Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping in a nutshell-

Rotoscoping is a technique where an animator traces frame by frame over live action film to create life like motion, rotoscoping is a very effective way of capturing complex human motions and movements without needing to plan out your actions.

History of Rotoscoping-

When Rotoscoping was first devised the footage was shot and then projected onto glass and redrawn by an animator. Rotoscoping was devised by Max Fleischer and has been used by Disney on films such as Snow white and the seven Dwarfs and Cinderella ,as well as being used used on Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes. Other examples of Rotoscoping are Heavy Metal,Fire and Ice, Yellow Submarine and in China's first animated feature film, Princess Iron Fan. Rotoscoping has also been used in Video Games such as Prince of Persia, Flashback, Another World and Hotel Dusk Room 215.

My Thoughts on Rotoscoping-

Personally i dislike rotoscoping due to the fact that i think you don't really need to know how to draw or be a good draftsmen to use it effectively. I don't understand how you would grow as an artist or gain any insight in to human motion when you just trace an outline over and over, i also believe that rotoscoping pretty much looks the same regardless of how you dress it up there can be minor deviations but i can spot a piece of Rotoscoped material a mile away. Dont get me wrong it is cost effective and you can get brilliant looking animated pieces its just not for me.