What is animation? - persistence of vision

Persistence of vision is the theory that the human eyeball will retain a still image for a short time after the image has been moved (some estimates time this at approximately 0.04seconds), so a series of rapidly changing images will create the illusion of fluid movement. The human eye registers around 30 still images (frames) per second, so any animation at 30fps or over will be perceived as fluid motion.

The first device that used a succession of rapidly changing images to create an animation was the Zoetrope, a collection of images inside a spinning cylinder which when viewed from the side – created a small looped animation. Its creator was the British mathematician William Horner.

One form of modern animation that is a perfect example of persistence of vision is flipbook animation, of all animation techniques, the flipbook is one of the easiest and most familiar. A flipbook is a booklet containing a series of images that, when you thumb through quickly, are animated – each note in the notepad acting as a frame that the mind registers. Another example would be Claymation, using stop motion animation to create the illusion of persistence of vision, each photo taking acting like a page in the flipbook.