J. Stuart Blackton: Innovation in Animation
J. Stuart Blackton: Innovation in Animation In his twenties, Blackton was a cartoonist. He created several illustrations for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. Blackton's focus switched to creating animated art instead when he was sent to interview Thomas Edison. Edison was presenting his new creation, the vitascope, and Blackton was intrigued. During the interview, Blackton sketched Edison, and this caught Edison's interest. He began to think of ways to use sketches to create short silent films. This encounter began Blackton's revolutionary work in animation. Blackton collaborated with Edison in 1900 on The Enchanted Drawing , a trick film including Blackton, the animated sketch of a man's face, and a wine glass and bottle. Edison filmed as Blackton sketched on a canvas, created changing expressions in his art, and incorporated real life objects into his 2 dimensional drawing. For instance, after drawing the wine glass and bottle, Blackton "grabs
