10 awe-inspiring flip books

Flip books have been around since the late 1800s and are now recognised as one of the earliest forms of what is today referred to as interactive media. Still a popular form of expression among many artists, beautiful and inspiring flip books are being created on a daily basis. And here are 10 top examples; which is your favourite? 

01. Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

Kicking things off is this  inspiring flip book by artist James Francis Bell aka DispleasedEskimo. At just over three minutes long, hundreds of awesome biro drawings tell a brief history of, well, pretty much everything. It's not hard to see why this animation has had over 3.5 million views on YouTube. Just brilliant. 

02. Sonic the Hedgehog

It's amazing what you can achieve with a small book of paper and some rough pencil drawings. This cool flipbook, by artist BloodyRenegadeX, takes Sonic the Hedgehog on an incredible journey, which is spread out on both the front and back of the paper. If you're not a particular fan of Sonic, check out the designer's other flip book animations on his YouTube channel. 

03. Commando Group

This cool flip book depicts how the Commando Group settled on its latest horse logo. The animation was put together by the company's French intern Charlotte Lamy. A simple but brilliant idea showcasing how the final design came about.  

04. Squeeze Me

We love the inventive use of flip book animations in this music video for Kraak & Smaak's track Squeeze Me. Using individual stills, the books cleverly depict parts of the songs story. The opening animation featuring the Squeeze Me typeface is a particular favourite of ours.  

05. LG Viewty

We can't even imagine how long it took the artist who created the detailed illustrations for these Matrix-inspired flip books. The animations are part of a commercial created for the LG Viewty mobile phone. And the company clearly chose the right medium to advertise with, the spot having been viewed over 4 million times on YouTube.   

06. Submarine vs Bayonet

Artist Ben Zurawski, aka The Flippist, was recently inspired by President Obama's talk about bayonets and submarines in a presidential debate with Mitt Romney. The outcome? A short but very sweet 30-second animation, which depicts the candidates playing a game of Battleship. Zurawski's has many other brilliant flip books on his YouTube channel, including another humorous one featuring Romney. 

07. Dragon Ball Z

If you like manga animations, then you'll love the flipbooks created by the artist known as Etoilec1. The artist has created a series of books, which follows the same characters on an incredible adventure. You can find episodes two and three, as well as many other inspiring flip books, on Etoilec1's YouTube channel.

08. Cut out flipbook

Our minds were a little blown when we first saw this amazing flip book by paper engineer Matt Shilan. As the pages turn so does the shape that features upon them, creating a jaw-dropping 3D effect. You will watch this more than once. Guaranteed. 

09. Let Me Drive

Flipbooks are clearly popular among music video directors, this time featuring in Canadian indie rock group Winter Gloves track Let Me Drive. Using individual photos of the band in various poses and situations, the images were translated onto paper and assembled as flip books to create the band's performance.

10. Biking photography

Wanting to work in the design department of an extreme sports magazine or company, graphic designer James Webber decided to create this cool biking flip book to send out to prospective employers. A keen photographer, Webber pulled together individual stills to depict various different bike stunts. 

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