Animation Studio · With Tek
How to make a stop motion video with paper cut-outs
To make a stop motion video with paper cut-outs, draw a character in separate parts, join the parts with split pins, lay it flat on a paper stage, and photograph it from above with a phone that stays still, moving one part a tiny bit between photos. In this course your kid draws a paper star in parts, tapes down a stage they drew, builds a book stand that holds a phone over it, and shoots a five-second movie one tiny move at a time. Unlike toy stop motion, nothing stands up: the paper lies flat and the camera looks straight down. Tek hosts four short films for kids 6 to 13, and your kid ends with a short cut-out movie with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Plan about 4 minutes of films and 60–90 minutes of making. Kubrio's Animation Studio is where your kid can draw the same star and make it the star of an animated movie.
How to make a stop motion video with paper cut-outs is part of Kubrio Learn: short courses that inspire kids to make things. Learn more
Watch all 4 lessons in the appWhat your kid makes
Your kid ends with a paper star in jointed card parts, a paper stage, a book stand they can set up again, and a five-second cut-out movie with a beginning, a middle, and an end, shot on a grown-up's phone. The same star can later be drawn into an animated movie in Animation Studio.
- Ages
- 6 to 13
- Time
- 4 films, about 4 minutes, then 60–90 minutes of making (you can split it over two days)
- You need
- Card, a pencil, and markers, scissors and split pins, and a grown-up to poke the holes, a big sheet of paper and some tape, a stack of books and a grown-up's phone with a stop-motion app, a lamp
- Host
- Tek
The 4 lessons
Lesson 1. A star in pieces
A cut-out character is separate card parts with round ends that overlap. Split pins at the overlaps let the arms and legs swing.
- Draw a head, a body, a tail, two arms, and two legs on card
- Cut each part out with round ends
- Join the parts with split pins, or lay them side by side
Where: At home
Lesson 2. A camera that stays still
The camera looks straight down at a paper stage and must not move, so the phone lies on a stack of books instead of in a hand.
- Draw a place on a big sheet and tape it to the table
- Lay the phone on a tall stack of books, its camera over the paper
- Put a book on the phone and check that the whole stage fits
Where: At home
In the app
Lesson 3. The tiny-move rule
Move one part about a fingernail's width, leave the rest, pull your hands out, then snap. Tiny moves look smooth; big moves look jumpy.
- Move one part a fingernail's width
- Pull your hands out of the picture and snap
- Swing a leg, slide the body, and swing the other leg for 20 photos
Where: At home
In the app
Lesson 4. Play it back
Twelve photos make about one second, so a five-second movie is 60 photos. A few photos without moving anything make a pause.
- Plan three steps: a beginning, a middle, and an end
- Turn on a lamp and shoot 60 photos
- Press play and show your family
Where: At home
In the app
Lesson 1 transcript: A star in pieces
Hi, I'm Tek. Want to see paper move all by itself? Let's make a cut-out movie!
Here's the trick. Lay a paper character flat. Move it a tiny bit. Snap a photo. Again and again.
Then play the photos fast. Look! It's waving!
Meet Fig, my paper fox. Fig isn't one piece. A head, a body, a tail, two arms, and two legs.
Draw each part on card, and cut it out. Make the ends round, so the parts can overlap.
Ask a grown-up to poke a hole where two parts overlap. Push a split pin through, and open its legs. Now the arm swings!
Your turn. Draw your star in parts, and cut them out. Join them with split pins, or just lay them side by side. Then press Next.
Free guides to practise with
Questions parents ask
How is cut-out stop motion different from toy stop motion?
In cut-out stop motion, the character is flat card in parts, lying on a paper stage, and the camera looks straight down from a book stand. In toy stop motion, a toy stands up and the camera looks at it from the side. Tiny moves, hands out before each photo, and 12 photos for every second work the same in both.
What if we don't have split pins?
Lay the parts side by side on the stage and move each one on its own. The film shows both ways. Split pins, also called paper fasteners, make the arms and legs swing, and a grown-up pokes the holes.
Can my kid's paper character star in an animated movie too?
Yes. Your kid can draw the same character and bring the drawing to the Characters room in Kubrio's Animation Studio, where it becomes the star of an animated movie. The cut-out movie itself stays at home, on the grown-up's phone.