New Black and White Laser-Cut Animations by Matthias Brown Imitate 19th-Century Optical Illusions

Graphic designer Matthias Brown (previously here and here) creates hand drawn animations and cut paper GIFs which he posts to his Tumblr, Traceloops. Previously he’s experimented with rotoscoping techniques for his looping works, which requires each element of the animation to be scanned or traced, frame-by-frame. His subject matter is typically figural, working with dancing bodies, disembodied hands, or melting faces.

Recently, Brown has revisited paper-based animation with a centuries old method called a phenakistoscope. His handmade sculptures are laser-cut from one piece of paper, and imitate the mid-19th-century device by animating as they spin. Brown’s animation above was created from one of these devices, with a full version of the work on Vimeo. You can view a larger range of his recent GIFs on Traceloops.