# History of Animation Part of the Animation Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/animation/guide/index.md) *1. Understanding Animation* > **1b.** Discuss with your counselor a brief history of animation. ## The Early Experiments (1800s) Long before movies existed, inventors were fascinated by the idea of making pictures move. In the early 1800s, a wave of clever devices appeared across Europe: - **Thaumatrope (1825):** A simple disc with a different image on each side. Spin it fast, and the two images merge into one. A bird on one side and a cage on the other? Suddenly the bird appears inside the cage. - **Phenakistoscope (1832):** A spinning disc with sequential drawings around the edge. View it through slits in front of a mirror, and the drawings appear to move. - **Zoetrope (1834):** A spinning drum with images on a strip inside. Peer through the slits, and you see a short animation loop — a horse galloping, a dancer spinning. These devices proved that the human eye could be tricked into seeing motion from a series of still images. That discovery would change everything. > **Did You Know?** > > The word "animation" comes from the Latin word *animare*, meaning "to give life to." Animators have been breathing life into still images for nearly 200 years. ## The Birth of Animated Film (1900s–1920s) Once motion picture cameras were invented in the 1890s, it was only a matter of time before artists started drawing directly for the screen. - **J. Stuart Blackton** created *Humorous Phases of Funny Faces* (1906), often considered the first animated film. He drew faces on a chalkboard and photographed each change. - **Émile Cohl** made *Fantasmagorie* (1908) in France — a two-minute film of simple stick figures that morph and transform. - **Winsor McCay** raised the bar dramatically with *Gertie the Dinosaur* (1914). McCay drew thousands of frames to create a character with personality — Gertie bowed, drank water, and seemed to interact with McCay himself on stage. ## The Golden Age (1930s–1960s) Walt Disney transformed animation from a novelty into a major art form: - **Steamboat Willie (1928):** One of the first cartoons with synchronized sound. Mickey Mouse whistled and the audience was hooked. - **Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937):** The first full-length animated feature film. Critics predicted it would fail. It became the highest-grossing film of its time. - **The multiplane camera:** Disney's team invented a camera that shot through layers of painted glass, creating a sense of depth. Backgrounds could scroll at different speeds, making forests and castles feel three-dimensional. Other studios emerged during this era too. **Warner Bros.** gave us Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. **Hanna-Barbera** created Tom and Jerry. In Japan, **Osamu Tezuka** — known as the "God of Manga" — pioneered the style that would become **anime**, producing *Astro Boy* in 1963. ![An illustrated timeline spanning from the 1830s to the present day, showing key milestones in animation history: a zoetrope in the 1830s, a hand-drawn film frame from the early 1900s, Mickey Mouse in the 1930s, a Pixar 3D character in the 1990s, and a modern digital tablet with animation software today](https://ik.imagekit.io/doulacoop/tr:w-800/mbu-assets/merit-badges/animation/guide/animation-timeline?v=7adbe4fe) ## The Computer Revolution (1970s–2000s) Computers began entering animation studios in the 1970s, slowly at first: - **Tron (1982):** One of the first films to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI), though it was considered a risk at the time. - **Toy Story (1995):** Pixar's first feature film — and the first entirely computer-animated feature in history. The movie proved that 3D CGI could carry an emotional story, not just flashy visuals. - **Shrek (2001):** DreamWorks showed that CGI animation was not a one-studio trick. The floodgates opened. By the 2000s, most major animated films were made with computers. Traditional hand-drawn animation became rare in Hollywood, though it continued to thrive in anime studios in Japan and independent animation worldwide. ## Animation Today and Beyond (2010s–Present) Animation technology continues to evolve rapidly: - **Real-time rendering:** Game engines like Unreal Engine now produce animation that looks nearly photorealistic — and can render it instantly, not over hours. - **Motion capture:** Actors wear special suits with sensors so their movements can be recorded and applied to digital characters. This technique powered films like *Avatar* and games like *The Last of Us*. - **AI-assisted tools:** New software can generate in-between frames, suggest movement, or even create rough animations from text descriptions. The technology is still young but advancing fast. - **Accessibility:** Free tools like Pencil2D, Krita, and Blender mean anyone with a computer can start animating today. > **Tip** > > When discussing animation history with your counselor, try to cover at least three major eras: the early optical devices, the golden age of hand-drawn film, and the computer revolution. Mentioning a specific film or inventor from each era shows depth. Video: [A Brief History of Animation](https://youtu.be/5Y6eInX7H-s?si=elo9NM-TCqmqnQpb) Video: [Discover Japan's First Anime: Hidden History!](https://youtu.be/mQlAHrQ2-h8?si=9YNDKARTlRJ5omrg) --- You have seen how animation evolved from spinning discs to supercomputers. Next, you will learn the rules that make animation feel real. --- - Previous: [What Is Animation?](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/animation/guide/req1a/index.md) - Next: [The 12 Principles](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/animation/guide/req2/index.md)