Arts >> Movies & TV >> Movies

How to Make Short Animations

In recent years animation has become an even more popular genre than ever. In part this is because of the wide variety of ways that animation can be done. In addition to the traditional forms such as hand drawn or stop motion, the average person now has the ability to use 3D programs to create almost studio-quality computer-generated images. Yet despite the advances in the technology, simple animation of the kind that can be created by combining stop motion with the hand drawn has a charm all its own.

Things You'll Need

  • Poster board
  • Markers
  • Camcorder with single frame capture ability
  • Tripod
  • Easel
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Sketch out a rough storyboard of the animation you want to create on sheets of poster board.

    • 2

      Draw out each frame of the animation based on your storyboard on square pieces of 10x10 inch card stock. For each second of your animation, you will need 14 drawings. Thus, for a short 30-second animation, you will need 420 drawings.

    • 3

      Use the previous drawing as a reference for each new drawing, making very small changes.

    • 4

      Position your camera so it is pointing at the easel. Place the first frame card of the animation on the easel and take your first photo. Then place the next frame card and take the next photo. Continue this process until you have photographed all the cards.

    • 5

      Connect your camcorder to your computer and import the images in sequence into a basic video editor, such as the freeware Windows Movie Maker. Once you have all the images in the timeline, you can publish your animated movie in the format of your choice.

+:
+:

Movies

Related Categories