Animation

//** Introduction: **//

Animations are moving images that are actually made of many still images viewed in rapid sequence. Below you will find a link to a site that has many good tutorials on how to create your own animations.



Follow this [|LINK]and read throught the first tutorial. Click on the words "Let's get started" on the bottom of the page. Now read through each page of the first tutorial until you get to the page titled "A Quick Summary."

Your task is to create your very first animation. To do this you need to create 15-20 still images of an object in motion (like the 8 frames of the tennis ball bouncing in the tutorial). To do this you must use paint. Make sure that each image is slightly different from the last, to show movement, and save them as a numbered sequence (ball1, ball2, ball3, etc.). For this project choose something very simple, such as a bouncing ball, shooting star, falling anvil, etc.

Once you have your 15-20 images saved, open Windows MovieMaker. First, click on the "Tools" menu at the top of the screen and choose "Options". Now click on the "Advanced" tab. In the box that says "picture duration" change the value to 0.125 seconds (this will make your animation have 8 frames per second) and click OK. Now, on the left hand side, under "capture video" click the "Import Pictures" link. find and highlight all of your images that you just created and click the "Import" button.

Now all of your images should be visible in the upper window. Highlight them all and then drag and drop them down into the time line on the bottom of your screen. If you choose the play button on the video player to the right you should now be able to view your first animation. Under the file menu save your project.

When you are finished with your animation, look under the "Finish Movie" tab on the left and choose the "Save to my computer" option. this will allow you to export your project as a video file.

__** "Project Animation": **__ For this project, you must create an animation that is a minimum of 10-15 seconds in length (longer animations are encouraged). animation can be time consuming as it does take a long time to create all of the still images so do not be discouraged. You must have at least 8 frames per second (each image is displayed for 0.125 seconds). You can also reuse still images to create a looped sequence (like a man rocking back and forth or the wings of a bird flapping). However, if you use a looped animation, your total animation should be longer than 15 seconds.

For this project, be creative and be sure to choose something that you find interesting. Add sound or music to your animation. Be sure to save all still images using a numbered sequence and save your project constantly. When you have completed your animation, export it as a video file and save.