor
has to modify only their main values or features instead of going through all of the
frames.

What are the disadvantages of keyframes?

The disadvantages of keyframes are:

 It can be time-consuming to manually set up and adjust each keyframe

 Complex movements are challenging to create
 It is difficult to keep track of them when you have a lot of keyframes set
on the timeline
Keyframes have some disadvantages when it comes to producing and handling
realistic, complex, and natural movements. These are easier to achieve with motion
capture, another technology to record movement.

Video animations are great for explaining complicated processes and entertaining
viewers, but they are not so efficient when it comes to expressing feelings and
pushing people to action.

What are the use cases for keyframes?

The main use cases for keyframes are video production and animation:

1. Post-production: Post-production is the last stage of video-making when

color correction, special effects, sound design, and many other editing work
takes place. In this stage, creators can add animated filters, graphics, and
various animation effects, whether they are making a simple YouTube video
or a Hollywood blockbuster.
2. Creating animations: Animations can be created from scratch using
graphic software to draw and animate characters, showcase products,
present a process, or just entertain the viewers. Besides traditional motion
art production, there is an increasing number of businesses that choose to
have animated elements on their websites for better engagement and
higher conversions.

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