Make a flip book! You may not have a video camera, but you can still experiment with animated images using just a pencil or pen and paper!
Flip books use a series of images that change slightly from one page to the next, in order to simulate movement or animation. They are often used in children’s books, though they are lots of fun for people of all ages.
To make your flip book you will need:
- A flat, clean place like a table on which to work
- One sheet of paper for sketching
- 10-20 index cards OR 5 sheets of paper & scissors
- Something with which to hold the pages together (a paper clip or rubber band works well)
- A pencil
- Ruler (optional)
- Pen and markers (optional)
1. Decide what you are going to “animate”
2. Using the ruler, divide your sheet into 10-20 squares (Each square should represent one page of your flip book—the longer your book, the more pages you’ll need!)
3. Working from left-right, draw in each pose that your subject is going to take in each square. (See image below for an example). Remember that the picture should change just slightly from one square to the next!
Eadward Muybridge (England, 1830-1904).
The Horse in Motion. "Sallie Gardner," owned by Leland Stanford; running at a 1:40 gait over the Palo Alto track, 19th June 1878, c. 1878
Photographic print on card
Library of Congress
If you are using sheets of paper and not index cards (SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU ARE USING INDEX CARDS): Fold each of your sheets of blank paper into four equal squares. Cut along the folds until you get four sheets of paper from one sheet (have a grown-up help you).
4. Once you have decided what drawings you are going to use, copy the pictures (in order) from the squares to the index cards or small sheets of paper. Number the bottom right corner so that you remember the order of the pictures
5. Once the subject is drawn in, you can add a background (the background should remain similar throughout the book).
6. Stack the cards or sheets of paper together in order (beginning to end). All the cards/sheets should face up with the page number on the bottom, right corner.
7. “Bind” your book by slipping the rubber band or large paper clip on the left side of the stack.
8. Quickly “flip” the pages to see your animation!
The image below shows what the frames above look like animated!
Animation using frames 1-11 from:
Eadward Muybridge (England, 1830-1904).
The Horse in Motion. "Sallie Gardner," owned by Leland Stanford; running at a 1:40 gait over the Palo Alto track, 19th June 1878, c. 1878
Library of Congress
For more animated fun: Do some research on ZOETROPES!