Things You'll Need:
- Tracing paper
- Pencil
- Kneaded eraser
- Black-ink pen
- Digital camera
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Step 1
Draw out the basic framework of your figures first. Do this with simple shapes. Create the head with an oval, the chest with a rectangle and the arms and legs with simple lines. Add the feet with triangles and the hands with small circles. You can add elbow and knee guidelines with small circles in the center of each limb.
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Step 2
Create a rough sequence of animation using only the basic frame. To show a character waving, for instance, you can draw a series of pictures where the extended arm moves back and forth. Do this by laying a piece of tracing paper over the first drawing and tracing everything but the arm. Move the arm over to the right slightly and then lay another piece of paper down and repeat the process. You do not have to draw the hand going back to the original position. This is because you can simply copy or loop the pictures you have already drawn to create an extended version of the movement.
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Step 3
Check the animation to ensure that it flows properly. You can do this by putting all the pages in order and flipping through them. This should create the illusion of movement. If the animation feels too jerky you can add frames in between to help smooth the motion. If the animation is taking too long, you can remove frames.
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Step 4
Add details on the basic frame to flesh out your animated figure. Create the nose with a semicircle, the eyes with two oval shapes and the mouth with a curved line. Draw the eyebrows with curved lines above the eyes. Add ears with small semicircles attached to the left and right of the head. Create the fingers with four curved rectangles on the hand. Add the thumb with a short, wide curved rectangle to the side of the fingers. Create the hair with triangular shaped tufts on the right and left side of the head.
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Step 5
Trace the details of the face and body over each sheet. Ink the lines you wish to keep with a black ink pen to create a crisp picture. Do this for each page. Let the ink dry and carefully erase your pencil strokes.
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Step 6
Photograph each picture using a digital camera. Set up the camera on a tripod and angle the camera down. Use the remote on the digital camera to take the picture if you have one. Import the files into your computer and use a program like iMovie or Movie Magic to create animation out of the files.
