Tyree McQueen

Now, I’m not sure if these two inventions are considered to be from a different era, given that they were created in the same era of the nineteenth century, but two pre-cinema animation devices that I find to be a lot similar in functionality, but have major distinctions between each other are William George Horner’s Zoetrope and Emile Renaud’d Praxinoscope. As I mentioned, both were created in the 1800s but it seems Horner’s modern zoetrope was created in 1834, a whole 34 years before Reyfaud invented his praxinoscope in 1877. Both inadvertently perform the same function, with both contraptions being able to create the illusion of animation by having mini frame-by-frame reels, or sequenced drawings, circle throughout the interior of the cylinder. However, what differentiated the two was that rather than having narrow slits on the internal surface of the cylinder to create a sequence of animation through distorted moving images as the zoetrope did, the praxinoscope instead replaced the zoetropes slits on the side in exchange for mirrors set edge to edge around the revolving center, with each subsequent image on the outer rim reflecting on one of the inner mirrors to create a moving image. Nonetheless, I still absolutely adore these two creations, both nearly perform the same function, but still have their own distinctive style that makes both all the more unique.

Hello, Professor and classmates of World History of Animation, my name is Tyree McQueen. I am a sophomore here at BMCC and this is my fourth and final semester, as I will be graduating this spring 2022. My current major is Animation and Motion graphics. Art and animation have truly been a passion for as long as I can remember and I am just so glad I have the opportunity to follow this career path and actually have an interest in what I am learning. When I think of an area of animation era of animation I would love to learn more about, I always think of the Golden Age of Animation, specifically the tropes and methods used by these animators during their earlier years. I have always been a fan of Max Fleisher and his style of animation, but i would love to learn more about how the animator utilized rotoscoping to create such realistic and fluid imagery. It must have been one interesting process.

I am involved in a couple of hobbies, each focusing on a different aspect of my personality that I aim to cultivate. To improve my artistic and creative skills, I joined a digital design community on Discord. Every Friday, we gather in a server to learn new skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and even Procreate. This has allowed me to create more expressive art that I am proud of. I also attend Kickboxing every weekend from Friday through Sunday to increase my athletic and physical capabilities. This helps me maintain my productivity and output into the new week and relieves my stress from constantly doing schoolwork. When I think of an animated property that I truly like, the film that always comes to mind is Fantasia. I don’t if it was the aesthetically pleasing backgrounds, the visual gratifying practical effects combined with traditional 2d animation, the fluid imagery synchronized perfectly with the musical scores, or classic principles like squash & stretch being utilized within the wonderful dance sequences, but this movie truly knew how to push the limits of what animation could be going forward. Just an overall amazing spectacle to watch.