Stick figure
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A stick figure is a very simple type of drawing made of lines and circles, often of the human form, although stick figures of other animals, or anything at all are also possible. In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eyes, mouth or crudely-scratched-out hair. The neck, arms, legs and torso are all represented by single straight lines (thus the name). The neck and torso are different segments of one straight line.
Stick figures are typically drawn by hand with a pen, pencil or marker and have hard, defined edges. They are iconic, displaying as little detail as possible to get the desired effect. For instance, if one wanted to show emotion, simple additions might provide a facial expression, such as inward-pointing eyebrows showing anger, or widened eyes for fear.
Stick figures have proven effective as a source of advertising, entertainment and as a form of storyboarding and practice for filmwork. This is especially crucial for creating animatics, as a film special effects team is then able to visually display the outcome of a scene by using stick figures, but saving the money, time and effort that a completed shot would require.
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[edit] History
The stick figure's earliest roots are in prehistoric art. Tens of thousands of years later, writing systems that use images for words or morphemes — e.g. logographies such as Egyptian and Chinese — started simplifying people and other objects to be used as linguistic symbols. There is also a modern history that traces at least in part from Rudolf Modley's extending the use of figures from Isotype for commercial use. The first international use of stick figures is in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Pictograms created by Japanese designers Masaru Katzumie and Yoshiro Yamashita formed the basis of future pictograms. In 1972, Otl Aicher developed the stick figures used on the signage, printed materials, etc. for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Drawing on those and many other similar symbol sets in use at the time, in 1974 and 1979 AIGA (commissioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation) developed the DOT pictograms — 50 public domain symbols for use at transportation hubs, large events, and other contexts in which people would know a wide variety of different languages. These, or symbols derived from them, are used widely through much of the world today.
[edit] Animation
[edit] Flash
- Further information: Flash animation
Stick figures are often used in animations made with Adobe Flash. Stick figures are easy to draw and can be traditionally animated a lot quicker than full drawings. Well known stick figure animations include Xiao Xiao and Joe Zombie.
[edit] PowerPoint
- Further information: PowerPoint animation
Microsoft PowerPoint has also been used to make stick figure movies. By creating a slide with a stick figure in it, copying and pasting a new slide and changing the new slide users can create a movie, although it is a much more laborious process.
[edit] Cutout Pro Stickman
Cutout Pro Stickman[1] is specifically designed for stick figure animation. Each figure is controlled with control points and key frames and saves drawing inbetweens. When an arm is moved, the whole body gets affected using skeleton simulation. Stickman has some functions for importing pictures, add control points and deform them. Users can export animations as .avi or .swf files. It is also possible to generate sprite sheets for use in 2D games. Figures can be created with a software called "Elemento" that follows with Stickman.
[edit] Pivot Stick Figure Animator
Pivot Stickfigure Animator is also designed for stick figure animation. As with Cutout Pro Stickman, this software allows a user to control key points/joints. The beta version allows the user to load images (sprites) and animate them.
[edit] This Is Stick Figure Animation Theatre (TISFAT)
TISFAT is tween-based stick figure animation software (though Frame by Frame animation is still possible), allowing the user to create any kinds of figures and objects, as well as add bitmaps, that are animated in layers by keyframes, between which the program does the animation for the user. Movies can be exported as AVI, SWF and SIF files.
[edit] Project Dogwaffle
Project Dogwaffle can be used to animate stick figures, and is intended for more experienced artists.[citation needed]
[edit] Other examples of stick figures in popular culture
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stick figures |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Gerd Arntz and the Woodcut Origins of the Stick Figure
- The 50 AIGA symbols
- Stick Figure Deaths at the Open Directory Project
- Stickheads, Stickman comics and other stickmen art.
- Stick Page, a variety of stick-figure cartoons and movies
- Stick Death directory of stick death animations
- Droidz, a community fansite for the popular stickfigure animator, Pivot.
- Stick Fans, Stickman Art and Stickman Movies.
- DarkDemon, a community fansite for the popular stickfigure animator, Pivot.
- Shittyart.net - A Place for Stick Figures, your doodles, drawings & comics.