How to Create an Animation

Animations bring still images to life.

Animations are a way to bring images to life. The simplest way to make an animation is to layer many still images on top of each other, either with physical sheets of paper or with virtual layers in an electronic file. Each still image is called a cel or frame. Most animations also rely on keyframes that show the major changes in position and use other frames to fill in what happens in between keyframes. Web animations play at around 12 frames per second, but high quality film animation may have as many as 30 frames per second. The more frames per second, the smaller the changes between frames, the smoother your animation will be.

Things You'll Need

• Several sheets of paper
• Pencil or erasable pen
• Strong binder clips
• Cardstock
• String or yarn
• Tape
• Scissors
• Computer with Photoshop
• Text or electronic image to animate

Instructions

Flipbook Animation

1. Cut several sheets of paper into small squares, roughly 3" x 3".

2. Draw a master image on the first sheet, such as a character or bit of text. Most animators do hand-drawn animation with pencil, but you can use erasable ink to create a more colorful or vibrant animation.

3. Draw a second image that is a near copy of the master image, but with a slight change. For instance, if you drew a bear character and want the animation to show her lifting her arm to swat a beehive, the second image should show the arm slightly raised.

4. Continue drawing iterations of the frames that show a slight change relative to the frame that came before. Be sure to keep the drawings in order.

5. Bind the drawings in order and all oriented the same way using strong binder clips to form a little book. You can now use your thumb to make your animation come alive!

Zoetrope

1. Cut out a long strip of paper about 6" high and 45" long. Draw squares 3" x 3" evenly spaced along the bottom of one side of the strip of paper. Use a stencil if needed to speed up this process.

2. Cut slits between the squares that are about a quarter-inch wide and 3" high in the top half of the strip. The slits need to be big enough to see through from up close.

3. Draw the frames of your animation starting with a master drawing and making small changes in the next frame. This animation will loop, so draw the last frame to blend seamlessly into the first. This is a great set-up to show a horse galloping, a character walking or a magical ship sailing through the sky.

4. Attach one end of the long paper strip to the other so that it's a big circle with the drawings on the inside. Attach four pieces of yarn around 15" long to the top edge of circle using tape. Tie the other ends of the yarn together.

5. Hold the circular animation up at eye level and give it a good spin. You'll see your animation moving between the slits cut in the side.

Electronic Animation

1. Open your master image or text in Photoshop.

2. Make a small adjustment to the size and/or position of the master frame, then click the Duplicate Frame button again. Continue making small adjustments to new frames until your animation is complete.

3. Open the Animation toolbar if it's not already open by selecting Animation from the Window menu. Click the Play button in the Animation toolbar to see your animation play. Use the Animation toolbar to adjust the number of times your animation loops and the length of time between frames.

4. Save your animation as a .gif, .swf or other animated format.

References

• Adobe Help: Creating Frame Animations in CS4
• Random Motion: How to Make a Zoetrope
• National Gallery of Art: Flip Book