Out of the Inkwell
45 videos • 52,739 views • by Fleischer Cartoons! The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced from 1914 to 1916 to demonstrate his invention, the rotoscope, a device consisting of a film projector and easel used to achieve realistic movement for animated cartoons. The rotoscope projected motion picture film through an opening in the easel, covered by a glass pane serving as a drawing surface. The image on the projected film was traced onto paper, advancing the film one frame at a time as each drawing was made. Fleischer's younger brother Dave Fleischer, who was working as a clown at Coney Island, served as the model for their first famous character, eventually known as Koko the Clown.