A Computer Animated Hand

A Computer Animated Hand is a 1972 American computer-animated film produced by Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke. Produced during Catmull's tenure at the University of Utah, the short was created for a graduate course project. After creating a model of Catmull's left hand, 350 triangles and polygons were drawn in ink on the model. The model was digitized and laboriously animated in a three-dimensional animation program that Catmull wrote. The film consists of three sequences - the data output of the hand without lines, a halftone sequence that lacks smooth shading, and finally, the completed animation. The film depicts the hand swiveling, opening and closing, pointing at the viewer, and lastly, zooms to the inside of the hand. The clip also features animation of an artificial heart valve and human faces. Snippets of the film were used in the 1976 film Futureworld. As one of the earliest examples of computer animation, the film has been hailed as groundbreaking and revolutionary. Catmull went on to become a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and President of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios.