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animation

Watch Elliot Schultz’s Meditative Embroidered Zoetropes

Elliot Schultz’s six embroidered zoetropes turn stitched image sequences into animation with a spinning disc and synchronized strobe light.

By ThatPainter Team 2 min read
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Artist Elliot Schultz made six embroidered zoetropes: animated discs sized after 10-inch vinyl records and designed for standard turntables. Their stitched images appear to move when a synchronized strobe illuminates each frame as the disc spins. The project joins textile craft and animation in a work meant to be watched—and physically engaged with.

How does an embroidered zoetrope work?

A zoetrope creates the illusion of motion by showing a sequence of images in succession. In Schultz’s work, the sequence is embroidered onto a rotating disc. Rotation carries the stitched frames past the viewer, while a strobe flashes in sync with them; that synchronized illumination makes the separate images appear animated rather than simply blurred together.

Schultz used LEDs and an Arduino to control the strobe. He tried different LED colors and found that cool white showed the image colors best. The 2015 Make: article does not give the Arduino model, circuit design, rotation speed, or strobe timing, so it does not establish a ready-to-copy technical setup.

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What makes Schultz’s discs distinctive?

The six discs were designed for standard turntables and take their shape and size from 10-inch vinyl records. Instead of printing or drawing frames, Schultz used an embroidery machine to stitch the images onto the discs. The result makes the animation’s material construction visible: each frame is thread on a spinning surface.

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As Schultz put it, “This project encourages viewers to watch and engage with animation physically.” The turntable and synchronized light make viewing an encounter with a moving object, not only with an image on a screen.

How did the designs develop?

The project included an early water-droplet animation, as well as decorative sleeves for storing the discs. Schultz also experimented with iron-on backgrounds intended to support more detailed scenes. Later zoetrope designs were made entirely with code, showing a shift from machine-embroidered frames toward digitally generated imagery.

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Can you still use the iPad app?

The Make: article also mentioned an iPad app intended to let people spin digital versions of the discs and see their animations without a physical disc or turntable. Its author said she had not found updates after Schultz posted about it in early 2014. The article does not confirm whether the app is currently available, so its present-day status is unknown.

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