research for animation

A bit about a zoetrope.

A zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static pictures. The term zoetrope is from the Greek words ζωή (zoē), meaning alive/active, and τροπή (tropē) meaning turn. With zoetrope taken to mean active turn or wheel of life. The earliest known zoetrope was made in China around 180 AD by the inventor Ting Huan. Ting Huan's device moved by convection, hung over a lamp and was called chao hua chich kuan  meaning the pipe which makes fantasies appear. The rising air turned vanes at the top  from which translucent paper panels hung. When the device was spun at the right speed, pictures painted on the panels would appear to move.

The modern zoetrope was invented in 1833 by British mathematician William George Horner. He called it the daedalum  as a reference to the Greek myth of Daedalus. The daedalum failed to become popular until the 1860s when it was patented by both English and American makers. The American developer William F. Lincoln named his toy the zoetrope, meaning "wheel of life". Almost simultaneously similar inventions were made in Belgium by Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau (the phenakistoscope) and in Austria by Simon von Stampfer (the stroboscope).

A really great video from Pixar showing how animation in made by using a 3D zeotrope:

Lego Batman 3D Zoetrope with diving Penguins!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfS2kGO5lg8&feature=relmfu


BBC 2 did a zeotrope animation for their intervals which was aired from 2007 - 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RbSaxF4tTo


How to make a home-made zeotrope:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHmSG1j7hXM&feature=related


The Cyclotrope - like a zeotrope only different:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A72qJid4Vt8&feature=related

Subway zoetropes:

In September 1980 independent film-maker Bill Brand installed a type of linear zoetrope, he called the "Masstransiscope" in an unused subway platform at Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. It consisted of a wall with 228 slits, behind each slit was a hand-painted panel and riders in subways moving past the display saw a motion picture. After falling into a state of disrepair the "Masstransiscope" was restored in late 2008. Since then, a variety of artists and advertisers have begun to use subway tunnel walls to produce a zoetrope effect when viewed from moving trains.

Stop motion animation :
Western Spaghetti by PES

Hand Drawn animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJaq0T9BjvE


Rotoscope animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63o3ENsF2kE




Aniboom youtube channel has loads of short animations, i was going to put a few clips up here but couldnt choose they are all so good! 
http://www.youtube.com/user/aniBOOM/videos?view=0





Also thought i'd put up an animation i made last year, a little cartoon of me writing my name on the screen :)