How animation works1 / 9
The illusion of motion
Animation is an optical illusion. Your brain blends a sequence of still images shown in quick succession into smooth motion.
At 12 frames per second, motion starts to look smooth. At 24 fps (film), it's convincing. At 60 fps (games), it feels incredibly responsive.
Any animation — hand-drawn cartoons, stop-motion, 3D CGI, simple GIFs — relies on this same perceptual trick.
Your brain's persistence of vision is about 1/10 of a second — which is why 12 fps is the minimum for 'smooth' motion.