hey there! thank you! and sorry i took so long to get back to you. i was trying to think of the best way to explain this. im not very great w words so i think ill demonstrate with an example.

easing is a way of “cushioning” the action; it lets the audience get used to the start and end of a movement before it actually happens. lets say im trying to animate saitama turning his head

i create two frames and set them as key frames. then i create 3 in-betweens.

if you call it a day at this point, you create an animation that’s adequate. he’s still, he turns his head, he’s still again.

however, if you want to use ease-in and ease-out, you add two frames, one after the first and one before the last - they are “cushions” between the key frames and the in-between frames. you’d want to trace the first and last frames so they move very slightly. it’d look like this

these frames literally ease you into the motion and ease you out of it. the action feels less sudden and more gradual.

it doesnt make a super noticeable difference, especially to people who don’t look for this stuff, but in a nutshell it’s what makes my animation look smooth.

- The last few drops of homemade lemonade- Spinning in a petticoat in kitten heels - Sun shining through gaps in the trees to shine onto cobblestone- The beginning of a music piece played on the piano