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History of Animation - 1: Humble Beginnings

Welcome back everyone! Today I will be starting a series that I have been wanting to write on the history of animation! I believe it is finally time to take a dive into the topic of which I love so much.

At its heart, animation is the art of presenting multiple images, one after another, in order to give the illusion of motion. The early forms of animation are very different from the three dimensional computer generated animated films that are produced today by studios like Pixar and Illumination. Animation finds its humble beginnings in the parlor shows of the early 18th century, predating the advent of the cinema by more than 50 years. The first device to achieve this, was invented by Belgian Joseph Plateu, dubbed the phenakistoscope. This was a cardboard disk that would have drawings around the outside, usually these would be drawings of animals. This device would be spun and each drawing would be shown to the viewer in quick succession, giving the illusion of motion.

This idea was eventually taken and developed into something that would be able to present these images to an audience in a cinema setting. By combining this device with mirrors and a light source, these images could be projected to an audience. This device was invented by Charles-Émile Reynaud in 1876. This device was dubbed the Théâtre Optique, and would be the last major step forward before the advent of the cinema. With the creation of cinema and the projection system, animation was set to make a new major leap forward --


Sources:
http://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/people/cp117065/charles-emile-reynaud
https://www.britannica.com/art/animation
https://blog.iinet.net.au/history-animation/

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