Stick figure
Encyclopedia
A stick figure is a very simple type of drawing made of lines and dots, often of the human
form or other animal
s. In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eye
s, mouth
or crudely scratched-out hair
. The arm
s, leg
s and torso
are all represented by straight lines. There has been much debate about whether stick figures should have neck
s and this varies from artist to artist. However the general consensus is that stick figures do not require necks.
Stick figures are typically drawn by hand with a pen, pencil, marker or whatever is at hand. Graffiti
of stick figures are found throughout history, often scratched with a sharp object on hard surfaces such as stone or concrete walls.
They are iconic
and sketched with minimal detail. However, if one wanted to show emotion, simple additions can provide facial expression
s, such as inward-pointing "eyebrow
s" showing anger, or widened "eyes" for fear, but many stick figures lack noses
, mouth
s, or have no facial features
displaying absent or ambiguous emotional expression.
Stick figures have proven effective as a source of advertising
, entertainment
and as a form of storyboarding and practice for film work
. This is especially crucial for creating animatics, as a film special effects team is then able to visually display the outcome of a scene by using stick figures, but saving the money, time and effort that a completed shot would require.
. Tens of thousands of years later, writing systems that use images for words or morphemes — e.g. logographies such as Egyptian and Chinese — started simplifying people and other objects to be used as linguistic symbols. There is also a modern history that traces at least in part from Rudolf Modley's extending the use of figures from Isotype
for commercial use. The first international use of stick figures is in the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo. Pictograms created by Japanese designers Masaru Katzumie and Yoshiro Yamashita formed the basis of future pictograms. In 1972, Otl Aicher developed the stick figures used on the signage
, printed materials, etc. for the 1972 Summer Olympics
in Munich. Drawing on those and many other similar symbol sets in use at the time, in 1974 and 1979 AIGA
(commissioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation
) developed the DOT pictograms
— 50 public domain symbols for use at transportation hubs, large events, and other contexts in which people would know a wide variety of different language
s. These, or symbols derived from them, are used widely through much of the world today.
s made with Adobe Flash
. Stick figures are easy to draw and can be traditionally animated much more quickly than full drawings. One well-known stick figure animation is Xiao Xiao
although there are many more.
) and animate them.
that featured stick figure reenactments of live-action film with the original audio and derived humor from the dichotomy between imagery and sound, a point reinforced by backgrounds made to look like ruled paper, napkins, and other random slips of paper.
Stykz 1.0 for Mac OS X
and Microsoft Windows
was released November 26, 2010. Stykz 1.0 for Linux
is in development (a public beta has not been announced as yet).
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
form or other animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s. In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
s, mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
or crudely scratched-out hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
. The arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
s, leg
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
s and torso
Torso
Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...
are all represented by straight lines. There has been much debate about whether stick figures should have neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
s and this varies from artist to artist. However the general consensus is that stick figures do not require necks.
Stick figures are typically drawn by hand with a pen, pencil, marker or whatever is at hand. Graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
of stick figures are found throughout history, often scratched with a sharp object on hard surfaces such as stone or concrete walls.
They are iconic
Secular icon
A secular icon is an image or pictograph of a person or thing used for other than religious purpose. -Icons versus symbols:...
and sketched with minimal detail. However, if one wanted to show emotion, simple additions can provide facial expression
Facial expression
A facial expression one or more motions or positions of the muscles in the skin. These movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur...
s, such as inward-pointing "eyebrow
Eyebrow
The eyebrow is an area of thick, delicate hairs above the eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. Their main function is to prevent sweat, water, and other debris from falling down into the eye socket, but they are also important to human communication and...
s" showing anger, or widened "eyes" for fear, but many stick figures lack noses
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
, mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
s, or have no facial features
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
displaying absent or ambiguous emotional expression.
Stick figures have proven effective as a source of advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and as a form of storyboarding and practice for film work
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
. This is especially crucial for creating animatics, as a film special effects team is then able to visually display the outcome of a scene by using stick figures, but saving the money, time and effort that a completed shot would require.
History
The stick figure's earliest roots are in prehistoric artPrehistoric art
In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of record-keeping, or it makes significant contact with another...
. Tens of thousands of years later, writing systems that use images for words or morphemes — e.g. logographies such as Egyptian and Chinese — started simplifying people and other objects to be used as linguistic symbols. There is also a modern history that traces at least in part from Rudolf Modley's extending the use of figures from Isotype
Isotype (pictograms)
Isotype is a method of showing social, technological, biological and historical connections in pictorial form...
for commercial use. The first international use of stick figures is in the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo. Pictograms created by Japanese designers Masaru Katzumie and Yoshiro Yamashita formed the basis of future pictograms. In 1972, Otl Aicher developed the stick figures used on the signage
Signage
Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
, printed materials, etc. for the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich. Drawing on those and many other similar symbol sets in use at the time, in 1974 and 1979 AIGA
Aiga
‘Aiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family.' The aiga is the family unit of Samoan society and differs from the Western sense in that it consists more than just a mother, father and children. The Samoan family, also referred to as an 'extended family' is based on the culture's...
(commissioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
) developed the DOT pictograms
DOT pictograms
The DOT pictograms are a set of fifty pictograms used to convey information useful to travelers without using words. Such images are useful in airports, train stations, hotels, and other public places for foreign tourists, as well as being easier to identify than strings of text. Among these...
— 50 public domain symbols for use at transportation hubs, large events, and other contexts in which people would know a wide variety of different language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s. These, or symbols derived from them, are used widely through much of the world today.
Flash
Stick figures are often used in animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
s made with Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
. Stick figures are easy to draw and can be traditionally animated much more quickly than full drawings. One well-known stick figure animation is Xiao Xiao
Xiao Xiao
Xiao Xiao is an internet Flash cartoon series by Chinese animator Zhu Zhiqiang, featuring stick-figure men performing choreographed fight scenes. Some of the cartoons are interactive and game-like. All cartoons are in the Adobe Flash format, although Xiao Xiao #1 was originally in AVI format...
although there are many more.
Cutout Pro Stickman
Cutout Pro Stickman is specifically designed for stick figure animation. Each figure is controlled with control points and key frames and saves drawing inbetweens. When an arm is moved, the whole body gets affected using skeleton simulation. Stickman has some functions for importing pictures, add control points and deform them. Users can export animations as .avi or .swf files. It is also possible to generate sprite sheets for use in 2D games and detailed cartoons. Figures can be created with a software called "Elemento" that follows with Stickman.Pivot Stickfigure Animator
Pivot Stickfigure Animator is a freeware application designed for stick figure animation. As with Cutout Pro Stickman, this software allows a user to control key points/joints. The beta version allows the user to load images (spritesSprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
) and animate them.
This Is Stick Figure Animation Theatre (TISFAT)
TISFAT is tween-based stick figure animation software (though frame-by-frame animation is still possible). The user can create their own special stick figures (that can have as many limbs as the user requires and represent not only humans but other characters) or use the default stick figure, other features include the addition of polygon objects, shapes, as well as the importing of image files (sprites), all of which are animated in layers by keyframes, between which the program does the animation automatically for the user. The user can choose how many frames should the program animate automatically between two keyframes, they can also choose none (which would be a frame-by-frame animation technique). Movies can be exported as AVI, SWF and SIF and animated GIF files.Stick Figure Theatre
Stick Figure Theatre was a recurring segment on the MTV animated anthology series Liquid TelevisionLiquid Television
Liquid Television is an Emmy Award–winning 1990s animation showcase that appeared on MTV. The first season of Liquid Television also aired on BBC Two in co-production with MTV. Ultimately, MTV commissioned three seasons of the show, which was produced by Colossal Pictures...
that featured stick figure reenactments of live-action film with the original audio and derived humor from the dichotomy between imagery and sound, a point reinforced by backgrounds made to look like ruled paper, napkins, and other random slips of paper.
Stykz
A freeware stick figure animation application with features similar to Pivot. Stykz contains many features that add to Pivot, such as in-window stick-figure editing, individual segment colorization, ability to set the layering order of segments within a stick figure, etc. There are additional features planned, including sound and sprite support, and Flash-like motion tweening. It also supports importing .stk files from Pivot (all versions).Stykz 1.0 for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
was released November 26, 2010. Stykz 1.0 for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
is in development (a public beta has not been announced as yet).