Stop Motion Animation

Stop Motion Animation

Stop Motion was first displayed in 1898 by Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton for a Vitagraph production of 'The Humpty Dumpty Circus'. It normally consists of the models being made from clay and then filming the models with different cameras, one frame at a time. The most famous example of stop-motion is 'Wallace and Gromit' with other films such as 'Chicken Run' and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' also being well-known.

Wallace and Gromit

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Advantages:

- You have a lot of freedom to create whatever you wish
- You have the ability to use your imagination

Disadvantages:

- It takes a lot of time to create a stop-motion film
- A lot of artistic skill is required to create the animations

Flipbook

Flipbook

A Flipbook is a small book made of a set of images. The idea of it is to flick through the images very quickly so that it looks like a small animation is taking place (looks to be in motion). They were first created by John Barnes Linnett in 1868. All you need in order to create a flipbook is some paper and a pen or pencil to create the drawings.

The running man is a simple example

Advantages:

-They are simple to make with drawing being the only requirement

-They can be very entertaining for young children

Disadvantages:

- They can be very time consuming to make

- A skill in art and drawing would be required to make a flipbook look professional

Michael Jackson Flipbook

How to Make a Flipbook

Zoetrope

Zoetrope

A Zoetrope is a pre-animation device that was created in 1833 by William George Horner. It works by having a set of images laid out in sequence and then rotating the zoetrope so that all the images look like they are in motion (illusion of motion). The zoetrope is one of the earliest forms of animation. A zoetrope is normally made up of white and black paper, some tape and a circular box.

The Running Man is a prime example

The Horse is also a well-known example

Zoetrope Example

How to Make a Zoetrope

Advantages:

Like the thaumatrope, they are easy to make at very little cost

Disadvantages:

There are only so many animations that can be created

Great artistic skill is needed in order to create realisticimages