Stop Motion

Stop Motion animation, which was first invented by J Stuart Blackton in the year 1898, is an animation technique that consists of utilising physical manipulations from small and simple objects to expertly crafted dolls to use in animated films.  Stop Motion involves moving said objects and/or dolls in minor increments of movement between taking individual pictures and then arrange the pictures in order to create a smooth frame-by-frame animation sequence.  The stop motion  technique can also involve the use of human actors and/or actresses as well.

 

In order to make your own stop motion animation, you will need the following:

- A digital camera
- A tripod (which is preferable when using a digital camera)
- Stop motion software (whether it is on handheld devices such as your iPhone, iPad or Android devices or on your computer via stop animation  software programs such as Windows Movie Maker or Stop Motion Pro.
- A series of objects and dolls to use in your animation
- Consistence use of lighting for your animation
- Create a background scene for your animation.  It can be a simple sketch of a background (with colour, of course) as long as you know what kind of setting that you have in mind.

















Advantages - Stop motion animations are easy to make and are relatively cheap.

Disadvantages - Stop motion animations can be time consuming and will require not only just advanced artistic skill when creating any characters for your animation but you would also need a certain level of photographic skill when using a digital camera.  In addition, creating the more sophisicated stop motion animation sequences requires many picture frames and are more expensive to make.

Here is a video of one of the many stop motion animations:

And here is a video that will give you a quick and easy way of creating your own stop motion animation:

The Flipbook

Flipbooks were first invented and patented by John Barnes Linnett in the year 1868, when it was first known as a kineograph.  Flipbooks, also known as flick books, uses a series of frame-by-frame picture images of an animation which alternate from page to page that produces the illusionary simulation of animation.

 



 

The following materials to make flipbooks are as follows:

- clear paper (any colour and any size)
- a pencil or pen

Advantages - flipbooks are easy and simple to create.

Disadvantages - Not only would you need a certain level of artistic ability and also time consuming but you would also have to make sure that the animation flow is consistent from one picture to the other.

Here is a video about flip book animation:

 

And here is a video tutorial on how to make flipbook animations:

 

The Zoetrope

The zoetrope, which was invented by William F Lincoln in the year 1833, resembles a cylindric object such as a hollowed out drum or tin can with narrow, vertical slits used as the viewpoints that has a series of frame-by-frame animations of an object.  By spinning the zoetrope at a fast speed and by looking through the vertical slits, a person can see a rapid succession of images, thus producing what is know as the illusion of motion.


The equipment in order to make zoetrope is as follows:

- A ruler
- A marker pen
- Zoetrope template
- A circular object i.e a hollowed out tin can, drum etc.
- Pair of scissors
- A plastic thumbtack to spin the zoe trope with
- A utility knife
- A roll of adhesive tape

Advantages - It is quite simple to make and the animations are quite easy to illustrate.

Disadvantages - the zoetrope requires a certain degree of artistic ability to create and is limited to entertainment purposes only.  You would also have to make sure that the frame-by-frame animations are consistaent with each other and that they are no lapses within the animation cycle.

Here is a video of one of the many zoetropes that exist today:

And here is a video on how to make your own zoetrope: