Considering how fluid and seamless modern cartoons look, or how quickly shows like South Park can be produced, it can be fun to remember a time when animation was more primitive, like the spinning zoetrope animation device. If you’re not familiar, a zoetrope is one of those spinning wheels that displays an animation when you look through the slots on the side. Basically, it was a GIF before we knew what binary code was. Here’s an example of one in action:
Even if we’ve evolved way past this in terms of technology, the zoetrope is a particularly cool physical gadget even today. At least one guy seems to agree with us–and clearly holds this view very near and dear to his heart–as he got what may be our favorite ever tattoo: he turned himself into a human zoetrope (via Sploid).
The featured video at the top of the page is a fascinating look at the process of inking the 24 frames of animation based on some vintage motion photography into to his skin. The behind-the-scenes stuff is fun, but the real gratification comes in seeing the human canvas spin around and animate the humanoid figure as it does a flip and becomes a clock.
Just when you thought there were no more original tattoo ideas, this thing pops up and blows us all away. If any of you do this yourselves, please show us the end result, but bear in mind that you’ll probably spend the rest of your life twirling around for friends and family.
Featured image: Open the Portal/YouTube
