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Short definition Full definition and explanation Popular context Coolest example3 min read
Short definition
Rotoscoping is a motion picture animation technique used by animators to trace over motion picture material. They do it frame by frame in order to create a realistic action of the cars in the film. Animators use it to produce lifelike characters that move in the same way that real humans or animals do in the real world.
Full definition and explanation
Rotoscoping is now utilized to generate crowd scenes in movies and advertising where the drawn object must interact with the environment as if it were a real character. Furthermore, because it is simple to reproduce items, this technology considerably reduces the cost of 3D creation. It’s ideal for narrating stories. To produce a matte or mask for an element, rotoscoping is utilized. Then, with everything else modified, this traced movement mask is placed in a completely other scene and background. You won’t be able to tell if a location has been rotoscoped unless you compare the two versions side by side.
Popular context
Visual effects in live-action films are the most common application of Rotoscoping animation. The animators trace the object and make a silhouette of it, which they then employ in a separate scene with a different background. To influence a new arrangement over the silhouette, blue and green screens are now used. Motion-tracking and onion-skinning software also use it. They’re also employed in the creation of distinctive light visual effects.
Coolest example
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella are some of the most remarkable films made with this form of animation. Because of this type of animation, all of the animation characters in the film move like actual people. 
The glowing lightsaber effect in the Star Wars film was also created utilizing rotoscoping animation and a matte based on the actors’ sticks. In this scenario, the effect technicians traced a line with the prop over each frame, then widened each line and applied the light to make it distinctive to start wars.
