Geometric Animation Using Light

As I mentioned earlier, I had an idea of what I wanted to do for a hand made animation, and here it is.

Using tracing paper, I drew a geometric ball which was then repeated on six other sheets of tracing paper. However, as I moved from page to page, I gradually made the sides emerge further and further towards the edges of the pages, creating these "spikes". The pages were then layered upon each other, and stuck onto a frame made from an old canvas painting, with the center of the canvas cut out. When the frame, holding the pages together, is held against a lamp, the transparency of the tracing paper allows light to pass through the pages, allowing the drawings from each page to become visible.

The repeated drawings create a sense of movement across the whole page, since you can see the spikes extruding from the geometric ball. If the frame is turn around, the same animation can be seen, but in reverse, which was great, since I wasn't expecting it.

I am really glad that this turned out exactly how I wanted it to. I love the subtle animation that is created, and how the transparency of the paper lets adequate amount of light to pass through.

Layering the drawings in order.

The Finished Piece

Notice how the other pages underneath are not very visible when there is no strong light behind the frame.

The finished piece placed in front of a desk lamp.

The spikes extruding from the surface of the ball is quite subtle, due to the transparency of the paper.

In front of the desk lamp, while the frame is turned around.

This reverse animation shows the spikes retreating back into the surface of the geometric ball.