This document provides an overview of the history and principles of animation. It defines animation as the art of creating differing images that create the illusion of movement when played rapidly. The key principles that allow for this illusion are persistence of vision, where the brain retains images slightly longer than registered, and the physiology of how light is captured and interpreted by the eye and brain. The document then outlines major developments in animation history from early mechanical toys and devices in the 1820s-1890s, through early animated films at the turn of the century, the birth of character animation with Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse in the 1920s, the first Oscar for animation in 1932, the rise of computer animation in 1995, and the use of stop-

1. Animation
Principles of Animation

2. Animation
What is Animation?
• Working with the person next to you, write
a definition of animation.
– You cannot use any resources (dictionary,
Internet, etc).
– You must come up with the definition by
yourselves.
– You will be sharing your definition with the
rest of the class.
– Write your definition in your notes.

3. Animation
What is Animation?
• Animation is the art of creating a series of
differing images that create the
appearance of movement when played in
rapid succession over time.
• Websters: The act or process of imparting life,
spirit or motion.
• Art in movement
• The art of movement

4. Animation
Movement
• Movement makes static drawings come
alive.
• It is the quality of the movement (the life)
that matters, not the quality of a particular
image or drawing or frame of film.
• Whether it is a drawing or a lump of clay,
the animator places life and meaning into
the material by making it move!

5. Animation
What does it take to be an Animator?
• A fascination with the way things move.
• Sharp observational skills
• A willingness to be an actor!
• Problem solving skills
• Lots of patience
• A little bit of perseverance!

6. Animation
How do pictures move?
• A trick of the human eye and the brain
• Obviously, the images don’t actually move!
• The illusion of movement is created by a
physiological phenomenon called
persistence of vision.

7. Animation
Persistence of Vision
• Light is captured by the
eye
• The image is focused
upon the retina (at the
back of the eye).
• The brain reads and interprets the image.
• The brain retains the image slightly longer
than it is actually registered on the retina.

8. Animation
Timeline: A History of Animation
1828 – The Thaumatrope
A simple mechanical toy that created the
illusion of movement was made popular by
Paul Roget.

9. Animation
1844 - Theatre Optique, Paris
Emil Reynaud opens his Theatre
Optique in Paris. The Praxinoscope实
用镜contained mirrors placed on an
inside column that reflected out the
sequential drawings that were on the
inside of the drum. He was able to
project 80 frames without changing reels
and could project 10 to 15 minute "films".
But the advent of film drove him out of
business and in 1910 he threw all his
equipment into a river and died destitute
in a sanatorium in 1918.

10. Animation
1893 - The Kinetoscope投映机
Thomas Edison invents the Kinetisocope. Reels of
celluloid were stretched over a set of wheels that passed
in front of a viewing window. Only one viewer at a time
could watch.

11. Animation
1894 – First Copyrighted Film
• Thomas Edison
copyrights the first
motion picture,
The Record Of A
Sneeze.
• Thomas Edison
opens his
Kinetiscope Parlor
in New York.

12. Animation
1906 – First example of Frame-By-
Frame Animation
• James Stuart Blackton makes Humorous
Phases Of Funny Faces. This film is usually
considered the first known example of
animation as some of the drawn sequences are
shot frame-by-frame. Blackton used a
combination of blackboard and chalk drawing
and cutouts to achieve animation.
Play Movie

13. Animation
1914 – Gertie the Dinosaur
Winsor McCay's Gertie The
Dinosaur was the first major
triumph in character
animation (it is still a
marvelous film). It was
shown as a film in the
theaters and also as a
multimedia event on stage
with McCay interacting with
the animated Gertie. Play Movie

14. Animation
1920 – Felix The Cat
Felix The Cat, the most
popular character and series
of this period, is created by
Otto Messmer of Sullivan's
studio.

15. Animation
1926 – Adventures of Prince
Achmed
Adventures Of Prince Achmed, a one-hour
shadow puppet film was released. This
film is considered to be the oldest
surviving feature-length animated film.
Play Movie

16. Animation
1928 – Mickey Mouse is born!
• Steamboat Willy, starring a
little mouse named Mickey,
opens in New York in
November 1928. It is the
first successful animated
film with sound. It made
Mickey Mouse a star and
launched the Disney
Studios. Play Movie

17. Animation
1932 – Animation Wins an Oscar
• Flowers And Trees, by Disney
Studios, won the first Academy
Award for Animation. This film
was the first to use three strip
Technicolor in animation.
• Line & Cell Animation
becomes the standard animation
technique for the next 60 years!
Play History of Disney

18. Animation
1993 – Stop-Motion Animation
• Nightmare Before
Christmas, by Tim
Burton, is released. A
departure from
traditional cell animation.
Uses stop-motion
object animation.
Play Movie

19. Animation
1994 – A Billion Dollar Animation
The Lion King is
released by Disney.
This animated film
made over $1 billion in
theaters. It became a
world-wide
phenomenon!

20. Animation
1995 – Computer Animated Film
Toy Story, is the first
computer animated
feature film released
and it takes in more
money at the box office
than any other film in
1995.
Play Movie