Please visit this link below to view the online interactive timeline I created:
http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/278646/Animation-Development-history/#vars!date=1871-01-20_04:22:14!
Traditional 2d animation
Flick book-1868
The first flipbook was patented by John Barnes Linnett named
“Kineogragh”. It was the first type of 2D animation that used a linear sequence
of images compared to circular contraptions such as the Phenakistoscope. It is
a book with an image on each page that changes slightly from one page the next.
When rapidly turning or “flicking” the pages it appears to be animated and
simulating movement.
Cel Animation-1914
Cel that stands for celluloid is a sheet of a transparent material
where objects or images are drawn on to. First used in 1914 by Earl Hurd a
background image would usually be drawn onto a sheet for a particular scene and
then used on other cells to reduce how long it would take to produce each
scene. The outline of the image on a cell would be drawn on the front and the
colour would be on the back. This would hide the brush marks and any scruffy
edges to the colour. These cells can then be put into strips for the use of a
projector.
Two great examples of Cel animation are:
Rotorscoping-1915
This is when animators trace over footage, each and every frame.
Used in live-action and animated films, it originally were projected onto
frosted glass and then re-drawn. However this technique has now been replaced
digitally. It was invented by max Fleischer in 1915 used in his series ‘Out of
the Inkwell’. Rotorscoping creates a stylised “cartoon” look creating large
regions of colour.
Drawn on film-1912
This technique is produced by the animator drawing onto
blank film to create the images. This allows you to draw, paint and attach any
2d objects to create virtually anything. The first and best artists to do this
technique include Len Lye, he used many different techniques to create his work
including carving into black stock film to create patterns and abstract
movements.
Photographic stills-1810
Photographic still were intended for use to market and
publicise feature films and television productions. When using these still to
create an animation there are two possible routes.
The first is to use stop motion animation however this type
of animation tends to be 3D using materials such as clay however 2D animation
can also be achieved when using cut outs such as the well-known TV series south
park. The other way is photoaniamtion which is a technique that is very old,
still photos and artwork are filmed with an animation stand creating special
visual effects.
Digital techniques
2D Bitmap Graphics-1960s
A bitmap image is associated with its name
because of how the image is a map of pixels and suffers badly from image
quality loss when scaling. They are dependent on resolution and the amount of
pixels that are in the image. In comparison with vector graphics there are no
complicated mathematical equations allowing it to be as complex as needed with
intricate curves and millions of colours. Common bitmap file formats include:
- BMP - Bitmap File Format
- GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
- JPG/JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group
- PNG - Portable Network Graphics
- PCX - Personal Computer eXchange
- TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
- PSD - Photoshop Document
2D Vector Graphics-1960s
Vector graphics use geometrical shapes, lines and curves. It
is a path with a start and end point. Because vector based images are not made
up of dots or pixels they can be scaled without losing image quality. When
scaling a raster image it looks blocky and pixelated whereas the edges within a
vector image stay smooth and like the original image. The file size of a vector
graphic image depends on the number of graphic elements it contains and
therefore the file sizes are not affected in a large way as the information is
within the structure.
Application software
Flash-1996
Adobe Flash is an
application that allows users to create vector graphics, animations and games then
viewed and played using Adobe Flash Player. It is most frequently used for
video and audio players, advertisement and interactive multimedia on web pages.
Manipulating vector and raster graphics is easy to create animation of text and
drawings using a range of peripherals.
Flash originated from an application names SmartSketch by
Jonathan Gay and published by FutureWave Software. FutureWave later added cell
animation editing to the vector drawing of SmartSketch and was release as
FutureSlpash Animator on multiple platforms. Finally in 1996 Futuresplash was
acquired by Macromedia and realised as Flash that we know today however now
developed and distributed by Adobe Systems after their purchase of Macromedia
in 2005.
After effects-1993
This Adobe Software is a digital motion graphics, visuals
and composting application used in post-production of films and television
programs. The user can animate in a 2D and 3D space with many various tools and
settings, you can create very visually appealing graphics and motions with
intricate and complex designs.
After effects was originally created by The Company of
Science and Art in Providence USA where the first version was released in 1993.
The Company and After Effects were purchased by Aldus in July 1993 then
acquired by Adobe in 1994 and released the version we know today.
Anime studio-1999
This software, like flash, is vector based and mainly used
for 2D animation. It also is very similar to after effects in the aspect that
it uses a layer system however what makes it different are the feature allowing
more efficient design and creation of the animations. It also has a physics
engine that allows the effect of gravity to be produced as well as tools to
make more natural animations.
Toon Boom Studio-1994
This software is purely aimed at animation to create 2d
carton characters, there is a simple interface however it is a very powerful
tool and program to produce traditional looking animations. A great example is
the Simpsons film in 2007 that used this software.
PowerPoint-1990
Powerpoint made by Microsoft was first introduced in 1990 to
display information and create slides and presentations using bullet points and
images. The first animation was introduced to PowerPoint in 2000 that allowed
the using to draw animation paths for text and images. There are also
transition and transformation tools that you can apply to your animations.
Pioneers
Joseph Plateau (Phenakitoscope)-1841
The Phenakitoscope was an early invention for
animation. It used a spinning disk with
images painted round the edge (as you can see in the image) that were slightly
different from the next and used the persistence of vision to create the
illusion of motion and animation to the user. In 1829 the idea was established by
Joseph Plateau and started planning the invention in 1839 and by 1841 he had
created this contraption.
William Horner (Zoetrope)-100BC-1833
The zoetrope works much as the same principle as the
Phenakitoscope but the images are within a spinning cylinder that has vertical
slits on the sides. The user looks through the slits and as the images spin it
gives the illusion of animation. The first ever “Zoetrope” was created in china
in 100BC by Ding Huan. However the modern Zoetrope was invented in 1833 by
William Horner who named it as ”The Daedalum”.
It was publicly referred to as “The Wheel of the Devil” and didn’t become
popular till the 1860s.
Emile Reynaud (Praxinoscope)-1877
This animation device was the successor to
the Zoetrope invented by Emile Reynaud in France, 1877. It used the same
principle as the zoetrope with a strip of images round the outer edge of a
cylinder, however the slits were removed and an inner circle of mirrors were placed for the user to look at. This innovation gave a clearer and brighter
image and also allowed the animation to be more or less stationary when
spinning.
Edison (kinetoscope)-1894
This was an early motion picture device it was designed for
films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peep hole at the top. It
was not a projector but was the start of the standard for the projection of
video with the illusion of animation using a perforated film strip. First
described by Thomas Edison in 1888 and officially presented on April 14, 1894.
Developers
Walt Disney (1901-1966) (The Walt Disney Company 1923)
Walt Disney an American business man, animator and cartoonist;
a major figure most infamously known for being the co-founder of The Walt
Disney Company. He is entrepreneur, film producer and showman but more
importantly an innovator of animation design. In 1923 he created a short film
called Alice’s Wonderland which had actress interacting with animated
characters. M.J. Winkler Productions contacted Disney with plans for a whole series
of Alice whilst Walt and his brother formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio then
in 1926 the name was changed to Walt Disney Studio.
After a few less popular animations, Steam Boat Willie was
produced that had an animation with matching sound and went down well with the
public and even went on to create Mickey Mouse the animated character in the
1930s everybody knows and loves. Now after many hits and success with titles
such as Snow White and The Princess and the frog, Walt Disney Company is one of
the biggest businesses in world making 45 billion (2013) and releasing a recent
feature film titled ‘Frozen’.
Warner Brothers-1923
Warner brothers or simply
just WB is an American TV, film and music producer. They started simply from acquiring a movie
projector to show films in small mining towns after moving to North America
after the Russian empire in the 18th century. They opened their first
theatre in 1903 after investing in “The great Train Robbery”.
Warner Brothers didn’t really dip into 2D animation until
1936-1940s when Avery directed a few cartoons with well-established characters
such as porky pig, daffy duck and bugs bunny. In 1996 “Space Jam” was created,
offering live action sequences and tradition cartoons using cel animation and
CGI for some of the short films.
Contemporary Work
Monty python-1969
This is a British comedy aired in 1969 that produced surreal
scenes with cel animation as seen in the sketch “The Holy Grail”. They even
used cut out animation in “The Miracle of Flight”.
Yellow Submarine-1968
This 1968 animated, musical, comedy film was based on the Beatles
and utilised over 200 artists to make the film. Rotor scoping was the main
animation method but the team was also challenged with “limited Animation”
where frames are reused to shorten creation time. It was quite hard to give the
illusion of movement even with frames changing however it turned out to be a
big hit.
Persepolis-2007
This French-American animated film, written and directed by Satrapi
with Vincent Paronnaud, was based on a novel with the same name. it is
presented in a black and white style to match the graphics in the original
novel. Present day scenes were in full colour while other scenes have their
colour removed.
Genre and Forms
Cinema-1892
Most films nowadays have
some animation or animated parts. Cartoons and animations have a much better
visual quality on “The Big Screen” and many skilled professionals work hours
into these projects and feature films to produce the content we expect today.
Advertising-1899
2D animation is used a lot in most adverts, old and new. A
great example is the Frosties’ ”Tony the Tiger” that we all know. Most web and TV advertisements include some
animation to make them more visually appealing and attract the audience.
Computer Games-1983
Computer Games have been in sync with 2D animation from the
start of 8 bit graphics it has been the pinnacle of the development of games
and 2D animation alike. Digital 2D animation has been the main form of
animation in video games however some tradition methods have been used in older
games such as drawings and filmed shots.
Mobile Phones-1990’s
Digital 2D animation is used in most if not every new mobile
phone for operating systems to games it uses this to display motion and
movement, be it scrolling through Facebook or selecting an app. However
tradition animation is not really applicable to this genre.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation
http://www.joshuamosley.com/UPenn/courses/Ani/AnimationHistory.html
http://reymendoza.blogspot.co.uk/p/2d-animation.html
https://www.google.co.uk/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&ei=hJisU_LqNcqX7Qa-pYEQ&ved=0CAQQqi4oAg
