Animation Techniques

Course Overview
Led by BAFTA award-winning Kevin Griffiths, this course will take you on a tour of the major stop motion animation techniques, covering: cut-out; pixelation; 3D puppet; drawn and sand animation. Each week you will be introduced to a new technique with sample clips and practical demonstrations, before you move on to make your own short films in each style.

This course is ideal for beginners wanting an overview of animation, or for more experienced people wanting to broaden their practice.

Course Outcomes
Upon completing this course, you will:
• Know how to set up iStopMotion on a computer with an animation camera
• Know how to capture basic stop motion animation
• Understand and know how to do cut-out animation
• Understand and know how to do pixelation (object & human) animation
• Understand and know how to do experimental sand animation
• Understand and know how to animate a professional 3D stop-frame puppet

Lesson Structure
Lesson 1 How to set up camera and laptop • How to set up a simple rostrum • Introduction to iStopMotion • Introduction to iMovie • Demonstration of how to make a 2D cut-out animation character • Students begin to design and make an articulated puppet Lesson 2 Students finish assembling their articulated puppet • Improving technique with timing, speed, holds and pauses • Practical exploration of character movement • Introduction to pixelation
Lesson 3 Introduction to drawn animation • Using light boxes and peg bars • Still life - drawing an object turning around • Drawing a human head turning around • Morphing - drawing one object tuning into another
Lesson 4 Introduction to 3D stop-frame model animation • Methods to secure puppets to floor • Making the puppet 'act' • Poses, balance and weight
Lesson 5 Experimental animation - focusing on sand animation