William Harbutt developed plasticine in 1897. To promote his educational "Plastic Method" he made a handbook that included several photographs that displayed various stages of creative projects. The images suggest phases of motion or change, but the book probably did not have a direct influence on claymation films. Still, the plasticine product would become the favourite product for clay animators, as it did not dry and harden (unlike normal clay) and was much more malleable than its harder and greasier Italian predecessor plasteline.[1]
By 1897, German toy manufacturer Gebrüder Bing had a first prototype of their toy "kinematograph".[3] It would later be used for traced pictures from live-action films (much like the later rotoscoping technique).[4][5]
Births
February
February 24: Vyacheslav Levandovsky, Ukrainian animator, considered the founder of Ukrainian animation, (The Fairy Tale of the Straw Bull, The Tale about the Squirrel Hostess and the Mouse Villain, Tuk-Tuk and his friend Zhuk, In the Land of Dolls), (d. 1962).[6][7][8][9]
^Frierson, Michael (1993). "The Invention of Plasticine and the Use of Clay in Early Motion Pictures". Film History. 5 (2): 142–157. ISSN0892-2160. JSTOR27670717.