History of Animation

History of Animation

• Animation started as an evolution of early motion depicted through sequential images
• Animation has evolved from simple visual experiments to sophisticated digital animations

Cave Painting

• Long before film and animation, people experimented with visually representing motion
• Prehistoric Cave Paintings (30,000 BCE) depicted animals in different poses, suggesting an early understanding of movement

The Magic Lantern

• In 1650, the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America sparked machines that produced pictures giving the illusion of movement
• The Magic Lantern, or Laterna Magica, is an image projector that uses pictures on sheets of glass
• The device is considered the first example of projected animation, utilizing sheets containing moving parts

Discovery of Persistence of Vision

• The Thaumatrope (1825) is a spinning disc with images on both sides that created a combined picture when rotated

Phenakistoscope

• In 1832 the phenakistoscope was created by Joseph Plateau to capture the “persistence of vision."
• The phenakistoscope consisted of a spinning cardboard disk that gave the illusion of movement when viewed in a mirror

Zoetrope

• In 1834 William George Horner invented the Zoetrope
• Zoetrope is a rotating drum lined by a band of pictures that could be swapped out for different pictures

Praxinoscope

• In 1877 the praxinoscope was invented
• Praxinoscope used mirrors to improve the clarity of moving images
• All these devices laid the foundation for the illusion of motion, which later became essential in animation and cinema

Birth of Animation in Film (1900s - 1920s)

• In 1906 J. Stuart Blackton created the Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, which is known as the first film-based animation
• In 1906 Blackton experimented with stop-motion animation, a technique involving taking a photograph of an object, moving its position slightly, photographing it again

Fantasmagorie

• In 1908 Emile Cohl created Fantasmagorie, the first animated film using hand-drawn animation
• Film historians consider Fantasmagorie to be the first animated cartoon
• To make Fantasmagorie, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate, then traced the next drawing with variations on top until he had around 700 drawings

Gertie the Dinosaur

• In 1914 Winsor McCay created Gertie the Dinosaur
• Gertie the Dinosaur is the animated short film that took the next step in paving the road to a more fluid sense of movement
• The innovative technique gave Gertie the presence and personality of an individual with a life of her own

Felix the Cat

• In 1919 Felix the Cat, often considered the first animated movie star, was created by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era
• Felix is famously seen with hands behind his back, head down, and deep in thought and one of the first iconic animated characters

Rise of Animated Cartoons (1920s - 1950s)

• In 1928 Walt Disney was working at his Laugh-O-gram Films studio in Kansas City, Missouri
• After making a few minor changes to his first major character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the character of Mickey Mouse was born
• Disney made history when he produced Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon animation with synchronized sound

Popeye and Betty Boop

• In the 1930s Fleischer Studios pioneered techniques like rotoscoping and produced Popeye and Betty Boop

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

• In 1937 Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was first feature-length animated film, setting a new standard

From Traditional to Digital (1950s - Present)

• Over the decades, animation evolved from hand-drawn to computer-generated imagery (CGI)
• In the 1960s-70s Hanna-Barbera introduced limited animation for TV with shows like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo
• The Japanese Anime Boom (1960s-Present) and shows like Astro Boy (1963) popularized Japanese animation worldwide
• Pixar’s Toy Story (1995) was the first fully CGI-animated feature film
• Motion Capture & Real-Time Animation (2000s-Present), include films like Avatar (2009) and use advanced CGI and performance capture

Conclusion

• Animation started as a curiosity with optical illusions and gradually evolved into a powerful storytelling medium
• From simple hand-drawn sequences to AI-generated animation, it continues to push creative and technological boundaries

Core Animation Principles

• The 12 Principles of Animation are the foundational guidelines for creating believable movement
• Developed by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in 1981, Disney’s 12 Principles of Animation create animated characters with flexibility and weight for more natural motion
• Squash and Stretch: Gives objects a sense of weight and flexibility
• Anticipation: Prepares the audience for an action
• Staging: Directs the viewer's attention to the most important elements
• Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: Includes two approaches to animating movement
• Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Makes actions feel more natural and fluid
• Arc: Makes movements follow curved paths
• Secondary Action: Adds smaller details to enhance the main action
• Timing: Controls the speed of actions
• Exaggeration: Emphasizes movements for comedic or dramatic effect
• Solid Drawing: Creates accurate and appealing character designs
• Appeal: Makes characters and actions engaging and interesting
• Slow in and Slow Out: An object or character in animated video starts their movements more slowly, then picks up speed and finishes with deceleration

Camera Techniques

• Camera Angle: Is the position of the camera relative to the subject (e.g., low angle, high angle, eye level)
• Camera Movement: Describes how the camera moves within a scene (e.g., panning, tilting, tracking, dollying)
• Field of View: Is the area of the scene that is visible to the camera (e.g., wide shot, medium shot, close-up, Bird's-eye view)
• Depth of Field: Is the area of the scene that is in focus

Composition

• Rule of Thirds: Divides the frame into nine equal parts and placing key elements along the lines or at the intersections
• Balance: A method of distributing visual weight evenly within the frame
• Leading Lines: A method of using lines to guide the viewer's eye to the focal point
• Framing: A method of using elements within the scene to frame the subject

Lighting

• Three-Point Lighting: A standard lighting setup that uses a key light, fill light, and backlight

Sound

• Dialogue: The spoken words in a scene
• Sound Effects: Sounds that are added to the scene to enhance realism or create atmosphere
• Music: The musical score that accompanies the animation
• Foley: Creates sound effects in a studio by recording everyday objects

Editing

• Cut: An instantaneous transition between two shots
• Dissolve: A gradual transition between two shots, where one image fades out as the other fades in
• Fade: A transition to or from black
• Montage: A sequence of shots that are edited together to condense time or convey a particular idea

Storytelling

• Storyboarding: Creating a visual representation of the story using a series of drawings or sketches
• Character Development: Creating believable and engaging characters with distinct personalities and motivations
• Narrative Structure: The way in which the story is organized and presented to the audience

Frame Rate (FPS - Frames Per Second)

• Frame rate is the number of frames displayed per second to create smooth animation
• Historical Standard FPS:
• 16–18 FPS – Used in silent films and early animation (Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914)
• 24 FPS – Standardized in the 1930s for smooth cinematic animation (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
• 12 FPS – Used for limited animation, saving time and costs (The Flintstones, 1960)

Rotoscoping (1915)

• Rotoscoping is tracing over live-action footage to create realistic motion
• Max Fleischer invented Rotoscoping in 1915, it was then used extensively for early realistic animations
• For example: Gulliver’s Travels (1939) and Disney’s Snow White (1937) used rotoscoping for human movement

Early Animations & Primitive Forms

• Cave Paintings & Sequential Art (30,000 BCE – 2000 BCE)
• Magic Lantern(1650)
• Thaumatrope (1825)
• Phenakistoscope (1832)
• Zoetrope (1834)
• Praxinoscope (1877)
• Flip Book (1868)
• Stop-Motion & Early Film Experiments (1900s)

Primitive Animation Conclusion

• Primitive animation forms evolved from simple optical illusions to hand-drawn and stop-motion techniques
• These devices helped develop persistence of vision principles, leading to modern animation techniques

Animation & Special Effects in Film Introduction

• In the early 20th century, animators experimented with techniques to enhance storytelling beyond simple frame-by-frame drawings
• This included an early use of special effects in animation

Early Animation Techniques as Special Effects

• Stop-motion animation is one of the earliest forms of animation involving manipulating physical objects (like puppets or clay figures) and photographing them frame by frame
• Films like "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (1898) and "A Trip to the Moon" (1902), featured fantastical elements and transformations by using stop-motion techniques
• "Gertie the Dinosaur" (1914) by Winsor McCay featured one of the first examples of character animation with interactive elements, creating an illusion of depth

Rotoscoping and Layered Effects (1910s-1920s)

• introduced rotoscoping in 1915 which allowed animators to trace over live-action footage, creating more realistic movement Disney’s "Alice Comedies" (1923-1927) combined live-action with animation, an early form of compositing

Multiplane Camera and Atmospheric Effects (1930s-1940s)

• Disney’s multiplane camera (first used in "The Old Mill," 1937) created depth by moving multiple layers at different speeds
• Cel animation became popular in the early 20th century, involves drawing characters and objects on transparent sheets of celluloid, which are then layered and photographed over a painted background
• This technique allowed for more complex and fluid animation, and it was used to create many classic animated films, such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) and "Fantasia" (1940)
• This also introduced groundbreaking water, fire, smoke, lighting and particle effects through traditional hand-drawn animation to enhance realism

Optical and Photographic Effects (1950s-1970s)

• The Use of xerography in Disney films (e.g., "101 Dalmatians," 1961) eliminated the need for hand-inking every frame
• Xerography was a revolutionary technique introduced by Walt Disney Studios in the late 1950s, which changed the animation industry forever
• This allowed animators to transfer drawings directly onto cels using a photocopying process, eliminating the need for labor-intensive hand-inking

How Xerography Worked

• Animators created pencil drawings as usual, replacing traditional inking with direct photocopying onto animation cels
• Transferred lines were then painted from the back, similar to the traditional cel animation method
• Notable Disney Films Using Xerography:
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)
  • The Jungle Book (1967)
  • The Aristocats (1970)
  • Robin Hood (1973)
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

Digital and Computer-Aided Effects (1980s-Present)

• Tron (1982) was one of the first films to integrate CGI into traditional animation
• Pixar's "Toy Story" (1995) marked the first fully CGI-animated feature film
• Modern animation films use advanced VFX, motion capture, and procedural animation to create realistic and stylized effects