The History of Animation and it's Evolving Craft

Fig 1. Steppe Bison Cave Drawing.

SUMMARY:

In the early stages of civilization, considered to be the Stone Age, animals were painted on cave walls with multiple limbs to show their movement (Williams, 2009, p. 11), see Figure 1.

Fig 2. Egypt's attempt to trick the eyes (Williams, 2009, p. 12).

Fig 3. Olympics Sprinting Amphora.

In Ancient Greece, pottery was painted with figures in progressing stages- if the pots were quickly spun it would look as if the figures were moving (Williams, 2009, p. 12), see Figure 3.

The first 'attempt to project drawings onto a wall' was done in 1640, by Athonasius Kircher's Magic Lantern (Williams, 2009, p. 12). This was done using the materials; glass, string and pseudo-puppetry- the paintings of the mouse and man were done on separate glass and then held by string up against the wall- whenever the man's mouth was open the mouse would skitter in (Williams, 2009, p. 13).

Photography wasn't invented earlier than the 1830s, so drawings not photos, were the main method used to create 'an illusion of movement' (Williams, 2009, p.13).

The 19th century brought many inventions for animation (Williams, 2009, pp. 13-15). Peter Mark Roget rediscovered the 'persistence of vision' meaning our eyes preserve an image of what we have previously seen; without this epiphany, animation and film would never exist.

Fig 4. The Thaumatrope.

The Thaumatrope is a cardboard disc held between to strings; both sides of this disc have different drawings or pictures. When the disc is quickly spun using the strings- an illusion is made of both pictures combined into one. as seen in Figure 4 (Williams, 2009, p. 13).

Fig 5. The Phenakistoscope.

As seen in Figure 5, when this contraptions discs are aligned and spun in sync, the drawings seem to move (Williams, 2009, p. 14).

Fig 6.

Figure 6 shows similar mechanisms with their differences being slits and mirrors. The Zoetrope was invented earlier than the other. When both are spun there is an illusion of movement seen through various mechanisms; through the slits in the zoetrope and on mirrors in the praxinoscope (Williams, 2009, p. 14).

Fig 7. A kineograph.

Also known as flip book, is a creation used till this day by professional animators when drawing sequences. As shown above, this is how the book is supposed to be used, and as all items shown previously there is always the trickery of motion (Williams, 2009, pp. 14-15).

The first animated picture (of cartoons) called Humorous Phases of Funny Faces was released to the public in 1906; it had been created with the collaboration of inventor Thomas Edison and newspaper cartoonist James Stuart Blackton (Williams, 2009, p. 15).

Since then, animation has evolved and adapted into the digital realm. Disney has pioneered a type of 'realistic' and believable animation by adding weight and muscle tone to its characters making them both expressive and endearing to a majority of its audience as told by Williams (2009, p. 5).

Previous animated film's technology was only used to make cartoons a little realistic but it is now to the point of uncanny valley when characters are less cartoony and leave audiences repulsed This has been caused by the use of 3D animation instead of 2D (Besen, 10/2004, para. 20-23). Different animation companies created more of a stylized design when using 2D for audiences to differentiate them from their competitors, but now with 3D, this individuality has been lost (Besen, 8/2004, para. 12-16).

REFLECTION:

I agree with Besen that when using CG for 3D animation it should remain realistic for non-human characters but cartoony for humans whereas 2D can stay as it has for these roles (Besen, 10/2004, para. 36).

Currently, the animation sector of the film industry only focuses on 3D animation for cartoons, I think it should only be used in live action such as James Cameron's Avatar, to create believability when making these live action settings. Animated cartoon films should go back to their 2D roots for a while.

Word Count: 628

REFERENCES:

Images

Figure 1. Fritz, C. (n.d). Steppe Bison Cave Drawing [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bison-cave-paintings-prehistoric-art-france-lascaux-chauvet-pont-darc-marsoulas-a7367626.html

Figure 2. Schlosberg, J. (2016). Egyptian 'Moving' Hieroglyphs Sketch by R. Williams [Image]. Retrieved from https://imgur.com/gallery/OTi7W

Figure 3. Perseus Digital Library (n.d). Olympics Sprinting Amphora [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-getty-villa-guide-to-the-ancient-olympics/

Figure 4. Victorian Thaumatropes [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from https://teacherswebresources.com/2016/03/28/victorian-thaumatrope/

Figure 5. Phenakistoscope [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from http://scopplestone117934stopmotionanimation.blogspot.com/2013/03/zanatrope.html

Figure 6. Zoetrope & Praxinoscope [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from https://laurabaileyanimation.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/praxinoscope/

Figure 7. Kineograph, 1868 [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from https://fliptomania.com/did-you-know/

Sources

Besen, E. (2004, August 13). The Drive to Realism: From Disney to Harryhausen to Landreth — Part 1 [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.awn.com/animationworld/drive-realism-disney-harryhausen-landreth-part-1

Besen, E. (2004, October 8). The Drive to Realism — Part 2: CG Takes the Wheel [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.awn.com/animationworld/drive-realism-part-2-cg-takes-wheel

Williams, R. (2009). Drawing In Time. In The Animator's Survival Kit (Expanded ed., pp. 4-15). London, U.K: Faber & Faber