Nine Creative Techniques for Stop Motion Animation

Often times when a person wants to do a stop motion anination the question comes up of what kind of things can I do if I want to draw an animation? Do I have to draw a picture of a person about a thousand times with each drawing being just a little bit different than every other drawing? Well, yes that is one way to do an animation but there are lots of other creative things you can do that are easier. Here is an overview of these techniques. And I have a youtube video to go along with it.

The youtube video also shows you the setup I made in order to make this video. I use a dry erase board which is a great way to start out with animation. It will cost you only a few dollars and the dry erase is really nice because you easily draw and erase as you animate.

Here are the 9 creative techniques:

. Use Text - Write out words to explain or telll your story
Draw a Background - It can be simple or complex and it doesn't have to move
Use simple motion - You simply draw an object, take a picture, erase it and draw it in a new spot so motion is simulated.
Add lines Sounds funny but just add more lines and things will grow
Express like a human - Use human or animal like shapes to express emotions, actions, thoughts
Vary the speed of what happens, Don't have everything move in the same exact pace
Vary the camera angle. You can zoom in/out or pan around. - without ever moving your camera or your drawing board
Multiple things happening - This can be real interesting to look at if more than 1 thing is happening at a time
Tell a story! This is the real point of any animation. What is the story?

Extra: When doing your drawing you have to remember that erasing lines and things is animation too! And you can use sound effects or music very effectively. Time your animation properly so it is synchronized to the sound/music.