Introduction to Stop Motion Animation

What is Stop Motion Animation?

Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically moved in very small movements between photographed frames so that they will appear to be in motion when the series of frames are played back.

For this activity you will need:

HardwareTablet or Smartphonestand/easel/tripod/homemade stand Lego/Doll/Toys/Clay/Plasticine

Software / App Stop Motion Studio (Free) orStop Motion Studio Pro (Paid)

Activity Overview

This is an introduction to the basic skills needed to make your very own stop motion animation.

You will learn:

How to use Stop Motion Studio App This will include the layout of the app, key functions, how to take pictures, delete pictures, Onion Skinning/Ghost Mode, and how to view animation playback.

How to set up a sceneThis will include hints and tips on how to set up a scene, examples of scenes and ideas of what household items can be used.

How to animate Hints and tips on how to make your animation as smooth as possible by using small movements and taking more pictures. Making sure your device is set up correctly

Activity 1

Create a set and characters

Before starting the animation, you need to decide where your movie will be set and what you will be using. In the video, we will be using Lego to build a set and Lego characters, but you can use other objects if you do not have Lego. To make your set, you could use old shoe boxes or small boxes and decorate them in different ways, using paper, paint, colouring pencils and pens.

When it comes to choosing your character, Lego, dolls or toys with moveable limbs work best, as you will be able to animate their movements more realistically. You could also use clay, plasticine or Play Dohto create a character to animate. If you do this, make sure your characters are fairly chunky so they don't break while animating their movements.

What amazing world could you create as your background?

Activity 2

Set up your tablet

Before any animation can start, we must get our device set up on a stand, easel, tripod, stand built into a case or a creative stand made by you.

Next step is to make sure your characters and set all fit in your shot, so you may need to move the device, the angle of the device or the set to fit in your shot.

Activity 3

Making an Animation.

The app used for making a stop motion animation is Stop Motion Studio (free) or Stop Motion Studio Pro (paid). Make sure when animating to make small movements of your character or object that is being animated and to take a picture every time you make a movement. Be sure to watch the video of Captain America walking towards the screen that accompanies this document, this talks you through how to start animating. Remember the tip of previewing your movie by pressing the play button to look for mistakes and to see how smooth your animation looks.

How to delete any mistakes Find the thumbnail picture at the bottom of the screen, tap on it and this will bring up a bubble full of options. Tap delete. This feature was covered in the video just after the introduction of how to start animating

Onion Skinning/Ghost ModeIf your device gets accidentally moved or any of your set accidentally gets knocked over, you can use this feature to reset the camera location, character location etc. This is the last skill demonstrated in video and is the slider on the left-hand side of the screen

@CulturedSTH

Developing your skills further

Use your favourite films, animations, TV shows or Cartoons as inspiration to create your next animation.

Share your creations with us!