Physical GIF Brings Internet’s Greatest Treasures Into Real World

Animated GIFs are literally the best thing about the internet. And the internet is literally the best thing western civilisation has ever spawned. But mankind’s greatest triumphs are locked online, right? Not anymore! These Kickstarter dudes want to liberate them.

The Physical GIF project is pretty simple – it uses the same tech as an old Victorian zoetrope. But that’s not the cool part! The kicker lies in the source material – splendid GIFs on the internet.

Perhaps Rihanna not giving a fuck? [imgclear]

Or demonic Rebecca Black?[imgclear]

Or Peggy Olson riding a motorcycle? [imgclear]

The team converts files like these looping masterpiece into laser-cut toys, animated by physical motion and a little strobe light. If you’re feeling particularly twee, you can mount each Physical GIF onto a record player and let the thing do the spinning for you. So this is pretty fantastic for any GIF enthusiast – and if you’re not, then really, what happened to your soul?

The project’s got another 29 days to go, and is already over one-quarter of the way to its funding goal of four grand. I just hope the followup is a life-size version I can live in! Right now Physical GIF’s working with four artists who specialise in the medium, but if you pledge $US350 or more to the project, they’ll make a custom design from animation of your choice – a service that should definitely be offered to everyone (for a lot less, we hope) should they hit Kickstarter pay dirt. [Physical GIF]


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