Animation Day
(International Animation Day was developed in 2002 by the International Film Association for the purpose of recognizing all forms of cinema and art, especially the rising art of animation.)
Animation day is a great way to reinforce skills of storytelling and sequencing with your child! By making slight adjustments to a picture, each drawing creates the next step of what happens next. Animation works because our eyes remember the image it has seen for a split second. So if a new image is presented that is only slightly different, the drawing appears to be moving.
The easiest way to start is with a Thaumatrope:
- Cut a circle out of cardstock.
- Punch holes in opposite sides.
- Tie a string through each hole.
- Draw something on each side.
- Spin the circle, and voila!
You could try an old fashioned paper flipbook! And for a more modernized version of a flipbook, you could use Google Presentation. Draw each image on a slide, then simply copy and past your slide and make slight adjustments to your image. Keep doing this until your animation is complete!
My son is working on a Cinderella story…
Another way to do a “flipbook” with technology, is to draw a background, then draw the characters separately and cut them out. Take snapshots of your characters movements, and then use an App to put the snapshots together in an animation. (It is best to use a tripod and tape down the background, so they stay stationary during the animation.)
Another way to create animation, is by making a Zoetrope. It uses a circular motion, to create the animation. Here’s how: www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Zoetrope
After all of your hard work, pop some popcorn and enjoy your favorite animated film!
