Animation History

You just found a DOUBLE Animation STEAM Project, Well Done!!

Provided by Chango PTA, Mrs Juda & Mrs Proler

This project is provided freely from Chango PTA and our wonderful teachers.

It's just for fun, save it for a rainy day or get crafting straight away, just remember to let us know if you liked it with a picture or not (suggest an alternative topic/idea) @ChangoPTA - Facebook

Enjoy this story while you create - The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

If you have access to your school Epic account you can read it here too - https://www.getepic.com/app/read/60815

The ZOETROPE (Pronounced- zow·ee·trowp)

This Craft project is all about discovering the history of the moving image, animation!

Invented in the 1850's (although other, similar examples date back thousands of years, notably in Iran and China) the modern version of the Zoetrope was created by a sophomore student called William Lincoln , at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1865.

The basic design is a cylinder with rectangles cut vertically in the sides with another, thinner cylinder of images inside, decorated in a sequence. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the cuts at the pictures. As you watch the slits, the pictures don't blur together, and you get a fast paced image, giving the illusion of movement!!!

Building your Zoetrope

Every kit is slightly different but you will find (at least):

a piece of construction paper
a paper plate
a pencil (Thank you CapCom School Banking) - If you are interesting in school banking find out more here and save at school
some yarn/string
a piece of cardboard
You will need - sticky tape, scissors and a printer to complete this activity

How to Make your Zoetrope- Steps

For this you will need the paper plate, construction paper and pencil.
You will also need this template -->

3. Print out the template and cut out the section of the left first. Use this template to cut 2 from the colored construction paper.

Example of copying the template onto the construction paper

2 cut out

4. Join the 2 pieces together with a little tape (it will overlap a little) mine ended up with 16 slits all the way around

5. Place this onto your paper plate and lightly tape it in place (When I made mine I didn't have any paper plates, a piece or cardboard works just fine though)

steps 4 & 5

6. Next you need the second page of the template (or the right hand side of the first page) The ball bounce example is the best option to see how it works before you create your own, and to test the zoetrope works.

Cut out the 2 strips and stick them together. Make sure frame 1 is first and frame 11 follows on from frame 10, this keeps the animation smooth. But if you make a mistake it doesn't matter, it might be a happy accident!

inspired by The Dot, this is my bouncing ball to get you started. Frame 1 is on the left and frame 11 is in the middle.

You should have 20 windows when it is taped together.

7. Slip this long piece of paper inside the crown like cylinder you made before.

You can tape it into place, but it doesn't need it.

8. Last step is sharpen your pencil (or use one that is already sharp) and as close to the middle of the paper plate as you can, stick it through. You can stick this in place with sticky tape if it is loose.

9. Now let's see if it works. This does take a little practice.... Spin the pencil with your hand and look through the slits, or just over them, while it spins. When you are spinning at the right speed (approximately 25 slits a second... HA HA no seriously this is the scientific frame rate to trick your eye into believing your seeing movement, that's how animation works. Did you known that computer games work at around 85 frames a second?)

Your ball should LOOK like its bouncing! If it doesn't work ask someone to help.

Once you have mastered it you can use the blank template to create your own!

Building your Thaumatrope (Pronounced- thaa·muh·trowp)

The Thaumatrope was designed in 1825 in London, England and became a popular toy. The name translates roughly as "wonder turner", from Ancient Greek and creates another illusion of motion or animation. As the string is wound the disk spins and creates an image made of 2 completely separate images, as one.....

You will need the:

yarn/string
a piece of cardboard

You will need - a glue stick and something to make a hole, like a sharp pencil or a hole punch.

How to Make your Thaumatrope - Steps

You will need this template -->

2. Cut out the 2 circles and finish cutting out the cardboard circle provided in the kit. (If you are doing this without the kit you can use the circles as a template and cut one out of a cereal packet)

3. You can color the 2 images, then glue the fish on one side of the cardboard circle and the bowl onto the other.

Bowl side

Fish side

4. Make a hole in either side of the circle

5. tie the yarn to each side.

How it works....... Hold the yarn in each hand, in front of you. Spin the disc around and around until the yarn is tight. Don't Let Go of the yarn...

Gently pull the strings apart at eye level and you should see the circle spin and the 2 pictures combine together as its spins :-)

Learn More and Keep Creating

Drawing inspiration from Peter H. Reynolds

Use this blank comic book to create a story of your own ------->

If you still have access to Epic there are a few great books to explore. Looking at animation further.

https://www.getepic.com/app/read/42238 All in a Day's Work: Animator by Blanca Apodaca, Michael Serwich (aimed at 9 - 12 year olds)
https://www.getepic.com/app/read/45489 Maker Projects for Kids Who Love Animation by Sarah Levete (aimed at 9 - 12 year olds)

Great 5 page blank comic book for you

If you want more projects like this or something else, maybe you have an idea or a topic please let us know.

(Contact Arts in Ed. Chango with your ideas and share your projects)

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