Animation in KidPix Instructions
ON-LINE at
http://www.peel.edu.on.ca/marvinheights/ani2000.htmlIf using this lesson plese include my e-mail address...Thank You
john.wood@peelsb.com
Step 1) The Story Board (planning on paper)You will be drawing a face to animate in KidPix. It will change into an expression that you will get to choose. It can be happy, sad, angry, etc. In the first frame, draw a face. In the last frame, draw the face with the expression. Now, in the other frames, draw the small changes. It may take many tries before you get the hang of it. That is okay. After you have completed all six frames, show them to your teacher. You have completed the storyboard. This is the first step of animation! Now reserve some computer time. The Story Board sheet will help you draw the pictures in the KidPix program.
When you get to the computer, don't waste time. Remember others are waiting for their turn. The Computer Kids, or Mr. Wood are available to assist you if you need help.
Step 2) Creating a Face!
(In the KidPix program)
a) Find the circle button, on the left side of the screen and click on it.
b) Look at the bottom of the screen. There are more circles. Click on the second circle (the white one).
c) Put the cross on the screen (where upper left of the head will be). Click-and-drag on the screen to make a circle or oval. Try to get the spot where the eyes will go, in the middle of the screen. Larger is better for adding features.
d) When you have made a circle (or oval), pick a colour.
e) Now find the paint bucket, at the left side of the screen, and click on it.
f) Move the bucket on to your circle and click. The circle is now the colour you chose.
You have made a head already!
Drawing the Face!
Now that you have made a head, you can draw on the face. Be creative. After the eyes and mouth don't forget you can also add ears, hair, glasses etc. Just remember to put them on picture #1. Do not put a background behind the face!
Save Your Picture! Remember this picture is the one that will be repeated throughout your animation. Only the features you choose to change will move.
a) Click on the word File at the top of the screen.
b) Click on where it says Save a Picture.
c) Name the file as the letter you have been given by your teacher. e.g.. A1
Step 3) Creating the moving parts.
Now that you have saved your drawing of the face, you can start to make the changes. The changes you make should be small so that the animation will come out smoother. Once you have made the changes, save the drawing again. Save the drawing with the same letter, but add number. e.g.. A2
Once you have saved this picture, you can make more changes to it. Once you are done, save the picture again, adding the next number. e.g.. A3 Keep doing this until your face has the expression you want. You have now completed another step in animation!Previewing Your Animation in the Slideshow:
Step 1) Creating a Slide Show
When you have done creating the pictures for your animation, you are ready to create the slideshow. From GOODIES, click on Switch To A Slideshow. A window with a number of trucks will appear.
Step 2) Importing a Picture
On the truck, there are three buttons. The first one has a square on it. This is the one that you will need. When you have found it, click on it once. A screen will appear with all your files. Make sure you are looking at the "g" drive. From there, find the name of your first picture. It should be the letter you have chosen with the number 1. For example, a1. When you have found it, click on it once. It will be highlighted, meaning that you have chosen it. Then you click on OK. Once again you will see the trucks. Notice now that your first picture is on the first truck.
Repeat this step for the next truck. Open your second picture and put it on the truck. Keep doing this until all of your pictures are on the trucks. If you have 6 pictures, then you will have 6 trucks with pictures on them. If you have 13 pictures, then you will have 13 trucks with pictures on them.Step 3) Timing
At the bottom of the truck, there is a gray bar. If you move the bar, little yellow ones will appear. This bar is the time each picture will stay on the screen. Move each bar to the left until it says 0.00, meaning no seconds. Do this to all of the trucks with pictures on them.Step 4) Finally, the Animation!
At the bottom of the screen there are four buttons. The last one, with a picture of a square and arrow on it, is the one you click on. This button plays your animation with a loop so that you can see it over and over again. Notice that there are black bars flickering up and down the screen. To stop the animation, double-click anywhere on the screen. You will be taken back to the page with the trucks on it. Notice that this screen looks like your storyboard.Step 5) Saving your Slide Show
Go to File and click on Save a Slide Show.
Peel Board students, when saving here, make sure you save your file in the "G" drive.
Give it a unique name that describes the face's character. e.g. Cuddles.
Teachers wanting to know how the slide show files are converted to gifs for the web page display can contact J. Wood through the email link on the Marvin Heights' Home page.
I've been receiving a lot of great e-mail about this project and many requests about the gif conversion.
Sometimes I get very busy and I can't reply as quickly as I would like, so here is the brief answer.
Get a free trial download of animation shop which comes with Paint Shop Pro. It will turn slideshow saved as an .avi into a .gif
http://www.jasc.com/download_4.asp
E-mail is still appreciated. Good luck!
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