Phenakistoscope

Hello there everyone!

Do you want to know what comes after Thaumatrope? Well, of course it is Phenakistoscope!

What is Phenakistoscope? Phenakistoscope was a great improvement on the thaumatrope, creating one moving image from several stills, and became the first optical toy to create a true illusion of motion. It is actually a very simple design. It uses an open top drum with a sequence of images drawn inner side of the drum. Each image is all in the same distance from the centre of the circle. There are slits on the drum, so that people can look at the images inside while the drum spinning. The slits help the viewer look at one direction, instead of focusing one image on the drum. Then the viewer would be able to see a sequence of according images, a motion picuture. 

Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and his sons introduced the phenakistoscope also known as the 'spindle viewer' in 1832.  It was also invented independently in the same year by Simon von Stampfer of Vienna, Austria, who called his invention a stroboscope.  Plateau's inspiration had come primarily from the work of Michael Faraday and Peter Mark Roget which Faraday had invented a device he called "Michael Faraday's Wheel," that consisted of two discs that spun in opposite directions from each other.  From this, Plateau took another step, adapting Faraday's wheel into a toy he later named the phenakistoscope. 

Moreover, unlike Faraday's Wheel, whose pair of discs spun in opposite directions, a phenakistoscope's discs spin together in the same direction.  When viewed in a mirror through the first disc's slots, the pictures on the second disc will appear to move. The phenakistoscope consisted of two discs mounted on the same axis.  The first disc had slots around the edge, and the second contained drawings of successive action, drawn around the disc in concentric circles.   

After going to market, the phenakistoscope received other names, including Phantasmascope and Fantoscope. It was quite successful for two years until William George Horner invented the zoetrope, which offered two improvements on the phenakistoscope.

Phenakistoscope

Thaumatrope

Hello again fanmators!

Are you ready to know about Thaumatrope? Do get ready cause I will start right now. Well, thaumatrope, is a Victorian toy constructed from a simple disk or card featuring a different picture on each side and attach two pieces of strings. When the strings are twirled rapidly, the card will rotates on its axis and then the two image will appear combine. 

Thaumatrope was invented by John Aryton Paris, an English Physician in 1825. It was the first instrument to exploit the persistence the vision on the retina. 

Thaumatrope 

The invention of thaumatrope means the 'turning marvel' and 'wonder turner' were the first of many optical toys, simple devices that continue to provide animated entertainment until the development of modern cinema. Although thaumatrope does not produce animated scenes, it relies on the same persistance of vision principle that other optical toys use to create illusions of motion. 

Persistence of vision is the ability of the eye to retain an image for roughly 1/20 of a second after the object is gone. In this case, the eye continue to see two images on the other side of the thaumatrope shortly after each has disappeared. As the thaumatrope spins, a series of quick flashes is interpreted as one continuous image. 

Most pairs of thaumatrope images were pictures that did not imply motion, such as running animals or dancing people. A thaumatrope could only take two images and merge them, essentially creating one still image from two. 

The Magic Lantern

Hye my dear fanmators!

Who knows about the magic lantern? Anyone? The magic lantern is a device that played an important roled in the early entertainment. The magic lantern is kind of the same with today's slide projectors. The first magic lantern uses fire instead of electric bulbs to illuminate the slides. Another difference is the shape of the slides. Today's slide are made of lightweight, thin plastic or glass and come in single frames. Magic lantern slides came in strips of large, bulky pieces of glass held together with metal or wood. Moreover, magic lantern often contain mechanical features that allows limited movement of one or more slides within the projector. The magic lantern also could display images of greaer complexity than today's slide projectors. 

The magic lantern in the animation history is a pre-cinematic invention that sometime had "animated" slides. It is a precursor to the projectors and was very popular in Victorian times. 

The Magic Lantern 

The Magic Lantern was the first projector invented in the 1650s and soon became a showman's instrument. By the end of 17th century wandering lanternist were puting on small-scale shows in inns and castles, using a lantern lit with a feeble candle. These shows usually featured goblins and devils hence the name 'magic lantern'. 

An Early Showman carrying his Magic Lantern and Slides 

Soon, at the end of Victorian period, magic lanterns were everywhere like homes, churshes, fraternal lodges, schools, large-scale halls and theaters as a regular part of home and public entertainment. These lanterns came in sizes and shapes. There are from toy lanterns for the children to those used in large halls, huge brass and mahagony, double-lens machines lit with 'limelight'. The limelight was created when oxygen and hyrdrogen squirted on a piece of limestone which turned incandescent once the gas were lit and it will produce a light as powerful as todays slide projectors. The lantern then projected hand-colored slides on a full-size screen. 

Ancient Animation

Assalammualaikum
Hye fanmation!

Ever wonder when animation is discovered? Well, the phenomenon of motion in a drawing was discovered in a painting of the paleolitic cave paintings, where there was images of animals in motion being created by superimposing multiple legs. Without an intention of  making the images move, the painting is not animation in the true sense of the word. Yet, it conveyed the human need to display motion in art. 

The Crossed Bison

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http://poseidonsciences.scienceblog.com/60/animation%E2%80%94from-an-ancient-art-form-to-high-science-cryptic-images-from-paleolithic-cave-drawings-to-shrek-the-movie/ 

Above is an example of the cave drawing, it is called 'The Crossed Bison' and it showed perspectives drawings not seen in arts until the Renaissance about 15th century DA. Now, lets proceed with the Egyptian Interiors. The egyption interiors starts with an egyption mural approximately 4000 years old. It was found in the tomb of Khnumhotep at the Beni Hassan cemetery. It features a very long series of images that depict the sequence of events in a wrestling match.

Egyption Burial Chamber Mural

https://rdoubleday.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/egyptian-burial-chamber-mural-ca-4000-years-old/

Next is the Greek Pottery, where it provides not only some of the most distinctive vase shapes from antiquity but also some of the oldest and most diverse representations of the cultural beliefs and practices of the ancient Greeks. Furthermore, with the durability and lack of appeal, the pottery is one of the geat archeological surviviors therefore an important tool for archeologist and historians in determining the chronology of ancient Greece.

Greek Pottery in terms of decorations evolved over the centuries and were categorized into for braod groups. These group in some cases ran contemporary for decades. Also, soem city-states and regions were either slow to catch on to new styles or simply preferred the 'old' style decoration. Moreover, some cities and regions preferred to follow their own artistic path rather than imitate the styles of the more dominant centers such as Athens and Corinth. The examples of the pottery are the Geometric Pottery, Black Figure Pottery and the Red Figure Pottery.

Black Figure Pottery

http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Pottery/ 

Geometric Pottery

http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Pottery/ 

  

Stop Motion (Claymation, Cut-Outs)

Assalammualaikum, Hye Fanmators! 👧👦

"I love all forms of animation, but there is something unique and special to stop-motion: it's more real and the set is lit like a set. But I think it's also a kind of lonely and dark thing to want to do." 

~ Tim Burton    

Today, I am going to start on the last type of animation that is Stop Motion.

First of all, how is stop motion being done? Well, stop motion is done by taking a photo of an object and then moving it just a little bit and taking another photo. This process is then being repeated and when the photos is being played one by one, it will give the illusion of movement. This is kind of similar to traditional animation but the only difference is that it uses a real life materials instead of drawings. 

Stop motion can be refer as any animations that uses objects that are photographed in a sequence to create an animated action. The process of stop motion animation took a very long time. This is because each object has to be carefully moved inch by inch, while photographing every change, to create a smooth sequence of animation. Six categories of stop motion are claymation, puppets, cut-out, silhouette, action figures or lego, and pixelation. Lets dive a little into each categories. 

Claymation is one of the most popular form of stop motion. The process involve you working with clay or play-doh characters that can be easily manipulated for animation. Whereas, advanced claymation such as The Neverhood uses metal skeletons on which the clay is then molded for more sturdy rigs. 

Puppets, some animators use regular puppets instead of clay one, usually also built upon some sort of skeleton rig. The faces of the characters can be replaced based on the expression,or be controlled whithin the rig. Now, cut-out is another popular form of stop motion. Using construction paper or cardboard caharacters and placing them on a paper while shooting the animation from above. The cardboard is then moved a little each frame to create the illusion of movement. 

Silhouette is similar to cut-out animation where it uses cardboard or some kind of flat material, but the objects are all black and the shot is depicted with silhouettes only. This is also one of the oldest form of stop motion and is rarely used today. The other category is the action figures or lego, where some use the characters for animation. This catogery is very popular on Youtube where many channels dedicated to creating funny skits with lego characters. One of the great examples is Robot Chicken. This is because they use famous action figures to make fun of pop culture. Lastly is the pixelation which is the form of stop motion that uses real people and real environments to create unreal videos. It uses the stop motion method of taking a still photo, moving things around, then taking another photo, but the subject matter is usually real people instead of puppet. 

So, below is a video related with the 5 types of animation. Enjoy! 

Motion Graphics ( Typography, Animated Logos )

Hye fanmators!

Well, today I am going to on about motion graphics. I hope you are still with me on this.

Motion graphics still considered as a form of animation. It is rather different from other types of animations because unlike any other types, it is not character or story driven. It is the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or promotional purposes. For axample, the animated logos, explainer videos, app commercials, television promos or even film opening titles. 

The skills for motion graphics have some attribute in common with the other types of animation and they are understanding good composition and the all important camera motion. The process of creating motion graphics depends on the programs that are used, because video editing softwares often have different settings although the process is the same. Motion graphics always involve animating images, texts or video clips using key framing that are used to make a smooth motion between frames. These programs also support scripts that will automatically alter the animations to various preferences that are required. Moreover, motion graphics also frequently use partical systems to create various effects. It is basically points in 3D and 2D space that is shown as texts, images or visual effects. The partical affects are made with emitters that digitally produces lights, surfaces, or a disassembling animation. 

Last but not least, motion graphics are simply flat-based images or 3D objects that are given the illusion of motion, complemented with music or sound effects. This technique is often used for multimedia projects. 

3D Animation (CGI, Computer Animation)

Hye Fanmation!

Can I call everyone that name? Or you prefer something else. Do tell me if you have ideas. So, lets proceed with 3D animation. If you want to know, 3D animation works in a completely different way than traditional animation. They both required an understanding of the same principles of movement and composition but the technical skill set is very different for each task. With computer animation, you do not have to be an amazing drafman to be an animator. This is because, 3D animation is like playing with puppets rather than drawing.

3D animation is also known as CGI animation is made by generating images using computer graphic that create a series of images that forms an animation. CGI stands for Computer Generated Images, so it can easyly mean both static and dynamic images using computer graphics. 3D animation techniques is mostly similar with stop-motion animation as both deal with animating and posing models, and still adapts to the frame-by-frame approach of 2D animation but a ot more controllable since it is all digital feedback.

Instead of drawn or consructed with clay, the characters in 3D animations are digitally modeled on screen, and then fitted with a 'skeleton' that allows animators to animate the models for their use. Furthermore, animation is done by posing the models in certain key frames, which the computer will then calculate and perform a 'tweening' animation that is interpreted by the computer in each frame between the key frames.

After the modelling process is complete the computer has to render each frame individually, which can be very time consuming depending on the quality of the images and the quantity of polygons in the scene. A 3D animators will spend most of his or her time looking at curves that represent the movement of different body parts over time.

Also, with 3D animation. the characters body parts are always peresent and should be take into consideration. This is because, the character's body parts always exist in the shot. Even when one hand is not visible it is still there. So, it means more works for the animators since they nedd to be aware of the entire character at all times.

Another thing about 3D animation is the frame rate. Traditional animators usually works on 2's meaning they they would draw a new drawing every two frames thus having one drawing last for two frames. However, with 3D animation, the motion is always smooth and having a character stop completely looks like a mistake. Even when the charater is standing still, there should always be some sign of life or gentle movement indicating the illusion of life.