How to Make Your Own Zoetrope

Zoetrope Animation Is Back. Here’s how to make one

Who Charlotte Hu

with the revival of vinyl above us, artists are perfecting new records with old tricks. A few albums, among others Dua Lipa, by gorilla, Olivia Rodrigo and Glass Animalsplus to the new release of the soundtrack Disney’s The nightmare before Christmas, they are available on a special type of record called zoetrope vinyl, a modern twist on 19th century animation technology. When viewed properly, the illustrations in the log combine into a smooth, animated loop. But as some TikTok users have pointed out, these animations cannot be viewed with bare eyes in normal lighting; all you get is a blur. And that has to do with our psychology and physiology.

The zoetrope It was among the many animation gadgets invented in the 1700s and 1800s, before the first films were made. These hand-turned devices were, among other things, circular or cylindrical thaumatrope (a two-sided disc like a coin), praxinoscope (reel of animation seen through angled mirrors) and phenakistoscope (spinning animation disc with slits seen in a mirror). Zoetrope was the most popular, and today this word is widely used for all such systems, as well three dimensional sculptureshe says Christine BannaAssistant Professor of Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology. “Today it has become the eponym for any physical animation device, like an iPod is for every MP3 player (in use) or every Xerox copier,” he explains. Both modern and vintage zoetropes use the same clever tricks to create the illusion of movement.

According to Banna, the afterimage of any scene lasts in the human visual system for fractions of a second. Because the image remains in the brain and the eye after you stop seeing—an effect known as visual perseveration—if another image appears during that time, the two images appear to flow into each other. Then, the brain fills in the gaps between the still images seen in rapid succession and perceives this as movement. Psychologists at the beginning of the 20th century named it illusion. the phi phenomenon. “Persistence of vision and the phi phenomenon are the physiological and psychological reasons why animation works,” says Banna. “Our brain simply wants order in images.”

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Such an illusion of movement requires two features: the observer must see at least six still images per second, and—importantly—there must also be a short pause between each image. “If we continuously feed more images to the retina, subsequent images are superimposed on each other,” says Banna. “If we don’t have that break, it would just be a continuous blur.” (That’s why we need the help of a smartphone to rate new vinyl albums.)

Old fashioned zoetropes had drawings on the inside of a barrel cylinder that could be seen through small slits cut into the barrel above each figure. Viewed from the side, the surface of the rotating barrel regularly blocked the drawings. These discontinuities would allow an observer looking through the moving slits to perceive the animation. (Modern equivalents may use strobe lights, angled mirrors, or shutters.) Therefore, zoetrope vinyl records must be viewed using a camera or phone app with adjustable shutter speeds—30 frames per second is usually ideal—or with a strobe light on. . vinyl with a frequency of about 30 hertz. But you can make a less complex zoetrope with common materials found around the house.

How to make your own zoetrope

You will need scissors, a strip of paper, a pencil, a skewer or wooden skewer, tape, a pen or marker and a tape measure. You will also need something with a circular base. You can use heavy paper, cardboard, disposable plates or containers, or even an old CD.

Make the base

Measure the circumference of the object with a circular base to determine how long your animation strip should be. (It must be long enough to wrap around the circular base to form a cylinder.)

Draw your animation loop

To plan the animation sequence, use a pen or marker to divide the paper strip into equally sized frames. The sequence should be drawn in the lower half of the list. Leave the top half of the list blank for viewing slots. If you’re animating a character, draw the main poses every few frames, leaving a few frames to fill in the transition movements. The smaller distance between each pose makes for slower, smoother animated motion. Greater distance creates more explosive action. If you don’t want to draw your own animations, there are free online templates that you can print and cut out.

Cut slits for viewing

To make the animation look impressive, cut thin vertical indentations or slits from top to bottom between each frame of the animation strip. The width of each slot should be a third or the flat of the distance between the frames. “If I have a quarter-inch gap, I’d need about an inch between the frames,” Banna says. “We need that as a blindfold for our eyes. It helps create that strobe with analog material.” (Based on experience, we recommend going with a thinner slot for a better animation illusion.)

Rotate the zoetrope

Connect the ends of the strip to form a cylinder, with the drawings facing inwards, and then connect to the circular base.

Insert a pencil, chopstick or wooden skewer vertically into the center of the circular base from below. Make sure the pin is held steady as you rotate the zoetrope in your hand.

As you rotate your device, watch the animation loop by looking through the slots. You can play with the speed you spin to get the best result.

You can use similar methods to make a zoetrope with any cylindrical object.including a pumpkin (although you’ll probably need a food processor to spin one of these)! You can also use the same principles do a phenakistoscopewhich uses a technique similar to physical animation and can be made with a disc and mirror instead of a cylinder.