This process has been a pet pitch of mine for a while but nobody’s biting yet — 3D printing makes a ton of sense for zoetropes, not just smaller ones like in this example but for large, character-driven, intricate scenes.
What’s great about this approach is you can pre-vis everything (incl rotation and frame rate, etc.), tweak and tweak, and when it’s ready, print each component, draw out your positioning on your turntable, stick them down, and then tune your motor / strobe / camera system without having to re-hand-sculpt in the event of a mixup.
Anyway, Edmark is doing Python > Rhino > STL for forms following the 137.5-degree-distribution [aka the Golden Angle] and Fibonacci sequences common in plants, which is exactly the sort of arguably completely new thing 3D printing is bringing into the world.
I strongly recommend checking out Vi Hart's videos linked above, BTW — here's an embed in case you missed it:
Part 2: http://youtu.be/lOIP_Z_-0Hs Part 3: http://youtu.be/14-NdQwKz9w Re: Pineapple under the Sea: http://youtu.be/gBxeju8dMho My personal website, which you might like: http://vihart.com
... also as part of Edmark's awesome Instructables breakdown of the process is this beautiful and didactic Fibonacci puzzle stop-motion:
A self-similar tiling, in which every piece is a unique size, but all pieces are the same shape. Each piece is added/removed at an angle of ~137.5 degrees from the previous. This angle—known as the Golden Angle—is manifest in natural objects such as pine cones and sunflowers.
Also worth mentioning is this really lovely zoetrope record project by UK-based AV outfit Sculpture:
Plastic Infinite is a 7" animated picture disc by Sculpture, released January 2014. Sculpture is: Dan Hayhurst: Audible. Reuben Sutherland: Visible. www.tapebox.co.uk
--- UPDATE ---
More on this via EK at HUSH ...
Nervous System have been making their own 3D-printed zoetropes in a series titled 'GROWING OBJECTS'. They're created with generative growth systems (Nervous' wheelhouse) and prototyped as GIF ... this one stands out from their pre-vis collection...
... and here's some documentation of the finished pieces:
Here's a preview of our 3D printed zoetropes project. This video has some weirdness to it because the motor speed of the zoetrope is not synchronized with my camera's framerate. Once we get these back from the exhibition we will produce a better tuned video. --- “Growing Objects” is a series of kinetic sculptures that illustrate natural growth processes. Inspired by 19th century zoetropes, these interactive sculptures consist of 3D printed objects that when spun and illuminated animate the development of complex forms; when still, they allow the viewer to examine each step of the growth process. Our zoetropes reimagine one of the earliest ancestors of modern day cinema and animation, the 19th century optical toys: the phenokistoscope, zoetrope and praxinoscope. We’re fascinated by these devices because they are fundamentally interactive and participatory, enabling the viewer to deconstruct the animation process. We are adapting this kinetic apparatus to illustrate and explain our algorithmic art process via 3D printing. Thus far, the series consists of four zoetropes. Each one depicts one of our generative design systems which grow form based on a natural process. 1 - hyphae based on how vein networks form in leaves. 2 - laplacian based on how branching crystals grow by dendritic solidification 3 - reaction based on reaction-diffusion, a chemical signalling process that can explain the emergence of dot and stripes patterns on the skins and shells of animals 4 - morphostem based on how differential surface growth shapes the blooming of flowers and ruffling of leaves
Update 05/17/15:
More from Creators Project - this one from Mat Colishaw - a depiction of Reubens' Massacre of the Innocents, way more in the wheelhouse of what I've had in mind:
Artwork was designed by Mat Collishaw. It is based on "Massacre of the innocent" painting by Rubens. This is the 6th zoetrope I had a pleasure to work on. This 3D printed job took about 6 months of work and involved creating over 350 character figures, environment elements and architecture. I was responsible for all 3D modeling and animations. I mostly used 3ds max and ZBrush. Please let me know what you think of it. [email protected] www.creativenot.com
... love how the physical setting of this one reinforces the theme. Really amazing work, and some interesting comments on the Vimeo page from one of the 3D artists involved regarding the challenges of documenting a piece like this - because the camera shutter wasn't synced with the stroboscope, he had to go through and manually select well-lit frames for inclusion in this video. There's gotta be a better way to do that, but maybe not without a good bit of additional work jamming the camera with the strobe, or without using a variable frame rate body like a Phantom...