Rotoscopy

Rotoscopy is an animation technique in which live-action footage is projected onto a drawing surface and traced frame by frame to produce animated sequences. The method, known as rotoscoping, was invented by Max Fleischer in 1915 with the Rotoscope device and became a common tool for achieving realistic motion in early American animation.

Traditionally, footage was projected onto a light table and artists drew over the projection on animation cels or paper, often inked and painted afterward. This approach allowed animators to capture natural movement—gait, gestures, and facial expressions—with a level of realism difficult to achieve through drawing alone. It is labor-intensive and can produce a distinctive look that some styles seek to avoid.

Rotoscoping influenced the work of studios during the Golden Age of animation and later found broader use in feature films and television. It provided a practical reference for animators aiming to render lifelike human and animal movement and, in later decades, evolved into a tool for visual effects, enabling the extraction or isolation of elements from live-action footage for compositing.

With the advent of digital technology, rotoscoping evolved into digital rotoscoping, where artists use software to frame-by-frame mask scenes. It remains widely used in film and television for VFX, cleanup, and stylistic effects, often in combination with 3D animation or motion capture. The term can refer to the historical projection-and-draw technique as well as the modern post-production masking workflow.