Creating Movement: The Origins of Animation

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!

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?

Animation Development

• As time went on and paper was more available, people wanted to make their own animation toys

• This introduced the flip-book.

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.

Flip Book

Flip Book

Flip Book

Flip Book

Photography and Film

– 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 stop-motion

The invention of photography and moving pictures aided in the development of animation

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

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.