With Tek
How to make a flipbook
This course shows your kid how to make a flipbook: a stack of small drawings that move when you flip the pages. Tek hosts four short films, from a first dot and a bouncing ball to a character that waves. Plan about 4 minutes of films and 30–60 minutes of drawing.
All 4 films and the quiz are free on this page. Your kid doesn't need an account. See every lesson
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What your kid makes
Your kid ends with a paper flipbook that moves, and an idea of how every cartoon is made.
- Ages
- 6 to 13
- Time
- 4 films, about 4 minutes, then 30–60 minutes of drawing
- You need
- A small notepad or a stack of sticky notes, pencil
- Host
- Tek
The 4 lessons
Lesson 1. Why it moves
Pictures that change a tiny bit, shown fast, look like they move.
- Draw a dot on the last page
- Draw it a bit higher on the page before
- Flip and watch it jump
Where: Paper
Lesson 2. The bouncing ball
Your first flipbook: a ball that falls, squishes, and bounces back up.
- Start on the last page
- Move the ball down a little on each page
- Squish it flat when it hits the ground
Where: Paper
Lesson 3. Make a character move
Draw the start and the end first, then the pages between. Only one part moves.
- Draw the start pose on the last page, and the end pose four pages up
- Fill in the pages between
- Trace the body on every page, so only the arm moves
Where: Paper
Lesson 4. Flip, fix, and share
Flip it, find the jumpy pages, and redraw them a bit closer.
- Flip your book slowly, page by page
- Find a page that jumps too far
- Redraw it closer to the page under it, then show your family
Where: Paper
Take the quiz
Tek asks 3 questions about the films. Get 2 right and you finish the course.
Lesson 1 transcript: Why it moves
Want to make paper move? You need a little notepad and a pencil. That's it!
Here's the trick. Go to the very last page. Draw a dot near the bottom.
Now lay the next page down on top. Look! You can see the dot through the paper. Draw it again, a tiny bit higher.
Next page. A little higher again. And again!
Now flip the pages fast. Look! The dot jumps up!
When pages flip fast, your eyes mix them together. So the dot looks like it moves. Every cartoon works this way!
Your turn. Draw a dot on the last page. Draw it a bit higher on each page on top. Then flip it! When you're done, press Next.
Free guides to practise with
Questions parents ask
What age can make a flipbook?
Kids 6–13 can do it. Younger kids start with the bouncing ball and a few pages; older kids add a character and more pages.
Does this use a screen?
Only for the four short films. All the making happens on paper with a notepad and a pencil.
What if my kid's drawings don't match from page to page?
That's normal and it still moves. Lesson 4 shows how to find a jumpy page and redraw it closer to the page under it.