Toontrappen

Toontrappen is a Dutch-language term that appears in discussions of animation and visual storytelling. The phrase literally translates to "cartoon steps" (toon = cartoon; trappen = steps or stairs). It is not a formal term in animation theory, but rather an informal label used in various contexts.

In practice, toontrappen refers to conveying motion or narrative progression through a sequence of discrete steps, frames, or stages. It can describe frame-by-frame animation, a storyboard approach that emphasizes incremental changes, or educational methods that teach movement by breaking it into visible steps. Because the term is informal, its exact meaning varies among writers and educators.

The term is primarily found in Dutch-language sources and is not standardized across the broader field. It tends to surface in online discussions, art-education materials, and some independent or amateur animation contexts rather than in formal curricula or professional theory.

Applications of toontrappen include teaching timing and spacing in animation, planning character poses, and outlining a walk cycle or movement sequence by listing key frames as steps. In digital art practice, artists might describe a sequence of "toon steps" to organize workflow or to communicate a staged progression to collaborators or students.

See also: frame-by-frame animation, keyframe, interpolation, storyboard, timing.