Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A Scanner Darkly. Yellow Submarine. What do they have in common? Sure, they’re animated — but more precisely, they were brought to life through rotoscoping.
Rotoscope animation involves tracing over live-action footage frame by frame. It’s slow and a little obsessive. Depending on how far the animator wanders from the original, the final piece can feel hyperreal, dreamlike, or somewhere in between.
In 2022 I started rotoscoping short clips from my phone to see what would happen. Here are a few early experiments. If you have a video you’d like to see in this style, let me know — I’m still learning, and I’d love the practice.
Henry scoring at sportsball.
Anna miserable in her new winter boots.
My first commission, courtesy of @melodyskates
Katie, Jeff and me, post-race.
Rotoscope can also be used to create still frames, like this panorama from a Work & Co happy hour.