Thaumotrope example

The Thaumotrope is an early form of camera-less animation. It is simply a cardboard or paper disc with holes on each end connected to string. You spin the device between your thumb and finger to create the illusion of animated images.

Timing in Animation: Theatre Optique 1892

Theatre Optique is considered the first movie theatre.
E. Reynaud created the Praxinoscope and used this device to project animated films, that he hand painted on clear gelatine, to thousands of viewers.

Norm McLaren: Chairy Tale

Norm McLaren used pixilation to create this animated film.

Pixilation (from pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet. This technique is often used as a way to blend live actors with animated ones in a film, such as in The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb by the Bolex Brothers, which used the technique to compelling and eerie effect.
The first work known to use the pixilation technique was Emile Courtet's 1911 film Jobard ne peut pas voir les femmes travailler (Jobard cannot see the women working).

Norm Mclaren: Neighbors

Norm Mclaren used the animation technique called Pixelation to create this famous animation entiltled neighbors.

Pixilation (from pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet. This technique is often used as a way to blend live actors with animated ones in a film, such as in The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb by the Bolex Brothers, which used the technique to compelling and eerie effect.
The first work known to use the pixilation technique was Emile Courtet's 1911 film Jobard ne peut pas voir les femmes travailler (Jobard cannot see the women working).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McLaren

Norm McLaren: Doodle Boogie

Norm Mclaren is an inspirational animator who worked for the National Film Board in Canada. He experimented with different animation techniques and became know for developing the animation technique known as pixellation.

McLaren is famous for his experiments with image and sound as he developed a number of groundbreaking techniques for combining and synchronizing animation with music.