Animation

By darja.portnova
  • 30,000 BCE

    Prehistoric Art

    Prehistoric Art
    Ancient cave paintings and petroglyphs suggest early attempts at visual storytelling through sequential art.
  • 2000 BCE

    Actient Egyptians

    Actient Egyptians
    Ancient Egyptians painted or carved scenes onto surfaces, depicting characters in slightly altered positions, suggesting movement and contributing to early forms of visual storytelling.
  • 10 BCE

    Chinese Shadow Puppetry

    Chinese Shadow Puppetry
    Chinese shadow puppetry involves moving intricate cutout figures behind a screen, creating shadows and suggesting motion.

  • Development of the Magic Lantern

    Development of the Magic Lantern
    Cristiaan Huygens begins to develop the magic lantern, a device that projects images from glass slides, laying the groundwork for early optical projection techniques.

  • Mechanical Slides for the Magic Lantern

    Mechanical Slides for the Magic Lantern
    Descriptions of mechanical slides for the magic lantern begin to emerge, involving extra pieces of glass that could be moved by hand, enhancing the visual effects and interactivity of projected images.

  • The Thaumatrope

    The Thaumatrope
    English scientist John Ayrton Paris invents the Thaumatrope, an optical toy that demonstrates the principle of persistence of vision.

  • The Zoetrope

    The Zoetrope
    William George Horner invents the Zoetrope, a spinning cylindrical device with slits that creates the illusion of motion when viewed through the slits.

  • Eadweard Muybridge's Motion Studies

    Eadweard Muybridge's Motion Studies
    Photographer Eadweard Muybridge conducts motion studies using multiple cameras to capture sequential images of people and animals in motion.

  • Flip Books

    Flip Books
    The invention of flip books, which consist of a series of images that create the illusion of motion when flipped, further demonstrates animation principles.

  • J. Stuart Blackton's Stop-Motion

    J. Stuart Blackton's Stop-Motion
    J. Stuart Blackton produces "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces," a pioneering animated film using stop-motion techniques.

  • Emile Cohl's Cut Out Animation "En Route"

    Emile Cohl's Cut Out Animation "En Route"
    Emile Cohl pioneers cut-out animation with "En Route," using entirely cut-out shapes to save time in the animation process.

  • Winsor McCay's "Gertie the Dinosaur"

    Winsor McCay's "Gertie the Dinosaur"
    Winsor McCay creates one of the earliest animated characters with personality in "Gertie the Dinosaur," using traditional hand-drawn animation.

  • 'The Lost World' - stop-motion animation

    'The Lost World' - stop-motion animation
    The film 'The Lost World' featured the collaboration of animator Willis O'Brien, who combined stop-motion animation with live-action sequences.
  • Period: to

    The Golden Age of Animation

    The 1930s and 1940s witness the rise of iconic animation studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM, producing beloved characters like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.