Digital Art and Animation

Interested in exploring animation? That is great!

There are a few things you can do in the animation station. Let's take a look at them!

1. The Praxinoscope

The praxinoscope you see hidden behind Mrs. J's desk is a real museum quality replica of an antique praxinoscope! She has hidden because you monkeys could not stop spinning it and the spinner broke. But it still works, and Mrs. J would love to see someone make an animation strip so that we can play on the big screen!!!

How to use it? Simply take one of the strips of paper and design your animation.

Use an existing strip to measure the space between each frame -- it has to be the same space in between, or it won't work. Ask Mrs. J for help if this does not make sense!

Make sure it is a loop -- that is, the end of your animation should connect with the beginning. You can use some transparency paper to help you move your images and get them to be just so! The light tables really help too.

After you are done, we will record your animation in a video so that you can show friends and family, and of course keep it forever!

2. The Anamorphic Art

Interested in something a little wacky? Try an anamorphic illusion art!

Anamorphic art is created by a distorted projection of an image, requiring the viewer to occupy a specific vantage point, use special devices, or both to view a recognizable image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film special effects.

On the digital art and animation centre, we have an anamorphic art kit with mirrors and examples for you to start creating your own illusions.

If you like illusions, then you will love this video, which shows the work by Michael Murphy -- he uses anamorphic art in a really big scale, to make social commentary on the world around him!

3. Animated Gif with Gifeez

We have two Gifeez contraptions for you to create a fun gif of your choice.

Just follow one of the templates, and make sure to use the nicer drawing paper to create your own version! If you want to have a watercolor Gifeez, you are also welcome to use the watercolor paper.

4. Flip Books

Flip books are fun, fast and creative! We have everything you need to create your own flip books. The light table on the Digital Media and Animation Centre can be used for this purpose, but so can the other ones around the room.

5. Stop Motion

As you can see, on the Digital Art and Animation Station, there are five blue fire tablets. TheseFire tablets are connected to the internet, so they can also be very useful when looking for source material!

But their main function is as photographic cameras and video cameras. They stand up on their own, making them perfect for stop motion videos!

They come with an app called Stop Motion Studio, which has a simple and efficient interface for you to create cool stop motion videos with your friends. You can use anything for this -- cut paper, clay, legos, cardboard, you name it. If you need the Fire tablet to be help horizontally, so that you can record paper animations, for instance, we have a stage ready for that as well!

We are ready for you to create, so don't be shy and please ask if you need anything.

6. Digital Art

Finally, our Digital Art and Media centre is fully furnished with drawing tablets and pens, which are already preinstalled on the computers we have.

Krita, a digital art and drawing program, is also installed.

Krita is free and similar to Photoshop in many ways, so learning this program will make it easier for you to transition to the industry standards if you choose to follow digital art as a career!

I looked for a simple, fun Krita tutorial to get you started, and found the one below. It is worth the 15 minutes it takes. Find a quiet place, get the computer attached to one of the pens, and follow the tutorial while trying to copy on Krita.

Please don't give up if your hand does not connect to the pen right away! It took me a few months of practice and persistence in order to get good at this. With a little bit of patience, you can get there too! Of course, many people prefer to draw straight on the tablets, but there is something to be said about being able to draw without your big fat arm in front of your drawing.

7. Basics of Animation Videos

Did you know animation is ruled by twelve basic principles? Let's take a look at them:

How stop motion began:

How stop animation works:

With a little bit of research, you can make any of your ideas come true! If you have questions, chances are someone already tried to make something similar. Try finding solutions on Youtube, or ask Mrs. J for assistance! She may not know everything but she loves learning, and she will give you tips on where to research, how to search and learn together with you!!!