Animation Term: Arcs

Arcs are simply are more realistic way of portraying movement of an object. In reality, items rarely move in a perfect straight line, instead they tend to move in curves, called arcs. These arcs can be very obvious, or so slight they can’t be seen easily. The best way to explain is if you threw a ball in the air, it would take a smooth path up, and then get gradually lower, without any sharp angles. It is essentially the natural path something takes due to momentum and gravity