A 1962 research report by French archaeologist Prudhommeau pointed out that there are a series of analysis diagrams of bison running in Stone Age cave paintings 25,000 years ago, which are human attempts to use The pen (or stone) captures the origin of the condensed action. Other examples, such as Egyptian tomb paintings and the decomposition of continuous movements on ancient Greek vases, are also examples of the same type. The concept of "simultaneity" by drawing together actions that occurred at different times on one picture indirectly shows the human desire to "move". The four arms in Da Vinci's famous golden ratio human figure represent the up and down movements of the hands. In the 16th century, the prototype of the flip book first appeared in the West, which is also similar to the concept of animation.
In the history of Chinese painting, artists have always had the tradition of bringing static paintings to life, such as the vivid charm advocated in "Six Dharma Theory", and the characters in "The Fairy in the Painting" of Liaozhai stand out from the scroll and interact with people passing by. , but mostly imagination makes up for actual operation. The finishing touches that really make the portraits come alive were developed step by step in the Western world.
By the 19th century, the charm of magic lanterns had not faded and they were very popular in Europe and the United States. In concert halls, vaudeville theaters, and variety shows, magic lantern shows are still popular entertainment programs. Since everyone loves to see it, they have to paint it with paint and make it more entertaining, such as "panoramas", dioramas, giant paintings with strong impressions, and enhanced light and shadow effects, etc. This kind of storytelling The way is like Chinese shadow puppetry, its rich fun always attracts the attention of the eyes.
The shadow play invented in the Tang Dynasty of China is a kind of shadow play in which the light source is illuminated from behind the curtain. Although the method and technology of the magic slide series are different, they reflect the different countries of the East and the West. , the same obsession with manipulating light and shadow. In the 17th century, shadow puppetry was introduced to European tours and became popular among many audiences. The clarity and delicacy of its images were no less than those of magic lanterns of the same period.
Before further explaining the relationship between magic lanterns and the development of animation, we must mention a small book on the structure of the eyeball "The Persistence of Vision of Moving Objects" published by Peter Roget in 1824. (Persistence of Vision with Regard to Moving Objects). The book puts forward the following point of view: image stimuli can stay on the retina for a certain period of time after they are initially revealed. In this way, when various separate stimuli appear in succession quite rapidly, the stimulus signals on the retina will overlap, and the image will become continuous.
In 1888, a continuous picture recording instrument was born in Thomas Edison's laboratory. Originally, Edison just wanted to add pictures to his newly invented phonograph, but he did not use projection. Instead, he processed the images on cards and then displayed them on a "mutoscope." The Wonder Lens can be said to be a mechanized "flip book". Edison used a set of hand joysticks and mechanical axes to drive an album of pages, extending the length of the image or image and producing rich visual effects.
In 1895, the Lumière brothers were the first to publicly screen movies. A group of people could see a set of pre-filmed images at the same time. The Cinematographe invented by the Lumiere brothers screened famous films such as "A Train Arrives at the Station" and "Sea Bath", bringing movies into a new era.
What needs to be clarified here is that although the development of animation and film have overlaps at the technical and mechanical level, both are exposed through film and are usually projected on the screen, but animation The aesthetics are actually different from those of movies, and even more radical.
As early as 1882, Emile Reynaud, who invented the "practical mirror", began to hand-draw story pictures, first on long strips of paper, and later on celluloid film. The "Optical Theater" opened in the Paris Wax Museum in 1892 caused quite a sensation by showing "films" accompanied by live music and sound effects.
Although the appeal of his "optical theater" declined after the invention of film in 1895, in terms of the technique of painting directly on film without going through a movie camera, Emile Reno can be said to be the ancestor of animation. Although he All of his "films" are now lost, and his historical status is also controversial, but his inspiration for later generations of experimental "direct animation" techniques cannot be denied.
In fact, the creation of animation is conceptually derived from the exquisite art of pure painting and the comics and cartoons of popular culture. This dual characteristic of avant-garde spirit and vulgar culture has always been the attraction of animation.
After the Renaissance in the 16th century, painting gradually shifted from the world of lofty and great medieval gods to the human world that focused on the lives of ordinary people. The Dutch painters of the 17th century also appeared for the first time in the history of painting that included Cartoon exaggerated sketch scrolls; after the invention of photography by Louis Daguerre and Nice-phore Niepce in the 1830s, the entire painting trend changed dramatically. On the one hand, due to the accuracy of photographic recording of images, the realism of painting was forced to give up. Coupled with the rapid social changes, sketch comics using simplicity and complexity were produced. This can be represented by the paintings of Daumier. On the other hand, in reaction to the precise depiction power of photography, the trend of pursuing the characteristics of painting emerged, leading to later impressionism and modernism.
The "Melodramas" created by the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Daumier records his childhood impressions of fooling around in the theater, and briefly outlines the "actions" of the stage actors, vividly displayed on the paper. This inclusion of "action" in still paintings naturally had an impact on later sketch animations. With the update of photography technology, art throughout the late 19th century became even more frantically devoted to the pursuit of decomposing movements and expressing the feeling of overall movement.
In addition, early animation is often regarded as a kind of experimental avant-garde art. Finnish painter L. Survage, Swedish painter Eggeling and German Hans Richler were all painters who used animation to pursue new art forms in the 1920s. For example, the geometric architectural figures that appear repeatedly in Richter's scroll paintings change the angle and size at different rhythms, allowing the viewer to simulate the experience of viewing buildings. The spirit of the entire work is to recreate the "changes in geometric figures". Action" process, deeply influenced by Cubism and Constructivism. Many of his cartoons became references for many avant-garde artists who were fascinated by graphic combinations and subconscious relationships.
After introducing the relationship between magic slides, small toys, continuous portraits, painting, photography, and avant-garde art, we return to the development of animation. Judging from the above description, before the invention of the movie camera, the prototype of animation was already concrete and subtle. However, compared with the official birth of film in 1895, animated films were delayed for nearly ten years. This is probably related to economic considerations. The emergence of animated short films ranks second to "trick films" in film history. This goes back to Melie's, which is as famous as the Lumiere brothers. Mei Liye, who has a background and experience as a magician, created the fantasy film "A Trip to the Moon" in 1902, which was a work that used film techniques and tricks to the extreme at that time. In his works, he makes full use of overprinting and stop-action substitute, which are only slightly different from "stop-motion/single-frame photography". But this technique only became independent when Pumbus, Stewart, and Bracton joined the film industry.
J. Stuart Blackton was born in England in 1875. He immigrated to the New World with his family when he was young. He was passionate about acting as a young man. He once performed with Ronald Reader and Albert E. Smith. ) formed a performing partner and traveled around performing stage jugglers and magic shows. Among them, Bracton was responsible for performing chalk comedy shows. He was also a newspaper columnist and illustrator. In April 1896, the New York Evening World sent him to visit Edison and asked him to bring back a charcoal sketch of the great inventor. After the exchange, Edison reciprocated the courtesy and took a short video of Blackton sketching and gave him the name "Blaketon, Evening News Cartoonist".
The film, which is only one minute long and features cartoonists at work, has been shown in concert halls and theaters. Bracton was already interested in films that captured the action of life, and this film that showed the process of painting aroused his attention. So Albert E. Smith was invited to form "Vitagraph", which was the predecessor of Warner Corporation. When the war between the United States and Spain broke out in 1899, theaters rushed to show newsreels of the war. Blackton and Smith collaborated to create one of the first early stop motion animated films with special effects, using hookah powder and string paper cutouts as event props. Although the grain of the film is rough, no one would believe that they are newsreels.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Bracton went to work in Edison's laboratory. He used chalk to sketch cigars and bottles, and made "Fantastic Pictures" called a "trick film" ( The Enchanted Drawing), the content is the subject of the sketch performed by the artist himself. 1906 was his greatest contribution to animation. He made "The Humorous phases of Funny Faces" on the blackboard. This chalk show is recognized as the world's first animated film. , it opens with a talent show by a painter, and is followed by a moving painting. The "cut out" technique is used to separate the human body and arms to save the time of redrawing frame by frame. Later, he went on to make several other short films, including Haunted Hotel, which was released in 1907. Not only did he use the popular dissolving and repeated exposure techniques at the time, but he also applied animation techniques to the film, which caused a sensation. Later, because he devoted most of his energy to the business of "Vita Company", he did not have time to fully promote animation. Therefore, until his death, no one recognized the importance of his works.
In late 1906, Frenchman Emile Cohl used the stop-motion technique in photography to start filming the first animated series "Phantom" (phantasmagorie), "Phantom" The series of changing images in it exude a unique charm. Although its technique is too simple and rough, especially compared with the later Winsor McCay, it is still charming.
In his early years, Cole studied under the political cartoonist Andre Gill. Influenced by his liberal colors and inspired by Gill’s friends in the painting world, he developed academic, anti-rational, and anti- The "incoherent" aesthetic qualities of the middle class. Cole later worked at the Gaumont Film Studio in France, and while working as a screenwriter, he produced a hand-drawn "Phantom Book". In 1912, Cole was invited to the United States to join the "Elair" company and start another stage of animation creation. Under the arrangement of the company, he animated the comics of George McManus, a well-known popular cartoonist at the time. From 1908 to 1921, Cole completed about 250 animated short films. His animations do not focus on stories and plots, but tend to use visual language to develop the possibilities of animation, such as "deformation" and transition effects between images. The creative philosophy he upholds guides animation to the free development of images and personal creation. In addition, he was also the first pioneer to use matte photography to combine animation and live action, and is therefore regarded as the father of contemporary animation.
Another great early animator was Winsor McCay. McKay did not invent animation, but he was the first to notice its artistic potential. He was born in Michigan, USA, in 1867. In his early years, he drew posters for circuses and popular theater groups. Later, he worked as a reporter and illustrator for newspapers, and became a well-known comic columnist. His most famous work, "Little Nemo in Slumberland," was first published in 1905. Its subtle observations of life, humorous expressions, rich imagination, and magnificent spatial arrangements established the work's Special style. The reason why he got into animation happened by chance. His son cut out every Sunday comic strip and made it into a flip book. This game inspired him.
He must have seen Bracton and Cole's animated short films before. In 1911, McKay made his first animated film. The content was based on the funny actions of the characters in the "Little Nemo" comic and the stories he experienced. Weird things, he colored them one by one with his own hands, and the animation became colorful from then on. In addition, McKay is better at creating smooth movement in three-dimensional space in two-dimensional animation, and the audience even thought he was referencing live-action films. Later, McKay completed "The Story of a Masquito" (The Story of a Masquito), which in addition to showing the character's movements also had the structure of a story
This seed film in the history of animation uses ink and There are more than 5,000 paintings drawn on rice paper, and the background of each frame is redrawn. The overall feeling is smooth and the time conversion is accurate, showing McKay's extraordinary perspective.
McKay is not only a performer, he also has a full understanding of dramatic effects. After creating "Gertie the Dinosaur," he went on to make what can be called the first animated documentary in film history, "The Sinking of the Lusiitania." He presented the tragic news events of the time frame by frame on the stage, especially the scene of the ship sinking into the sea and thousands of people falling into the sea and disappearing into the waves. The scene was expressed in animation, which shocked the audience. In order to recreate the scene at that time, he drew nearly 25,000 sketches, which was a pioneering work at the time.
In short, McKay’s efforts in developing multiple characters, combining story structure and popular interest, and an aesthetic style that hints at three-dimensional space cannot be ignored; at the same time, he is also the first A person who developed the concept of Full Animation (Note 7). And the route he opened for animation with his professional qualities as a cartoonist also heralded the coming of an American cartoon era.
Around this time, the development of animation in the United States and Europe began to diverge.
In the United States, due to the success of Bracton and Winsor McCay, animation studios gradually emerged like cartoon characters. In 1913, the first animation company was established in New York, and Raoul Barre developed the first system for fixing paintings on pegs for his cartoons. J.R. Bly followed up with a series of "Colonel Heeza Liar" adventures, adapting Teddy Rosevel's cartoons. In the early days, many cartoons were brought to the screen from popular comic strips, such as "Matt and Jeff" and "Crazy Cat". They were originally beloved characters by the audience, but now they move and look like real people, adding to their charm.
In 1915, Erhard discovered celluloid film, which replaced the previous animation paper. The artist did not need to redraw the background of each frame, but painted the characters individually on the celluloid and the background. The background pads are stacked on top of each other for shooting, establishing the basic shooting method of cartoons.
This year, max Fleischer, who worked at Barry Company, invented the "Rotoscope", which could accurately reproduce the actions in live-action movies. Transferred onto celluloid or paper. He created "Out of the Inkwell" and "Koko the Clown" from 1916 to 1929, which are achievements that showed his talents using rotoscope and animation techniques.
In 1919, Feline Cat made his debut in "Feline Follies" while being conceived by Otto Messmer of Pat Suliivan's company. The popularity of Felipe Cat is comparable to that of later Disney cartoon characters, especially among the intellectual audience.
Felipe Cat's films contain a lot of visual interest that expresses the nature of animation, and Mesmer followed McKay's knack for creating Gertie, giving Felipe Cat a unique personality and a movement that can't be replicated. Felipe Cat has also designed several expressions and postures, making Felipe Cat stand out among many animated characters and become the most popular cartoon star in the United States for ten consecutive years.
Felix the Cat is also the first cartoon character to become a commodity. Felix the Cat toys, Felipe Cat records, Felipe Cat stickers, a dazzling array of products, a new market targeting children, and a creative movie sales model. And thus it was established.
During this period, cartoon animation was full of talents, and many famous names appeared, such as Max and Dave Fleiischer, Paul Terry, Walt Lands (Walter Lantz) and others; and animated characters created in the 1920s and 1930s, such as Popeye and Woody Woodypecker, are still popular even today.
During World War II, American cartoon animation not only became a favorite industry of young artists, but also the most popular form of entertainment for the public. Cartoon star Betty Boop was carefully designed by the original artist. With modifications and modifications, she became a sex symbol in the eyes of the audience in 1932, as powerful as a Hollywood superstar.
During this period, the situation of European animators was very different from that in the United States. Apart from occasional sporadic activity, there is little in the way of the animation industry that has developed in the United States. Cartoons imported from the United States to Europe eclipse local cartoons and are more expensive.
Scandinavian animator Victor Bergdah made a 9-minute cartoon "Trolldrycken" in 1915, which is a story about the effects of alcohol. , this film received good reviews and box office, but the craze it triggered only lasted a few years in Sweden. By 1920 everything had gradually cooled down.
Although the social changes in Russia have stimulated movies shot with real objects to enter the mainstream of movies, the same environment has not benefited cartoon animation. Besides, the Russian film industry only started in the mid-1920s, and only then did some animators and outstanding works appear. Including Alexander Buschkin, Alexander Ivanov, Brumberg Sisters and Ivanov-Vano. After the Brampage sisters completed "Chinese on Fire" in 1925, they continued to create one film a year, and this situation continues to this day. Russian animators soon discovered that their country's rich cultural heritage, including fables, myths and traditional puppet shows, was an invaluable source of creative material, especially for children's entertainment.
In post-war Europe in the 1920s, various ideological trends surged. Film creators are concerned with how to reinvent the form of film. They tried to introduce new aesthetic concepts rather than develop technology. The whirlwind of the abstract art movement, the separation of realist films and impressionist films, the development of montage theory, the use of overlap and welding, and the drive for non-balanced compositions, It had a great impact on the visual arts, including the production of animated films.
The movement was also influenced by the ideas of the Bauhaus School of Design, which aimed to change and unify the rules of the arts, including design, architecture, theater and film. Non-representational, abstract avant-garde animation emerged in response to this movement. The pioneers of this movement include the Finnish painter L. Survage, the Swedish Viking Eggeling, and the German Oscar Fischinger and Hans Richter. ), Walter Ruttman, etc. are all painters who use animation to pursue art forms. For example, the geometric architectural figures that appear repeatedly in Richter's animations change in angle and size at different rhythms. The viewer can experience the experience of viewing a building and be immersed in the logic, beauty and continuity of its development.
The invention of synchronized sound led to a significant difference in the development of animation in Europe and the United States. In the United States voices are mainly used to improve a character's characteristics and personality.
In Europe, sound is used as the raw material for experiments, and the relationship between music, action images and sound effects in the film is explored to the extreme. For example, Oskar Fischinger used Brahms' Hungarian Dances (1931) to express abstract dynamic patterns as the main theme, creating a synchronized counterpoint effect with specific elements in the music.
While animation in Europe was developing in an avant-garde direction, a completely different movement emerged in the United States. Experiments in character creation and techniques blossomed from early animation into what is known as the 'Golden Age of American Cartoons'.
The most striking feature of the 1930s was the liberation from the pretense of culture and knowledge, no pretentiousness, and the pursuit of happiness and the development of personal talents in visual expression.
Undoubtedly, the most famous animation studio during this period was Walt Disney's studio. The rise of Disney Studios into an internationally renowned cartoon animation center also means that it will soon become the cradle of many young and potential artists in the future.
At this time, Walt Disney's name, as well as the cartoon characters he created, especially Mickey Mouse, which leads the ranking, are almost synonymous with household entertainment, faithful and trustworthy. . Of course, this is all thanks to the animation medium.
At this time, animation became a specialized profession. To this day, with the development of technology, it has become more and more dynamic and far-reaching. Animators may not be outstanding in appearance, or even shy and introverted, but once they pick up a pen, they become gods of creation. They can carve out wonderful characters and scenes according to their imagination. The essence of animation art often lies in the ability to manipulate the characters. .
Among the legendary figures among these animators, we must recommend Tex Avery. He originally wrote stories and jokes for Walter Lantz in the early 1930s, and later joined Warner Bros. as a director. and animation director, creating animated characters such as Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bunny Rabbit. His animation is good at exploiting the absurdity of humor and creating special visual effects. He successfully gives characters exaggerated movements and boldly tries to exceed their limits. By the mid-1950s, he was extending and shaping characters more freely, making their movements unconventional, and successfully transformed the face of animation. Especially his wild jokes and fast pace keep the audience in a state of tension forever without relaxing. Most of his themes are related to survival, society, status, and sex
Disney’s productions pay more attention to three-dimensional space expression and realistic lines, while UPA prefers plain, stylized, and currently popular line designs. The replacement of Disney's preference for romantic fairy tales with sociopolitical critiques in "The Brotherhood of Man" and "Hangman" is a prime example. With few financial resources, they could not afford Disney's gorgeous costs, so they could only create in a "Limited Animation" way, using a smaller number of pictures to draw, and strengthening key actions to create a strong story and powerful animation. The voice design is used to drive the plot
In addition to regular TV and weekend morning cartoon programs, at this transitional moment, animation is also moving towards the special effects of science fiction and fantasy films, such as "2001" "A Space Odyssey", "Star War", and "The Empire Strike Back", etc., the depiction of the apocalyptic world in science fiction movies has also contributed to the development of feature films and advertisements. The development and application of computer animation in films and telecommunications networks.
As the production cost of live-action movies is getting higher and higher, animation has become more and more advantageous in cost production, especially TV commercials and special programs. In addition, new studios around the world have made animation more and more cost-effective. to feature films, combining computers and traditional animation equipment to make them more refined. With the continuous and steady growth of the audience, I believe that the future of animation is unlimited, and the next 'golden age' of animation is just around the corner.