We began our series on 2D animation with the Cel Technique of 2D Animation. Now it’s time to learn about rotoscoping. Rotoscoping is a method of 2D animation that isn’t seen as much now however, it was once a revolution in the animation industry. It was used to give a more “authentic” feel to the animation. The process of tracing on top of motion picture footage and using the tracings in animations made the motion of the characters feel more realistic than they did before.
Yes, an animated cartoon was far less realistic than this.
Rotoscoping, another 2D Animation Technique, was invented by Max Fleischer in 1915 and was originally known as the “Fleischer Process” until 1934 when Fleischer’s patent on the technique expired and the method was now open for other studios to use.
This was Fleischer’s Snow White. Walt Disney would later collaborate to make his own Snow White in colour.
What started out as a “shortcut” to animation, ended up being one of the biggest inventions in the industry. With the advancements in computer animation, plenty of software has been developed to help artists trace silhouettes in rotoscoping.
The Technique
Rotoscoping involves the process of tracing a live object onto a sheet of paper. For this, a rotoscope, a projection apparatus invented by Fleischer for Rotoscoping, is kept in a way that it projects images on a glass screen for the animator to trace.
Can you imagine making 2D animation like this?
These images projected by the rotoscope are stills from live-action movies. When Fleischer created his first character through rotoscoping, Koko the Clown, he used his brother’s images in a clown costume as references.
To cover the movement of an object, every frame is traced on a separate sheet. These live-action traced silhouettes are then used as references for the rotoscoping artists to create authentic animated characters.
Fleischer’s Discovery
As mentioned previously, Fleischer invented rotoscoping to be a shortcut for 2D Animation. He regularly resorted to rotoscoping for his 2D animation to achieve movements that required lifelike animation. However, tracing every frame on paper proved to be just as time-consuming a task. Regardless, he gave the world some of the most iconic animations of all time with using this technique.
He bridged art and life with animation.
Some of his notable works include:
Though Fleischer and Walt Disney were considered rivals, they’re collaboration on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was a massive success and paved new paths for new animated films.
Modern Use of Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping has become more than just a tool for creating animated objects seem more real. In recent times, it has proved to be an important method used to create lifelike animated objects in live-action movies, one such example being Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy. In this movie, pictures of racoons were traced to make the character look realistic.
Image sourced from Jorge Figueroa under license terms of CC BY 2.0
A roto artist can be found on every VFX team. With adding backgrounds using green screens and editing cables and wires from the final shot, rotoscoping has revolutionised the way we see animation on the screen. This revolution began when animators used this method to create the Lightsabers in the original Star Wars series in 1977.
Image By DancingPhilosopher used under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A few other notable examples of rotoscoping used in modern filmmaking are below:
A Scanner Darkly
The opening of Juno
Aku No Hana
Benefits of Rotoscoping
- Authenticity: Probably one reason why rotoscoping is still so extensively used in the industry is its ability to make everything seem real on screen.
- Timing: This technique also helps with the timing in an animated scene. The movements of the characters become more organised. It helps the editor to incorporate all the frames together.
- Consistency: Since all the movements of a character are created using the same skills, the animation is bound to be consistent.
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This article was written by Sienna Thibault. If you want to contact her for feedback, send her an email.
