At Animation Apprentice we recommend starting with some lego bricks (best of all are the big "Duplo" bricks for little kids). You will also need a smart phone, some super-cheap software ($3), and an inexpensive tripod (£17). On the left is some animation done by my daughter, aged six. It's not perfect, but she had a fun start to learning the medium.
There are plenty of apps to time animation on your phone. We used the app "I can Animate" from the Apple Store - which cost $3 to download.
First Animation
You can see the full film below:
How to Get Started
To make the short, we used the Lego Animation Studio, aimed at kids 8-12 years old, which you can buy here. Father Christmas gave it to her for Christmas (how did he know?), and we made this short stop-motion animation on Boxing Day. But you don't need to buy the kit; a bunch of old lego bricks is all you really need.
iPhone & Tripod
We also needed some other equipment: an iPhone, and a tripod - we used this one here. (The one I bought a few years back isn't available anymore but this one at amazon looks pretty good). You need the tripod to stabilise your phone - without a tripod your animation will leap all over the place. There are plenty of inexpensive tripods available - try this one, available at amazon.
"I Can Animate" App
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| I can Animate |
Start Animating
We animated "on fours", which is to say, we exposed each image for four frames (film runs at 24 frames a second). Then we moved the bricks a little, and set another keyframe for another four frames, and then did the same thing. And so on.
Animating "on fours" gives the film its slightly choppy feel, but it's a good way to get started. Six images timed at four frames each is one second of animation, which is relatively easy to get your head around. The best way to get started is trial and error - just go for it and see how it goes.
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