Flip Book Animation

Minnesota 9-12 Visual Art Standards
Used in this Lesson

  • 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the foundations of the arts area.
  • 1A. Analyze how the elements of visual art including color, line, shape, value, form, texture and space; and principles such as repetition, pattern, emphasis, contrast and balance are combined to communicate meaning in the creation of, presentation of, or response to visual artworks.

  • 1b. Evaluate how the principles of visual art such as repetition, pattern, emphasis, contrast and balance are used in the creation of, presentation of, or response to visual artworks.

  • 2. Demonstrate knowledge and use of the technical skills of the art form, integrating technology when applicable.
  • 2a. Integrate the characteristics of the tools, materials and techniques of a selected media in original artworks to support artistic purposes.

  • 3. Demonstrate understanding of the personal, social, cultural and historical contexts that influence the arts areas.
  • 3a. Analyze how visual artworks influence and are influenced by personal, social, cultural or historical contexts, including the contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities.

  • 3b. Synthesize and express an individual view of the meaning and functions of visual art.
  • 4. Create or make in a variety of contexts in the arts area using the artistic foundations.
  • 4a. Create a single, complex artwork or multiple artworks to express ideas.

  • 4b. Revise artworks based on artistic intent and using multiple sources of critique and feedback.

  • 6. Respond to or critique a variety of creations or performances using the artistic foundations.
  • 6a. Analyze, interpret and evaluate works of visual art by applying self-selected criteria within the traditions of the art form.

  • 6b. Justify choices of self-selected criteria based on knowledge of how criteria affects criticism.

    • Additional Tie-ins

  • Media
  • Persistence of vision
  • Animation careers
    • One of the first animation assignments at the Disney company in the 40's was a bouncing ball exercise. Animators were to make a ball appear to bounce across the page. Some took the exercise further and put a ring around the ball to show how it rotated as it bounced while others made surprise endings like an explosion on the final bounce.

    One of the first drawn animation assignments for our students is a bouncing ball flip book where students use one side of the flip book to make a bouncing ball and on the reverse side they create their own animation. Squash and stretch principles are emphasized. Below is an example of the timing and squash/stretch of the ball as we animate it.




    Click the image above to see a flipbook in action.

    Click here for some animation examples.

    Evaluation:
    2 points -- Bouncing ball
    Remaining points go toward the second animation students do on the opposite side of the flip book:
    2 points -- Neatness
    3 points -- Smoothness of motion
    3 points -- Utilization of squash and stretch principles

    10 points total.