Stop-Motion Animation

Stop-Motion

Stop-Motion or also known as stop frame is a form of animation technique that physically manipulates that appears to move on its own. The object is usually moved in small movements then photographs are taking which creates the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played back as a continues sequence.

Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of re-positioning. Stop motion animation using Plasticine is called is called clay animation or "clay-mation". Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using people, household objects and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation.

An example of "object animation".

Stop motion animation has a long history in film. It would be used to show objects flying by as if magic was being used. The first stop motion film is credited to J. Stuart Blackton and it was called "Haunted Hotel"

ADVANTAGES: Cheap, Easy to make

DISADVANTAGES: Very time consuming, difficult to get a consistent animation.

Flip Book

Flip Book

A flip book or also known as a flick book is a book with a sequence of pictures that differ gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate motion, this is due to the persistence of vision.

Flip books are essentially a primitive form of animation. They rely on the persistence of vision like most motion pictures do to create the illusion that continues motion  is being seen as oppose to just a series of discontinues images.

Advantages: Cheap and simple to make, you can create a flip book to be however you like there are no restrictions, a flip book retains the same comforting, user-friendly experience which applies to todays readers.

Disadvantages: Very time consuming, easily damaged, it can be difficult to keep a steady pace, you need a significant skill in art.

Zoetrope

Zoetrope

The word "Zoetrope" came from Greek origins, it comes from the Greek words "zoe" which means life and "tropos" which means to turn.

A zoetrope is one of the many pre-film animations devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of images showing progressive phases of that motion.

A zoetrope consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically into the sides. On the inside of the cylinder is a band of images from a set of sequence pictures. As you spin the cylinder you look through the the slits and across from where they are looking they will see a rapid succession producing the illusion of motion.

The basic drum-like form of the zoetrope was created in 1833/44 by a British mathematician William George Horner. Horner's revolving drum had viewing slits between the pictures. He called it "daedaleum"

For displaying moving images, zoetropes were displaced by more advanced technology, notably film and later television. However, in the early 1970s, Sega used a mechanism similar to an ancient zoetrope in order to create electro-mechanical arcade games that would resemble later first-person video game.

Thaumatrope

Thaumatrope

The word Thaumatrope originated from Greek origins, it roughly translates to "wonder turner".

The Thaumatrope was said to be created by two people,  John Ayrton Paris  and Peter Mark Roget, Paris used the thaumatrope to demonstrate the persistence of vision for educational purposes to the Royal College of Physicians in London back in 1824. Now however it is used as a toy for animation purposes.

The thaumatrope is a disk that contains two pictures, one on each side and contains two strings to hold it together. When the strings are twirled between your fingers quickly the two pictures on each side blend into one because of the persistence of vision.

The common thaumatrope generally consists of things like a bare tree on one side of the coin and its leaves on the other or a bird on one side and its cage on the other, they can also consist of poems and riddles having lines of writing on each side.

This is a short clip showing how to create a simple thaumatrope.

Thaumatrope is the first of many uses of optical illusion originating in the 19th century.