This project creates animated GIFs of stroboscopic discs. The output GIF files consist of bilevel images so that they can be shown in quick succession on an e-paper display using the animation (A2) waveform mode, which works only with pure black and white pixels.
The source files are taken from the following pages on Wikimedia Commons:
- Prof._Stampfer's_Stroboscopische_Scheibe_No._X.gif – Prof. Stampfer's Stroboscopische Scheibe No. X (Trentsensky & Vieweg 1833). Animated GIF by Joortje1.
- Animated_phenakistiscope_disc_-_Running_rats_Fantascope_by_Thomas_Mann_Baynes_1833.gif – Animated phenakistiscope disc - Running rats, Fantascope by Thomas Mann Baynes, 1833. Animated GIF by Basile Morin.
The file Prof._Stampfer's_Stroboscopische_Scheibe_No._X.gif is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The file Animated_phenakistiscope_disc_-_Running_rats_Fantascope_by_Thomas_Mann_Baynes_1833.gif is in the public domain.
The other content of this project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. The animated GIF files produced by this project are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The Makefile requires the following programs on your PATH environment variable.
- convert – converts between image formats and edits images (from ImageMagick)
- mkbitmap – transforms images into bitmaps with scaling and filtering (from potrace)
- potrace – transforms bitmaps into vector graphics (from potrace)
- inkscape – an SVG editing program (from Inkscape)
This project creates the following animated GIF files:
- stroboscope-baynes.gif – traced with potrace
- stroboscope-baynes-cutoff.gif – created using a cutoff threshold value
- stroboscope-stampfer.gif – traced with potrace
- stroboscope-stampfer-cutoff.gif – created using a cutoff threshold value
A single frame from each of the original animations is converted as illustrated below. The Vector column shows the rasterization of the vector graphics created by potrace, while the Threshold column shows a direct conversion to black and white using a cutoff threshold value.
| Original | Vector | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Stampfer 800 × 800 px | 600 × 600 px | 600 × 600 px |
 |
 |
 |
| Baynes 1,000 × 1,000 px | 600 × 600 px | 600 × 600 px |