Animation Studio · With Tek
How to make a stop motion animation
This course teaches your kid how stop motion works and how to make a short film starring their own toys or clay figures. Tek hosts five short films: your kid plans the shots on paper, sets up a stage, and moves the toys a tiny bit for every photo while a grown-up holds the phone. Plan about five minutes of films and 45–60 minutes of making.
- Ages
- 6 to 13
- Time
- 5 films, about 5 minutes, then 45–60 minutes of making
- Host
- Tek
- You need
- Toys or modeling clay, paper, pencil, a shoebox or a table by a wall, a phone held by a grown-up
- Status
- Coming soon. Kids vote in the app for the courses they want first.
The intro film
Tek's 50-second intro film is coming soon. Here's what Tek says in it.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Tek. Want to see your toys move on their own?
Here's how real movie makers do it.
You move a toy a tiny bit. Snap a picture.
Move it a tiny bit more. Snap again.
Then you play all the pictures fast. And whoa. Your toy walks!
That's called stop motion.
First you plan your movie on paper. Three little drawings.
Then you build a stage. A box works great.
A grown-up holds the camera very still. You move the toys.
Tiny moves. Lots of pictures. Lots of patience.
If a part looks jumpy, you fix it and try again.
Pick your star toy. Let's bring it to life.
The 5 lessons
Lesson 1. How pictures move
Lots of pictures with tiny changes, shown fast, look like moving.
- Draw a ball in 3 spots on one page
- Notice how small the jumps are
- Pick the toy that stars in your film
Where: Paper
Lesson 2. Plan your shots
Draw the beginning, middle, and end before you move a single toy.
- Draw your toy at the start
- Draw what happens in the middle
- Draw how it ends
Where: Paper
Lesson 3. Build your stage
A still stage and a still camera make the movie smooth.
- Draw a background and stand it up behind the toy
- Ask a grown-up to hold the phone very still
- Mark where the camera goes with tape or a pencil line
Where: Paper
Lesson 4. Move a little, snap
Move the toy a finger-width, take a photo, and repeat.
- Move your toy a tiny bit
- Pull your hands out of the shot
- Say snap, and move again
Where: Paper
Lesson 5. Watch and fix
Play it back, find the jumpy parts, and shoot them again.
- Watch the whole film
- Point to any part that jumps
- Shoot that part again with smaller moves
Where: Paper
What your kid makes
Your kid ends with a short stop-motion film starring their own toys, shot on a grown-up's phone, plus three planning drawings on paper. Next, your kid can draw the toy star and bring it into Animation Studio's Characters room to make an animated movie with the same hero.
Free guides to practise with
Questions parents ask
Do we need special equipment?
No. Toys or modeling clay, paper, and a pencil are enough. A grown-up can use their own phone camera to take the photos, held very still.
How long does it take?
The five films take about five minutes. Shooting a short stop-motion scene usually takes 45–60 minutes, and you can split it over two days.
Is this a screen-time activity?
Mostly not. Your kid plans on paper and moves toys by hand. Screens come in for the short films and for watching the finished movie together.