Animation Timeline | |
Date | Event |
1824 | Peter Mark Roget, who did research in physiology at the University of London, published "Persistence of Vision with Regard to Moving Objects." This book presented the idea that a succession of still images could create the appearance of motion. |
1832 | Joseph Plateau (a Belgian scientist) developed the phenakistiscope. |
1889 | Emile Reynaud (from France) patents the praxinoscope .. a device that used mirrors to project a sequence of images (along with a fixed background) onto a screen. It was sufficiently complex that only he could run it. The infinite length tape changed the medium from a curiosity into entertainment. |
1895 | The age of movie camera and projector begins .. experimentors discover they can stop the crank and restart it again to obtain special effects. Example: James Stuart Blackton creates "The Enchanted Drawing" in 1900 .. a caricature is drawn with no evidence of an artist. |
1907 | Emil Cohl (from France) begins a long animation career.. |
1914 | Windsor McCay produces perhaps the first popular animation .. Gertie the Dinosaur, which becomes part of his vaudeville act |
1915 | John Bray patents the use of clear cels over a background |
1917 | John Bray patents rotoscoping (developed by Max Fleischer) |
1919 | Koko the clown (Max Fleischer) appears |
1920's | Otto Mesmer creates Felix the Cat |
1928 | Walt Disney releases "Steamboat Willie" .. an early cartoon w/ sound -- cartoons are now seen as entertainment. Disney innovations over the next 10-20 years include the storyboard, pencil tests, and the multi-plane camera stand (3D effects). Disney also promoted the analysis of real-life motion. |
1937 | Snow White is released at cost of $1.5M |
1930's | Fleischer studios create Betty Boop and Popeye |
1930's | Warner Bros .. Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny appear |
1940's | Walter Lantz and Woody Woodpecker, Paul Terry and Mighty Mouse, MGM w/ Tom & Jerry (animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera) |
1963 | Ivan Sutherland and SKETCHPAD at MIT/Lincoln Labs |
1972 | University of Utah, Ed Catmull develops an animation scripting language and creates an animation of a smooth shaded hand. Ref: E. Catmull, "A System for Computer Generated Movies", Proceedings of the ACM National Conference, 1972. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1972 | University of Utah, Fred Parke creates first computer generated facial animation. Ref: F. Parke, "Computer Generated Animation of Faces", Proceedings of the ACM National Conference, 1972. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1974 | National Research Council of Canada releases Hunger/La Faim directed by Peter Foldes and featuring Burtnyk and Wein interactive keyframing techniques. Ref: N. Burtnyk and M. Wein, "Interactive Skeleton Techniques for Enhancing Motion Dynamics in Key Frame Animation", Communications of the ACM, 19(10), October 1976. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1982 | Tron, MAGI, movie with CG premise |
1983 | Bill Reeves at Lucasfilm publishes techniques for modeling particle systems. "Demo" is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. The paper also promotes motion blur. Ref: W. Reeves, "Particle Systems -- A Technique for Modeling a Class of Fuzzy Objects", Computer Graphics, 17(3), July 1983. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1984 | The Last Starfighter, CG is used in place of models |
1984 | Porter and Duff at Lucusfilm publish paper on digital compositing using an alpha channel. Ref: T. Porter and T. Duff, "Compositing Digital Images", Computer Graphics, 18(3), July 1984. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1985 | Girard and Maciejewski at OSU publish a paper describing the use of inverse kinematics and dynamics for animation. Their techniques are used in the animation "Eurythmy." Ref: M. Girard and A. A. Maciejewski, "Computational Modeling for the Computer Animation of Legged Figures", Computer Graphics, 19(3), July 1985. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1985 | Ken Perlin at NYU publishes a paper on noise functions for textures. He later applied this technique to add realism to character animations. Ref: K. Perlin, "An Image Synthesizer", Computer Graphics, 19(3), July 1985. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1987 | John Lasseter at Pixar publishes a paper describing traditional animation principles. "Demos" are Andre and Wally B and Luxo Jr. Ref: J. Lasseter, "Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation", Computer Graphics, 21(4), July 1987. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1987 | Craig Reynolds then at Symbolics (now at Dreamworks SKG) publishes a paper on self-organizing behavior for groups. "Demos" are Stanley and Stella and Batman Returns. Ref: C. W. Reynolds, "Flocks, Herds, and Schools: A Distributed Behavioral Model", Computer Graphics, 21(4), July 1987. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1988 | Willow uses morphing in live action film |
1992 | Beier and Neely, at SGI and PDI respectively publish an algorithm where line correspondences guide morphing between 2D images. "Demo" is Michael Jackson video Black and White. Ref: T. Beier and S. Neely, "Feature-Based Image Metamorphosis", Computer Graphics, 26(2), July 1992. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1993 | Chen and Williams at Apple publish a paper on view interpolation for 3D walkthroughs. Ref: S. E. Chen and L. Williams, "View Interpolation for Image Synthesis", Computer Graphics Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 1993. (In the SIGGRAPH 98 Seminal Graphics collection.) |
1993 | Jurassic Park use of CG for realistic living creatures |
1995 | Toy Story first full-length 3D CG feature film |