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Flip Books: The Original Animation
Although the exact date of the flip book's creation is unknown, it's clear that were around long before the machines of the 1830's. Flip books are only capable of showing one short animation, and have no electrical or even mechanical components. They're just specially shaped books that have one frame of the animation on each page, to be flipped through quickly so that the picture seems to move. They're incredibly simple in terms of technology, which is why they came first. -
The Beginnings of Animation
People have used machines like the phenakistoscope to create an illusion of motion in images since the 1830's. These types of inventions were typically only capable of very short loops of animation. -
Silent Era
In this time period, the technology for animation existed, but without any sound. That wouldn't change until the Golden Age. Animations grew in public popularity during this time. -
James Stuart Blackton, the Father of Animation
J. Stuart Blackton was the first person to bring an animated cartoon to the United States. For this, he is considered to be the Father of American Animation. His first animation was called The Enchanted Drawing. -
Cel Animation
This technique consists of laying a clear sheet over a background image. The sheet is covered with multiple hand-painted images, which are cycled through quickly to appear animated. Cel Animation was used until the 1990's, when it was finally phased out of use. -
Earl Hurd and John Bray
Earl Hurd (pictured) and John Bray were the animators who invented the technique of cel animation. -
The Golden Age
The Golden Age of American Animation is a time period that began with the addition of sound to animations. During this period, animations were popular among much broader audiences, and were produced by companies like Disney to be enjoyed by the public. They even began making feature-length films that were entirely animated. The Golden Age ended when televised animation grew in popularity in the 1970's. -
Computer Animation
Digital animation using a computer was first used in the 1960's. Today, this kind of animation comes in many forms, like 3D animation. Most modern animators use computers to do their job. -
The 12 Principles of Animation
The 12 Basic Principles of Animation were conceptualized by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. They shared this set of principles with the world in their 1981 book, "The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation". -
12 Principles of Animation cont.
- Squash and Stretch
- Anticipation (pictured)
- Staging
- Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
- Follow Through and Overlapping Action
- Slow In and Slow Out
- Arc
- Secondary Action
- Timing
- Exaggeration
- Solid Drawing
- Appeal
