How to make your own zoetrope

Zoetrope animation is back. Here’s how to make it

Written by Charlotte Hu

A vinyl revival is here, and artists are enhancing their new albums with old-school methods. Several albums including releases by Dua Lipa, Gorillaz, Olivia Rodrigo and Glass Animals, plus new Disney soundtrack releases The Nightmare Before Christmas, These are available on a special type of record called zoetrope vinyl, which is a modern take on 19th century animation techniques. When viewed correctly, the illustrations on the record are combined into a smooth animated loop. However, as some TikTok users have pointed out, these animations are not visible to the naked eye under normal lighting. All you get is a blur. And it has to do with our psychology and physiology.

The zoetrope was one of several animated gadgets invented in the 1700s and 1800s, before the first movie was made. These hand-rotated devices are circular or cylindrical in shape and include the thaumatrope (a double-sided disc that rotates like a coin), the praxinoscope (an animation reel viewed through an angled mirror), and the phenakistoscope (with a rotating slit). animation disc). look in the mirror). Zoetrope is the most popular, and the word is now widely used for all such systems, including those involving three-dimensional sculpture, said Christine Vanna, assistant professor of film and animation at Rochester Institute of Technology. It is said that there is. “Just as the iPod is to all MP3 players (or the Xerox is to all photocopiers), it has become synonymous with all physical animation devices today,” she explains. Both modern and vintage zoetropes use the same mind tricks to create the illusion of movement.

According to Vanna, the human visual system leaves behind images of any given scene for only a fraction of a second. Because the image leaves a lasting impression on your brain. rear If another image appears within that time frame, the two images will appear to flow into each other. This is an effect called visual persistence. The brain then fills in the gaps between still images that are displayed in quick succession and perceives this as movement. This is an illusion that early 20th century psychologists dubbed the phi phenomenon. “Visual persistence and the phi phenomenon are the physiological and psychological reasons why animation works,” says Vanna. “Simply put, our brains seek order in images” persists.

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Such an illusion of movement requires two characteristics. One is that the observer must see at least six still images per second, and, importantly, there must be a short pause between each image. “If you’re constantly pumping more and more images into the retina, the afterimages will overlap,” Vanna says. “Without that interruption, it would just be a continuous blur.” (This is why you need the help of your smartphone to appreciate your new vinyl album.)

Old-fashioned zoetropes had pictures painted on the inside of the cylinder of the barrel, which could be observed through small slits cut into the barrel above each picture. Viewed from the side, the rotating barrel surface periodically interfered with drawing. Thanks to their interruptions, an observer looking through the moving slit will perceive animation. (Modern equivalents can use strobe lights, angled mirrors, or shutters.) Zoetrope vinyl records therefore have adjustable shutter speeds (30 frames per second is usually ideal) or strobe lights. You’ll need to turn on the lights and view it with your camera or phone app. Vinyl sounds at a frequency of approximately 30 hertz. But you can Create a not-too-complicated zoetrope using common materials found around the house.

How to make your own zoetrope

You will need scissors, pieces of paper, pencils, chopsticks or wooden skewers, tape, pens or markers, and a measuring tape. You will also need one with a circular base. You can also use thick paper, cardboard, disposable plates or bowls, or even old CDs.

make the base

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

Create a sketch for an animation loop

To plan your animation sequence, use a pen or marker to divide a piece of paper into equal-sized frames. The sequence must be drawn in the bottom half of the strip. Leave the top half of the strip blank to show the slit. If you’re animating a character, sketch out key poses every few frames, leaving a few frames to fill in transition movements. The smaller the distance between each pose, the slower and smoother the animation will be. The longer the distance, the more explosive the action. If you don’t want to draw your own animation, there are free online templates that you can print and cut out.

cut out observation slit

To make your animation easier to see, cut a notch or thin vertical slit between each frame of your animation strip, about halfway up from the top. The width of each slit should be approximately one-third or one-quarter the distance between the frames. “If you have a quarter-inch slit, you’ll need about an inch between frames,” says Vanna. “It is needed as a shutter for our eyes. It helps to create a strobe with analog material.” (Based on experience, to improve the illusion of animation, it is recommended to use a narrower slit )

spin the zoetrope

Tape the ends of the strips together to form a cylinder with the picture facing inwards and secure it to the circular base.

Insert a pencil, chopstick, or wooden skewer vertically into the center of the circular base from below. Make sure the skewer stays securely in place while rotating the zoetrope between your hands.

Watch the animation loop through the slit as you rotate your device. Try adjusting the rotation speed for best results.

You can use a similar method to create a zoetrope with any cylindrical object, including pumpkins (though you’ll probably need a turntable to rotate these objects). You can also create phenakist scopes using the same principle. Phenakist scopes can be created using similar physics animation techniques, using disks and mirrors instead of cylinders.