Animation tools on the web
I've found that students love to create animations. Here are some of the websites I've used with students and have had success with.
A great way to introduce students to basic frame animation. Simple to use, I've successfully used this website with Years 1 - 6 to create simple yet effective animations. The animations are saved as a gif file, so they are easy to upload and display on your blog or wiki.
There's the option to see your previous frame to guide the animation as well as the ability to copy and paste frames. The only negative to the site is that all animations must be completed in one sitting as you cannot save then come back later and continue. Grades: 1 - 6 Unblocked |
Student examples
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A cute website which animates your drawings. Watch how some really terrific sketches have been created and then have a go at making your own. Draw or write whatever you like and when you're finished click save. You'll be provided with an embed code to put it on your blog or wiki. My students used it to create some really fantastic animated titles for their Animation wiki page. You will need to sign up to a free account to save and embed.
Grades: 1 - 6 Unblocked K - 6 |
A fun website where students can add backgrounds and objects from the library and then animate the objects using the slider. You need to be a member to save your animations though. I used the Recorder in Smart Notebook or Jing to save some though. This is a simple way to introduce animation to younger students. I've successfully used it with Stage 1 students and above.
Grades: 1 - 6 Unblocked K - 6 |
A stop frame animation site that you don't need to sign up to. Simply enter and create your own animation. Pose the figure, add props and take a photo. Continue on and click save and play when you're done!
Grades: 5 - 6 Unblocked K - 6 |
A great website to introduce students to animation. It has tutorials all about animations and I usually use this site before introducing my students to frame based animation techniques.
Grades: 2 - 6 Unblocked K - 6 |
A fun little website, similar to Odosketch, in that it turns your drawing into a looped animation. Very simple to use - students simply draw and when complete it saves the drawing process. Students can access an embed code to embed their completed animation into their blog or wiki. Unfortunately blocked K - 6 but I've always demonstrated at school and students make them at home.
Grades 1 - 6 Blocked K - 6 |
A recent student example.
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Create your own animation using basic flipbook techniques. Draw your first frame, click the arrow to go to the next frame. A ghost image of the previous frame will show to help you plan your animation. Very simple to use and you do not need to log in to save and embed your animation, but you are then limited to 100 frames.
Grades 1 - 6 Unblocked K - 6 |
Similar to Pivto Stickfigure Animator, Stykz offers more features. Import existing animations and edit or create your own from scratch. It is frame based so you can see exactly what changes you've made and it also provides onionskin so you can see the previous frame. Download for free and play today.
Grades 2-6 |