What is 2d Animation?

2D is the method that has been around since the late 1800s. It is

one drawing followed by another in a slightly different pose, followed by another in a slightly different pose.

The Thaumatrope

The earliest form of animation was a very simple device named the Thaumatrope.

It was simple two pieces of string with a piece of paper in

the centre with a picture either side.

When twirled around with the fingers, the 2 images would seem to combine into one

single picture.

It was invented by a man named Sir John Herschel.

The Phenakistoscope

This was an early animation device that used a spinning

disk with images on.

It was used by placing it in front of a mirror and then

looking through the gaps into the mirror to look at the

pictures as they spun. This created the feeling of motion

with the pictures

This machine was invented by Joseph Plateau in 1841

The Zoetrope

Invented in 1834 by a man named William Horner.

Originally called the Daedalum.

It was based on Plateau's Phenakistoscope, but was

more convenient since it did not need a viewing mirror and allowed more than one person

to use it at the same time

The Praxinoscope

The Praxinoscope was created by Charles-

Émile Reynaud in 1877.

Like the zoetrope, it uses pictures placed inside a

spinning circle. But it used a light placed above it to

project the images onto a nearby surface.

In 1889, Charles- Émile Reynaud created the

“Théâtre Optique” the first presentation of moving

images on a screen.

The Zoopraxiscope

The Zoopraxiscope was made by Eadweard Muybridge in

1879

It was used for displaying moving pictures by shining

light through glass with images painted on them.

The glass spun round and the light would project the image.

Some of the images were drawn and coloured by hand.

The Cinematograph

The big leap forward came when the two brothers,

Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the cinematograph.

This allowed them to record motion pictures and also

project and print them. It was invented in the 1890s.

Émile Cohl

The first animated cartoon was compromised with over

700 still, hand drawn, drawings, done by a French

man named Émile Cohl.

Each one of these drawings were individually photographed. When the photographs were combined together, it gave the appearance

of an actual film.

The name of this film was ‘Fantasmagorie’

Len Lye

Len Lye was an animator who took different and unique

approaches to creating his animations.

Usually people would draw onto the raw film, but Lye

experimented with different paints and techniques.

He used methods that were unorthodox, and he made sure

when he painted, the paint would also be projected when

the animation was played.

Walt Disney

His first ever short film was made entirely using cel

animation.

One of the biggest names in cartoon and animation

history.

Walt created various cartoon characters we still see today such as Goofy

and Donald Duck.

The film is called “steamboat Willie” and introduces us to

Mickey Mouse

All of his work included vibrant colours that

seemed to dance around the screen.

Norma Mclaren

Norman Mclaren was an excellent animator who used

multiple ways to draw. Sometimes using paint, pen and paper, and even etching

into the film itself to create an image “How it moved is more

important than what moves”He was also very into electro

music and it featured in alot of his work such as a short video

named ‘Dots’.A lot of his work is

experimental and abstract, there is no real plot or

storyline to most of them.

Hanna-BaberaWilliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera were both leaders in

making television cartoons. Their company named Hanna-Barbera was launched in 1957.

They created many cartoons that you’ve probably heard of today such as ‘Tom and Jerry’

‘Scooby-Doo!’ and ‘The Smurfs’

Hanna-Barbera was one of the first animation studios to

produce cartoons for television, and introduce the

custom of children’s television on Saturday morning.

Monty Python

Monty Python, with their animator Terry Gilliam,

created absurd and imaginative animations using

a very simple cut out technique.

This involved cutting out pieces of card, painting or

drawing on them to create an image, and simply moving

them around, taking pictures each time you move them.

What was original about these animations was their

outrageous style. Anything could happen at any point,

they created their animation style of “Pythonesque”