Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is still or animated visual content created or manipulated with computer software. It ranges from digitally altered photographs to entirely synthetic scenes.

3D computer graphics: The creation and manipulation of visual content using three-dimensional digital representations. CGI includes 3D graphics, though it also covers 2D imagery and digital image manipulation.
Keyframe animation: An animation method that specifies important poses or values at selected times and interpolates between them. Keyframes define how CGI objects and characters change over time.
Visual effects: Techniques used to create or alter imagery for media when the desired result is impractical or impossible to capture directly. CGI is a major tool for adding effects to filmed productions.
Computer-generated imagery in film: The use of computer-created or computer-altered images in motion pictures. Film is a prominent setting for CGI, but not its only medium.
Digital intermediate: A digital stage in film production for color grading and other image manipulation. CGI commonly passes through digital postproduction workflows alongside color and image adjustments.
Polygon mesh: A three-dimensional surface representation made from connected vertices, edges, and polygonal faces. Meshes define the shape of many objects rendered in CGI.
Rigging (animation): The construction of a control system, often a digital skeleton, for posing and animating a model. Character rigs let animators move modeled figures without reshaping every surface by hand.
Computer animation: The creation of moving images by generating or manipulating visual content with computers. Animated productions can build entire sequences from CGI rather than filmed action.
Digital compositing: The assembly of multiple digital image layers into a unified image or sequence. Compositing often incorporates CGI, but can combine photographed elements without creating new 3D imagery.
Uncanny valley: The decrease in affinity for a representation as it approaches human likeness without appearing fully realistic. Near-realistic digital people can provoke unease when their appearance or motion feels subtly wrong.

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