Let’s animate: Stop motion animation techniques

Stop motion is loads of fun and there are plenty of free tools available for any type of device. Use the image resources and video tutorials to create your own animations.

Learning areas and strands

Visual Art, Digital Technology

Education type

Education resource

Suitable for

Years 3–8

Resources

Tohorā | southern right whale, 2019. Te Papa

Method

Stop motion is loads of fun and there are plenty of free tools available for any type of device. We usually work in teams to get the best results when animating. It makes it easier when the different roles are shared. For instance, you may want a camera person to be in charge of capturing the photos, a puppeteer to be moving the creatures between each photo, and a director to make sure everyone is working together.

Filming the ururoa | great white shark, 2019. Te Papa

Challenge

Use the image resources and video tutorials to create your own animations. What other materials can you use to make creatures and puppets to animate? Start with something simple like the rolling ball tutorial.