Sammi Marshall
January 4th, 2010
Animation Questions

1. What is animation?

Animation is the illusion of motion through a series of changing images, each in a single
frame. Using different techniques, such as drawing or painting on celluloid or photographing paper cutouts, puppets, or clay, animation artists have entertained and educated audiences since the early eighteenth century.

2. Name the inventor and give a brief description of the Thaumatrope.

Roget invented the thaumatrope, combining the Greek words thaumato which means miracle or wonder, and trope, which means turning. A thaumatrope is a card or disk with a different picture on each side. When you attach strings to the left and right sides of the disk and spin the thaumatrope, the two pictures seem to merge.

3. Name the inventor and give a brief decripition of the Zoetrope.

The zoetrope invented by Pierre Desvignes in 1834 has two very contrasting names: the wheel of the devil and the wheel of life. The zoetrope is a drum that contains a long strip of paper around the bottom inside perimeter and a series of slits around the top perimeter.

4. Who is considered to be the first true animator?

James Stuart Blackton is known as the first true animator. In 1900 he added animated smoke to a scene, and in 1906 he produced the first completely animated cartoon, the Humorous Phases of a Funny Face.

5. What animation device was Disney the first to use?
Disney was first to use computer generation animation/ story board.

6. How many pictures were required to create 1 minute of action using the “cel” method?

1,440 pictures are required to create 1 minute of action using the “cel” method.

7. Who were “in-betweeners” and what was their function?

The “in-betweeners” also known as the junior animators worked on the less important animations such as the background.


8. Describe the stop-action technique of time-lapse photography.
You move the character to the position you want, and take individual pictures of each different position.

9. What Development is Phil Tippett credited with?

Phil Tippett was credited with the special effects guro , developing gomotion, and stop-motion.

10. What is the major advantage of computer animation vs traditional animation techniques?

The major advantage if computer animation is that it is less work. All you have to do is put your animation into the computer and the system can add the details.