So, it's the Thanksgiving holiday. You've eaten the turkey. You've watched the game. You've been out to see Harry Potter AND Tangled AND Megamind. What to do next?

Make a Phenakistoscope with Animation:Master!


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Even when you know how animation works and how we see it, it's still a bit of magic to hold one of these up, spin it and see the still pictures turn to life.


You can make your own with these instructions and this project file.

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Feedback on whether these instructions work for you is welcome.


Have a Happy thanksgiving!

That is so cool! Thanks Robert!

terrifically done!

COOL! I'd like to try it... but I haven't seen MegaMind yet...

I don't know how it would work without a shutter, seems the images would just blur together.

I saw a GREAT thing on a subway going from Brooklyn to NYC just before you go over the East River. A graffiti artist had done an animated graffiti-graphic on the wall of an tunnel/overpass. The combination of the speed of the Subway(about 35mph) the window on the car and the passing support-columns made a perfect 'shutter' effect... the art was perfectly placed on a wall further back from the columns and lit by the sun above. It lasted maybe 5 seconds and was truly heartwarming.

There should be that kind of stuff everywhere (not necessarily graffiti) My first thought was... there should be a Coke Logo on that or something...shame on me.


EDIT: OH I SEE... the cut notches act as a shutter, genius!

I've updated the Phenakistoscope.prj file to correct the spelling of "phenakistoscope". Otherwise it is the same as before.


If you want to get a somewhat higher res screen capture of your disc you could Zoom in to one quadrant and capture that, then pan over to the next quadrant and capture that and so on until you have all four quarters captured, then piece them together in a paint program.

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