Simple devices of Animation

Persistence of vision is what we call the behavior of our eyes when an image is flashed on them and taken away suddenly. Our eyes retain the image for a fraction of a second, or even longer. If we quickly replace the first image with a second one, the eye blends the two together. If it weren't for this "defect" in our vision, movies and television would always have a jerky look to them that would probably make them difficult to watch. A variety of simple devices can be made that allow you to explore persistence of vision, while you experiment with primitive animation techniques.

Thaumatropes, Flipbooks, Phenakistoscopes and Zoetropes.Thaumatropes from Greek thauma, wonder; and trop e, to turn. are the simplest of all animation devices. They are made from a cardboard disk with two small holes in opposite edges. A simple scene is drawn on one side of the disk, and a corresponding element of the scene is drawn on the reverse side, in the correct orientation and placement. Threads are attached to the holes, and the threads are pulled tight and twirled between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. The disk spins and the images on the two sides blend into one.
Flipbooks are the next simplest animation device to make. They consist of a stack of blank pieces of paper or thin cardstock stapled to form a book. A slightly different picture is sketched on each page, and as the book is rapidly flipped, the sketches appear to move. This is a good starting point for classroom or home investigation of the technique of animation, as it demonstrates the need to make small changes from one drawing to the next. An important point when making a flipbook is this: keep your drawings bold and simple. A black fine-point felt tipped pen is best for your sketches. If you prefer the correctability of a pencil, go over the pencil sketches with ink when you have them finished.
A Phenakistoscope is another simple animation device. The word comes from the Greek words phainen, to show; kinein, to move; and skopos, to aim or target ("scope" is now used to mean a viewing device like a telescope or microscope). A phenakistoscope consists of a flat disk painted black on one side, with radial slots cut into the outer edge. It is mounted to a wooden handle with a thumbtack through its center so it spins freely. On the unpainted side between the slots are drawn a series of sketches having slight changes from one to the next. The disk is spun and you look through the slots at a mirror so you can see the side with the sketches. The major difference between the type of animation that can be done with a phenakistoscope and a flipbook is that the phenakistoscope has only a small number of drawings (usually eight or 12), and the movement of the sketch has to begin and end in the same position to form a smooth repeating cyclic motion.

Zoetropes (from Greek zoion, living being; and trop e, to turn) are very similar to phenakistoscopes except that you make a slotted cylinder rather than a slotted disk. The figures to be animated are drawn on the inside wall of the cylinder. The outside is painted black. The zoetrope cylinder sits in some sort of round shallow tray. A large film can works well; the best ones I have made have used movie reel cans. What about making a zoetrope out of a lazy Susan? Pie tins or even cardboard pizza package bottoms work. A hole is punched through the round pan or disk, and attached to a wooden handle or base. The slotted cylinder, with completed cartoon drawings on the inside, is attached to the disk or inserted into the can. The whole thing is spun, and you look through the slots to the opposite inside wall, where you see the animated action. A word of warning when making phenakistoscopes and zoetropes. Don't forget to paint the side you look through black or to make it from black paper. It is essential for the device to work well! If the outside is left white, then the cartoon image has to compete with a full white after-image, which completely washes it out.Laying out the slotted strip for a zoetropeThe first step is to find out how long the strip needs to be. You could measure the diameter of the disk or pan you intend to use for the bottom, and then multiply by pi (3.14). But I prefer to actually fit the strip to the disk, and cut away the excess material. Make the strip long enough so that the ends of the strip overlap slightly, so that you can later glue or tape the ends together to form a cylinder.Now, how to lay out the slots? One method is to measure the length of the strip, and then divide by the number of slots you want. The drawback here is that you end up with some odd fraction that your ruler doesn't have. You then need to estimate the measurements.If you have a CAD program, you can lay out the strip using its built-in measurement capabilities. Your only problem then will be to plot the drawing you've made. You'll need at least a "B" size plotter or printer to do this.Another technique is to make another paper strip the length of the strip you're using, and fold it in halves until you get the number of divisions you want. Then unfold the strip and use the creases as guides. This works if you want 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 slots (or any power of 2). If you fold the strip into thirds, then halve the thirds repeatedly, you can get 3, 6, 12, or 24 slots.Once you've laid out the slots, cut them approximately a quarter-inch wide. If you've made your zoetrope out of black cardstock, you are ready to assemble it. Form it into a cylinder, and lay it into your film can, tape it to your pie tin, or pizza bottom, or whatever you've chosen.One nice thing about constructing your zoetrope from black cardstock is that you can make your drawings on small pieces of white paper and attach them to the zoetrope. This way, changes can be easily made. Or may be you want to use Post-It® notes, which have a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the back.( Extracts from Internet)

Career in Animation
Career in Animation(Article by B V Panduranga Rao - Ref: Internet )Since past couple of centuries creating an illusion of movement by drawing sequence of images have been attempted in many ways with many devices from Cave Man to flip Book and to Cel Animation, however it was Walt Disney who took the animation level to great heights producing full length animation movies aided by computers and adding special effects.later some enthusiastic animation lovers in the Country produced some animation films in 1970’s, in commercial point of view were not successful due to lack of Demand and Marketing and lack of support from the government.Now with the advancement in Technology, the demand in Television programmes / Commercials / computer games etc. the animation industry has come in to prominence.Those were the days for aspiring Persons, there were no much choice to select a career through educational qualification. There were only a few braches of Science, Art, engineering, Medicine or Law and had to enroll themselves in Government Jobs, in comparison with today’s added alluring courses like Electronics, Computer Science, MBA, Fashion Design Etc. with opening to excellent highly paid MNC’s and other company’s of repute.Now Animation is a word that has stormed the film Industry these days. It is catering to the needs of several public and private sectors. Various TV programmes, commercials, Computer Games are demanding a huge quantity of Man Power from the Market.With the availability of well equipped numerous super Hi- Tech studios, low cost animation services and english speaking Man Power in the country the Animation Industry is gradually transforming itself as a great promoter of Animation production service in the market. It is poised to attain a market demand of over several billions of rupees in coming years.There are several Institutes offering Animation Course in the Country. Persuing a course in this field not only would boost the career of the person but also satisfy one’s creative skills.The basic requirement is that one must have excellent creative and artistic ability and also would like to work hard to accomplish his dreams. Even the undergraduates with the education at School level can enter in to this field and can hope to make a successful career.Thus the scope for students of animation is huge in the context of the emerging Indian Market. It is a blessing particularly to the talented , artistic and creative minds.

Cartooning
Cartoon is a single humorous & satirical drawing employing distortion, with caption or without caption. When we say cartoon with the kids they mean it’s a funny figure, they only think of a cartoon movie like Tom & Jerry. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck etc.However cartoons created on political issues, social satire, day today life published in News Dailies are understood and enjoyed by the readers as they are the abstract of the current situation or the event. These cartoons try to dig out the draw back of the system created by the authorities or finding the wrong doing by politicians or commenting on the political and social issues etc. Cartoons are a social protest and the cartoonist is a fighter for social justice.Scope for a Cartoonist: Cartoons are not taught in School or Universities and it is not a part of our studies or included in our college syllabus. There are some correspondence courses in the country and also Online Coaching tutorials. Several blogs are created on internet to give tips & guide lines on cartooning. Also several Publications explaining the cartooning skills with illustrations are available in the MarketThese are all good to understand the basics of cartoon drawing. Cartoon Work shops are being conducted by various Associations , Organisations , Schools etc. to inspire and motivate the young talents. The welcome smart Tools of Computer And Electronic media have reduced the skill & time for the artists.However, besides good cartoon drawing skills a sense of humour is a must for a Cartoonist which comes from within.A good cartoonist must have the skill of cartoon drawing, must have knowledge of issues and most importantly the Sense of Humour. The keen observation and getting good ideas will benefit to produce a quality cartoon.We have several reputed News Dailies and periodicals in the country which are particular to include Cartoons on Political and Social issues and also other cartoons for fun and entertainment. Usually a small pocket cartoon appears in the news dailies created on current issues. Mostly cartoonists are appointed by News Dailies / Publications or Hired on contract.A person talented with a flair for cartooning, creative ideas with a sense of humour can think of entering in this field. It needs no high educational qualification however a good knowledge / vocabulary of languaze is required.In recent past hundreds of publications have come up in the country both at Regional level and the National level where a cartoonist can find a place for his cartoons. However new cartoonist may find difficult to get in to any news dailies as the place must have been already occupied by established / professional CartoonistsThere are many publications offer you an opportunity to draw cartoons/ caricature, comics for their publications on freelance basis. If you are really good the works are appreciated and handsome payment are made.An aspirant who want to make his career as cartoonist, it is good to practice drawing cartoon illustrations / Comics. Even he can take the assistance of a good writer to produce a story line. There are good opportunities in Ad company’s too because of great demand for funny drawings for advertisements in publications/ TV’s/ hoardings etc.There are many hobby good cartoonists in the country, who likes see their cartoons published in publications even for a paltry payment and find satisfaction to see their cartoons printed.Now , many feel that to take up Cartooning as profession in news dailies / publications is no more alluring, instead a good cartoonists / caricaturists has better option to get in to animation industry who can foresee an excellent future and growth ahead.