In the early 1920s, Austrian sociologist Otto Neurath developed an interest in the concept of universal language. Tens of thousands of years later, writing systems that use images for words or morphemes instead of letters - so-called logographies, such as Egyptian and Chinese - started simplifying people and other objects to be used as linguistic symbols. Visual representations of people, animals, and depictions of daily life can be found displayed across the walls of numerous habitation sites all over the world. The stick figure's earliest roots are in prehistoric art - some of the most revealing and informative markers of early human life are cave paintings and petroglyphs, ancient depictions covering a variety of subjects left behind on stone walls. Over a period of more than two decades, stick figure animation impacted and shaped the visual landscape of the internet.

With the advent of the world wide web, the stick figure became a central element within an entire genre of web-based interactive entertainment known as flash animation.

Its simplicity and versatility led to the stick figure being used for a variety of purposes – info graphics, signage, comics, animations, games, film storyboards, and visual media of all kinds all employ the stick figure. It transcends language, location, demographics, and can trace back its roots for almost 30 000 years. The stick figure is a universally recognizable symbol, in all likelihood one of the most well known in the world. Details such as hands, feet, and a neck may be present or absent simpler stick figures often display an ambiguous emotional expression or disproportionate limbs. The arms, legs, and torso are usually represented by straight lines. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eyes, a mouth, or hair. A stick figure, also known as stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots.

Stick figure animator pivot