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How to Design a Flip Book in Publisher

Flip books represent some of the simplest forms of animation and provide an excellent introduction to the animation process. Creating a flip book allows the aspiring animator to see first-hand how animation works. Using Microsoft Publisher offers the would-be animator the advantage of pre-set page borders and easy-to-use page creation settings. It also gives the animator a set page size--an important consideration when creating flip book animation.

Things You'll Need

  • Sketchbook
  • Computer
  • Microsoft Publisher
  • Printer
  • Stapler
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Instructions

  1. Designing a Flip Book in Publisher

    • 1

      Open up Microsoft Publisher.

    • 2

      Select “Blank Publications” from the left-hand side of the pop up menu. Then go to “Postcard” and select that. You’ll notice that a border surrounds the page. You want to keep that.

    • 3

      Go to the top ruler until your cursor changes to look like two tiny parallel brackets. This type of cursor will allow you to make a ruler line. Effective animation relies in part to the placement of the image on the page. This keeps the image in place.

    • 4

      Pull one ruler line down to the horizontal one inch mark. Pull another line from the left-hand side and bring it all the way to the three-inch mark. This line must lie a little further over, because you’ll bound the left-hand side of the book.

    • 5

      Go to the “Autoshapes” icon on the left—it has the heart, triangle and square. Click on that.

    • 6

      Find the icon that looks like an angry storm cloud on the very left-hand side. Position your mouse in the corner where the two ruler lines meet and drag. This draws a jagged cloud.

    • 7

      Go back to the “Autoshapes” and select “Basic Shapes.” Choose the thunderbolt.

    • 8

      Create a small thunderbolt just like you did with the thunder cloud, positioning it in the center of the storm cloud.

    • 9

      Hold down the “Control” key and then click on both the cloud and the thunderbolt. They both should have highlighted points surrounding them.

    • 10

      Right-click on the image until the pop-up menu appears. Click on “Copy.”

    • 11

      Go to “Insert” and then “Page.” Add nine pages after the first one.

    • 12

      Find “Edit” in the top left corner and click “Paste.” Your graphic should appear on page 2 of your flip book.

    • 13

      Adjust the thunderbolt so that it’s just a fraction longer that it was the first time. Do this by clicking on the pointed tip and pulling on it with your cursor ever so slightly.

    • 14

      Click on “Control” and then the two objects just as you did in step 9.

    • 15

      Right-click on the image, clicking on “Copy” when the pop-up appears, then go to page 3.

    • 16

      Paste the image into your book. Alter the thunderbolt and copy the image again as you did before. You’ll repeat this process until you fill all 10 pages.

    • 17

      Print out the postcards and bound the left-hand side with two staples.

    • 18

      Flip through your book. The image should appear to move.

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