Halloween Zoetrope

Ever heard of a zoetrope? It’s an old animation toy from WAY back in the day that usually involves a series of images (frames) wrapped around the inside of a drum. When it’s spun you can look through slots in the drum which would break up the images enough to create the illusion of movement. Some of the earliest examples of animation use this similar technique - spinning pots in the middle east had frames painted on them that were meant to be viewed by spinning them. The ancient Greek painted separate frames between pillars on buildings so the image would “move” as it was viewed from horseback.

I didn’t have a rotating drum (or horse), but I did have a 3D printer. There were a few tests that resulted in mangled plastic but ultimately it was smooth sailing! I animated a small scene which was then baked out as 30 separate models. After they were printed I shot them spinning using stop motion and added some light cel animation accents and it was ready to go! You can check out the process below.

Studio - Jumping Rock
3D - Jordan Hershel