Thaumatrope

In our first animation class, we discussed the principles and history of animation. One way we explored this was by making our own thaumatropes. As Wikipedia points out, the word “thaumatrope” is a compound of the Greek roots for “wonder” and “turn,” so it literally means something like “wonder turner” or “turning wonder.” One side has an image, and the reverse has a complementary image oriented upside down. When you spin it, it appears animated. Here is a video of my thaumatrope in action: