Creating Movement: The
Origins of Animation
Vocabulary Day 1
Thaumatrope
Persistence of Vision
Celluloid Film
Zoetrope
Peter Mark Roget
The originators of animation are
nearly all toys
Thaumatrope
Invented in the 1820s
Name means magic turn
Designed to amuse children
Made of 2 pieces of paper and string
One image on the front, another on the back. As it
spins it gives the illusion of combining the images.
How Does a Thaumatrope
Work?
When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers
the two pictures appear to combine into a single image
due to persistence of vision
Persistence of vision - the eye's ability to retain an
image for roughly 1/20 of a second after the object is
gone.
The eye continues to see the two images on either
side of the thaumatrope shortly after each has
disappeared. As the thaumatrope spins, the series of
quick flashes is interpreted as one continuous image.
Thaumatrope
Examples of Great
Thaumatrope Images
Persistence of Vision
As defined before, persistence of
vision is what enables humans to
view a long sequence of images as
animation.
Our persistence of vision helps us
view cartoons and optical illusions
every day!
Moving Thaumatrope
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Activity
Make a thaumatrope
Follow worksheet
Film each
Zoetrope
Invented in the 1860s
Designed to actually animate
Was an expensive toy for children and adults
Made of a cylinder with slits in it
Images were put on the inside of the cylinder.
The viewer would spin the cylinder to see the
images move.
Zoetrope Animations
How is persistence of vision at work here?
Zoetrope
Use a film strip to create an
animation
Create a repetitive motion on the
film strip
Use our view finder to see your
animation in action
Film
Flip Book
Animation Development
Week 4
As time went on and paper was more
available, people wanted to make
their own animation toys
This introduced the flip-book.
Eadward Muybridge
History of first moving images
Flip-Book
Flip books are made by
layering sheets of paper
with slightly altered images
in a sequential order.
As the viewer quickly flips
through the book, they see
a quick animation.
Vocabulary
Flip Book
Flip Book
Flip Book
Flip Book
Examples
Flip book animations
Activity
Create and film your own flip book
Use a stack of 100 flip cards
Glue card stack on one end using pva glue,
clamp it to dry overnight, cover with
graffers tape once dry
Draw a progressive action. Begin on the
bottom edge, the opposite side of the spine.
Draw 100 frames( drawings) per second of
film
Photography and Film
Week 5
The invention of photography and moving pictures aided in
the development of animation
1906 J. Stuart Blackton made
the first animated film.
He drew faces on board
Photographed them onto
film
Ran the film sequentially to
show the faces
Titled the film:
Humorous Phases of Funny
Phases
It is considered stopmotion
What is Stop-Motion?
Stop-motion is the basis of animation.
Stop-motion is a form of animation that relies on
photographs of still objects to create movement.
Objects are manipulated and photographed
sequentially. When the photographs move together in a
quick sequence (like in a film) it creates the illusion of
movement. This is similar to the way a flip-book works.
Clay figures are often used in stop-motion for their
ease of repositioning. Stop-motion animation using clay
is called clay-mation.
Stop-Motion
Stop-Motion/Clay-Mation
Clay-mation
TIPS
KEEP THE FOLLOWING IN
Mind when ANIMATING
Keep objects on the same spot, mark
where you left off
Keep the size proportional
Your frame must only include objects and
background
Check your speed
MAKE SURE ALL MOVEMENTS ARE SLIGHT
FROM ONE FRAME TO THE NEXT
Famous Clay-mation
Early: During the late 1950s and early
1960s Davey and Goliath was featured
on television. It was a show for children.
Mid: Gumby was a show that premiered
on Saturday morning T.V. in the 1970s
and 1980s for children.
Modern: Wallace and Gromit are
popular clay-mation characters today.
From Stop-Motion to
Cartoons
Artists began to realize that by
drawing and using the stop-motion
animation technique they could
create seamless animation.
In 1914 Winsor McCay, using
drawing and the stop-motion
technique, created the first
character-based cartoon called
Gertie the Dinosaur
Gertie the Dinosaur, which is
only approximately 5 minutes long,
contains 10,000 drawings.
Growing Technology
From 1914-1928 artists
developed the animation
technology and began to
teach others about
animation.
1928 Walt Disney debuts the
first cartoon to feature
animation and sound.
It is called Steamboat Willie.
Looking to the Future
After Steamboat Willie, the
animation world grew in leaps
and bounds.
Even as technology advances,
the basics of animation are still
based stop-motion
During the next 40 years
animation transitions from a
fanciful toy into a major
business (1930s-1970s)
Walt Disney Company
Fox Animation
Hanna-Barbera
Warner Brothers Animation
MGM Animation
Computer Generated
Imagery
In the late 1970s to early
1980s Computer Generated
Imagery or CGI is used in
film for the first time.
CGI allows animators to
create fantasy situation and
illusions within real live
action.
The first mainstream movie
that used CGI was The Last
Starfighter in 1984.
CGI Grows
In 1995 Toy Story premiered. It was
the first full-length motion picture to
be entirely CGI.
Pinnacle of Animation
The movie Avatar uses CGI animation
alongside other image-based
technologies to create stunning
visual effects.
