Luka Eterović

Animation

Animation is the illusion of a motion by means of the rapid display of sequence of images
that slightly differ from each other.
People trough history tried to bring images to life using many inventions.
Archeological artefacts prove that we’ve been attempting to depict things in motion as long
as we’ve been able to draw.

Early ways of showing animation (3,000 B.C. - 1500 A.D.)

Some notable examples from ancient times are a bronze-age pottery bowl which depicts
goats leaping, found in a Shahr-e Sukhteh, an archaeological site located in the
southeastern part of Iran 3,000 B.C., and Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man
drawing that shows multiple angles, implying movement, from European renaissance,
1500 A.D.

Animation before film (1600 – 1877)

With the spread of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America in the 18th and
19th centuries came experimentation with machines that would make images appear to
move.
Notable examples are:
The magic lantern, from 1603., is an image projector using pictures on sheets of glass.
Since some sheets contain moving parts, it is considered the first example of projected
animation.
The thaumatrope, from 1824., housed a rotating mechanism with a different picture on
each side.
When rotated, you saw a combined picture (known as persistence of vision).
The phenakistoscope, from 1831., featured spinning disks reflected in mirrors that made it
seem like the pictures were moving.
The zoetrope, from 1834., was a hollow drum that housed images on long interchangeable
strips that spin and made the images appear to move.
The flip-book, from 1868., also known as the kineograph, reached a wide audience and is
credited with inspiring early animators more than the machines developed in this era.
The praxinoscope, from 1877., expanded on the zoetrope, using multiple wheels to rotate
images. It is considered to have shown the first prototypes of the animated cartoon.

The Silent era (1900 – 1930)

The greatest invention of all was of course a discovery of a movie camera and a standard
picture film, and the first ever to included an animated sequence was The Enchanted
Drawing from 1900 directed by J. Stuart Blackton.
The first animated film using what came to be known as traditional animation creation
methods was Fantasmagorie from 1908, by the French artist, Émile Cohl.
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The film was created by drawing each frame on paper and then shooting each frame onto
negative film, which gave the picture a blackboard look.
In 1914, American cartoonist Winsor McCay released Gertie the Dinosaur, an early
example of character development in drawn animation.
Also in 1914, John Bray opened John Bray Studios, which revolutionised the way
animation was created and launch the careers of the cartoonists that created Mighty
Mouse, Betty Boop, and Woody Woodpecker.
Earl Hurd, one of Bray's employees patented the cel technique. This involved animating
moving objects on transparent celluloid sheets. Animators photographed the sheets over a
stationary background image to generate the sequence of images.
In 1915, Max and Dave Fleischer invented rotoscoping, the process of using film as a
reference point for animation.
The first known animated feature film was El Apóstol, made in 1917 by Quirino Cristiani
from Argentina.
In 1920, Otto Messmer of Pat Sullivan Studios created Felix the Cat — often considered
the first animated movie star.
Steamboat Willie, from 1928. featuring Mickey Mouse, the most iconic animated character
—becomes the first cartoon with the sound printed on the film, and is the first notable
success for Walt Disney Studios, founded in Los Angeles in 1923, which will soon to
become the world’s leading animation studio to very this day.

The Golden Age (1930-1950)

During what many consider to be the “Golden Age” (1930-1950s) of animation, theatrical
cartoons became an integral part of popular culture. These years are defined by the rise of
Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Silly Symphonies), Warner Brothers,
MGM, and Fleischer (Betty Boop, Popeye).
In 1937. Walt Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first animated
feature to use hand-drawn animation.
In 1962. Dušan Vukotić made Surogat (The Substitute) a short animated film produced by
Zagreb Film. The film won an Oscar for Short Subjects in 1962.

Television Era
From 1960-1980s, The animation industry began to adapt to the fact that television
continued its rise as the entertainment medium of choice for American families. Studios
created many cartoons for TV, using a “limited animation” style. By the mid ‘80s, with help
from cable channels such as The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, cartoons were
ubiquitous on TV.
The anime boom, the Japanese animation, of the 1980s is considered, by many, the
beginning of the "golden age" of anime.

Modern Era
From 1980 until today is Modern Era marked by The CGI (computer generated imagery)
which revolutionised animation. A principal difference of CGI animation compared to
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traditional animation is that drawing is replaced by 3D modelling, almost like a virtual

version of stop-motion. A form of animation that combines the two and uses 2D computer
drawing can be considered computer aided animation.
The Adventures of Andre & Wally B, from 1984., was the first fully CGI-animated short film,
created by The Graphics Group, the precursor of what would be later known as Pixar.
In 1995., Pixar and Disney releases first fully computer-animated feature, Toy story.
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first given for films made in 2001, and
the film who won the award was Shrek made by DreamWorks studio.
Today, there are many studios such as Walt Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Studio Ghibli,
LAIKA and many others from all around the world that uses hybrids of 3D, 2D, stop
animation, rotoscoping and others animating techniques to bring images to life.