Forward kinematic animation is a method in 3D computer graphics for animating models.
The essential concept of forward kinematic animation is that the positions of particular parts of the model at a specified time are calculated from the position and orientation of the object, together with any information on the joints of an articulated model. So for example if the object to be animated is an arm with the shoulder remaining at a fixed location, the location of the tip of the thumb would be calculated from the angles of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, thumb and knuckle joints. Three of these joints (the shoulder, wrist and the base of the thumb) have more than one degree of freedom, all of which must be taken into account. If the model were an entire human figure, then the location of the shoulder would also have to be calculated from other properties of the model.
Forward kinematic animation can be distinguished from inverse kinematic animation by this means of calculation - in inverse kinematics the orientiation of articulated parts is calculated from the desired position of certain points on the model. It is is also distinguished from other animation systems by the fact that the motion of the model is defined directly by the animator - no account is taken of any physical laws that might be in effect on the model, such as gravity or collision with other models.
