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Pictograms are a type of move in the franchise, and are featured in every Just Dance game. They show players how to execute the next move and come in a wide variety of colors.

History[]

Main series[]

Just Dance[]

In the original game, the pictograms were not very well detailed. They run quickly on an invisible line and disappear quickly on an intermittent triangle. Under them is a small white upside-down triangle. The arrows that sometimes appear with them are very narrow and monocolor. They had a 2D aspect.

Pictograms for Shake Moves have a colored cloud and various shaded shapes, resembling the arms that are shaking.

Just Dance 2[]

In the second game, the pictograms received major improvements, but are still not very detailed, and they still disappear quickly on the triangle. They're now based on a 3D model and no longer hand-drawn, a change which carries on into all the subsequent main series games, albeit with a few minor changes. The arrows are wider and of different colors. In Duets, they slide on different sides (from the left for P1 and from the right for P2). Some pictograms now have a circle symbol to represent the glove and avoid confusion between the two hands (mostly when they are crossing). A few songs have a symbol to indicate clapping, or a sudden hand movement such as striking the air, and very rarely have short curved lines to indicate shaking. These symbols are used more frequently in later games, including this game’s DLC.

Gold Moves, which make their first appearance in this game, are fully golden with a gold outline.

Just Dance 3[]

In the third game, the pictograms did not receive very big changes. In most songs, they had a thinner torso, longer legs, and a smaller head. Additionally, the triangle was rounded instead of pointed. On Xbox, they fade when they reach the triangle, but on Wii and PS3, they enlarge a bit and fade out. In Duets, both pictograms come from the right, while in Dance Crews they slide at a faster rate because the triangle is in the middle of the screen. From this game on, the Gold Move pictograms for multiplayer routines are not golden; instead, they keep their normal colors, and have a golden outline. Also, there are now dark shadows under the pictograms whenever the dancer(s) jump(s).

Just Dance 4[]

In the fourth game, the pictograms were a bit wider with a slightly bigger head and the triangle was replaced by a white line with an intermittent rectangle; when they reach the rectangle, they fade out while enlarging. Also, the end of the line is not in the middle anymore for Dance Crews. The arrows became thicker, the double headed arrows have been removed, and the jump shadows were updated; they are not as dark as in Just Dance 3.

Just Dance 2014[]

In the fifth game, the pictograms seemed to be smaller and improved. Also, the rectangle is placed more to the left for Duets, Trios, and Dance Crews. This feature would be present in every later main game. On the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the pictograms move slightly upwards when they fade.

Just Dance 2015[]

In the sixth game, the body of the pictograms was slightly wider than the former two games, and when they fade, they move upwards on all consoles.

Just Dance 2016[]

In the seventh game, the head of most pictograms had a bolder outline, in contrast with the body, which didn’t seem to have any.

Just Dance 2017[]

In the eighth game, the pictograms had a thinner head outline than the former game, and the body’s white outline is much more noticeable. The color gradients on the body also seemed to be smoother.

Just Dance 2018[]

In the ninth game, the pictograms slide has a different beat effect with no particles, and the pictograms pulse to the beat and have a little shadow behind them. These effects only appear on 8th-gen consoles and the Switch. Also, most of the Gold Move pictograms for Duets, Trios, and Dance Crews have thicker and darker outlines.

Just Dance 2019[]

In the tenth game, the pictograms are similar to Just Dance 2018 pictograms, along with the pictogram slide, but now most of the solo Gold Move pictograms have thicker and darker outlines. This still goes for Duets, Trios, and Dance Crews, just like in Just Dance 2018.

Just Dance 2020[]

In the eleventh game, the pictogram slide has been completely replaced. It is now a bar with rounded edges and a small triangle at the top. The bar pulses instead of flashing. The pictogram bar is the same color as the lyrics. The pictograms have a slightly more visible pulse. The solo Gold Move pictograms are slightly the same as Just Dance 2018.

Just Dance 2021[]

In the twelfth game, the bar is the same as Just Dance 2020 but with no gradients, the pictograms are slightly less detailed than Just Dance 2020.

Just Dance 2022[]

In the thirteenth game, the bar is the same as Just Dance 2021. The pictograms are slightly more detailed than Just Dance 2021.

Just Dance 2023 Edition[]

In the fourteenth game, the pictogram bar is remodeled to lack a central arrow and is now white. The pictograms are slightly bigger and are slightly less detailed than Just Dance 2022.

Since the 1.0.4 update, the pictogram bar has a slightly different beat animation.

Japanese and Chinese series[]

Just Dance Wii[]

Just Dance Wii pictograms are based off Just Dance 2 pictograms.

Just Dance Wii 2[]

Just Dance Wii 2 pictograms are based off Just Dance 4 pictograms.

Just Dance Wii U[]

Just Dance Wii U pictograms are based off Just Dance 2014 pictograms.

舞力全开2015[]

Most of the pictograms in 舞力全开2015 are based off Just Dance 2016 pictograms (except for Dancing Diva, which has Just Dance 2015-styled pictograms).

Yo-kai Watch Dance: Just Dance Special Version[]

Yo-kai Watch Dance pictograms are based off of Just Dance 2016 pictograms.

舞力全开:活力派[]

舞力全开:活力派’s pictograms are based off Just Dance 2017 pictograms, except the color gradients are more pixelated.

舞力全开2017[]

舞力全开2017’s pictograms are based off Just Dance 2018 pictograms, as seen in the Gold Move 3 pictogram of Tui Zhi Ge. The routines from the main series use their initial pictograms.

舞力全开[]

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Kids series[]

Just Dance Kids[]

In this game, pictograms are mostly orange with a white orb on the right hand, and a slight 3D effect. They slide towards a triangle, like in the first games of the series; this feature is brought in all other games of the Kids series.

Just Dance Kids 2[]

Here, pictograms are mostly blue with a much more visible 3D effect. They look shorter and with a bigger head.

Just Dance: Disney Party[]

In this game, the pictograms are like Just Dance Kids 2 pictograms, but they have a sort of yellow bracelet on the right arm and they fade.

Just Dance Kids 2014[]

In this game, pictograms have thicker limbs and a 2D aspect, and their body fade from light blue to teal downwards. The props look different as well, and Duet pictograms slide from different sides.

Just Dance: Disney Party 2[]

Just Dance: Disney Party 2 pictograms are based off Just Dance 4 pictograms, but they are all purple with white arrows and props. They have a thin black outline as well. Duets pictograms come from different directions, like in Just Dance 2.

Other spin-offs[]

ABBA: You Can Dance/Michael Jackson: The Experience[]

In both games, the pictograms are contained into a white circle. They appear as black 2D stylized bodies, with the right arm colored pink in ABBA: You Can Dance and blue in Michael Jackson: The Experience. They slide bottom up, and they disappear with a fading effect.

Michael Jackson: The Experience (Xbox 360)[]

They are all black and they are in a man shape. They appear on the right of the dancer(s). They are in a gray box. Each box contains one or two pictograms.

Dance on Broadway (Wii)[]

They look similar to the pictograms in Just Dance, but they're smaller and they are all black. They slide from different sides, like in Just Dance 2 duets.

Dance on Broadway (PS3)[]

They are in a boy shape. They are all gray with black arrows. The slide is similar to Michael Jackson: The Experience and ABBA: You Can Dance.

The Black Eyed Peas Experience (Wii)[]

They look similar to Just Dance pictograms; they're all orange with light blue arrows, and they have a clay texture. Their arms are not connected to their body.

The Black Eyed Peas Experience (Xbox)[]

In this game, pictograms are GIF files. They are a white shape, showing the moves over the camera square.

The Hip Hop Dance Experience[]

In this game, pictograms are GIF files. They are a dark blue boy shape, showing the moves under the camera square.

The Smurfs Dance Party[]

They are all orange with light blue arrows, and they're very small. They have a thick white outline, and they disappear immediately on a motionless white triangle.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • Mashed Potato Time has the lowest pictogram count in the whole series, with 26 on Just Dance and 20 on Just Dance 3.
  • The routine with the highest number of unique pictograms is currently Without Me (Extreme Version) (222).
  • The routine with the lowest number of unique pictograms is currently Happy Birthday (12).
    • In terms of Duets, the record currently belongs to Girlfriend, which only has 13 unique pictograms.
  • The punch emblems are actually concaves.
  • Many pictograms mention celebrities, films, and other elements of pop culture in their file names.
    • It is also common to find typos and spelling mistakes in them.
  • In Just Dance and Just Dance 2, pictograms originally had a neon outline (according to some promotional gameplays).
  • From the beginning until Just Dance 2, pictograms code names were in French; from Just Dance 2 onwards, instead, their code names are mostly in English.
  • Starting from Just Dance 2 onwards, the color scheme of pictograms are as follows: the color of the pictogram body is the same color as the main/prominent color on the coach, and the arrows, punch effects, and shake lines are the same color as the glove.
    • For Duets and higher, the arrows, punch effects, and shake lines are the same color as the pictogram.
    • If all the coaches are the same color (as in No Control), the pictogram colors are the same color as the glove.
  • From Just Dance 2 to Just Dance 4, several pictograms are off-centered. Starting from Just Dance 2014, this phenomenon happens less often.
  • The default colors for the Just Dance pictograms (from Just Dance 2014 onwards) is listed below:
  • In post-Just Dance 2014 games, many routines have Just Dance 2014-styled Gold Move pictograms (with a white glow). Some routines have certain Gold Move pictograms in that style, while others have all of them in that style.
  • In Just Dance 2015, some maps have pictograms in the style of Just Dance 2016; vice versa, some maps in Just Dance 2016 have pictograms in the style of Just Dance 2015.
  • In more recent games, pictograms are often colored according to the coach’s bottomwear rather than their top (for example, Sweet Little Unforgettable Thing’s pictograms are cobalt blue to match her denim shorts rather than yellow-orange to match her shirt).
  • In Just Dance 2020 and Just Dance 2021, since the pictogram bar color uses the same hexadecimal as the lyrics, the former is red if the song is an instrumental.
    • However, Soul Bossa Nova and all Just Dance 2021 Kids Mode exclusives have their own hexadecimal, despite all these songs being instrumentals.
  • In a tweet about the reveal of Walking on Sunshine, the pictogram model is referred to as "Pictoman".[1]

Just Dance 2[]

Just Dance 3[]

  • In Just Dance 3, many songs have pictograms that are based off Just Dance 2’s, except more detailed and flexible.
  • In Just Dance 3, most pictograms in Duets and Dance Crews are semi-transparent. This typically happens when one coach is dancing more forward than the others.

Just Dance 2014[]

Just Dance Now[]

Just Dance Wii[]

  • In Just Dance Wii, the flashing triangle is placed higher than in Just Dance 2 and Summer Party/Extra Songs, but the pictograms slide is not, making the pictograms appear slightly under the triangle.

Dance on Broadway[]

  • In Dance on Broadway, there are two pictogram slides, one coming from the left and one from the right, even if there is only one person playing.

Gallery[]

Standard pictograms[]

Main series (Solo)[]

Main series (Duets)[]

Main series (Trios)[]

Main series (Dance Crews/Quartets)[]

Japanese and Chinese series (Solos)[]

Japanese and Chinese series (Duets)[]

Japanese and Chinese series (Quartets)[]

Kids/Disney series[]

Other spin-offs[]

Shake/Gold Moves[]

For a comprehensive gallery of Gold Move pictograms, visit Gold Move.

Unusual Props[]

Others[]

References[]

Site Navigation[]

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