The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

Materials:
Pencils, mirrors
Resources:
Handouts:
 
Lip Sync and Mouth Shapes 

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Animation Styles
97
WORKSHEET: DIGITAL DRAWN ANIMATION
Teachers’ note:
Digital drawn animation requires a drawing tablet linked to a suitable 
software package on a desktop or laptop computer. To equip an 
entire classroom or IT suite with these is a major investment. 
However, it is well worth considering providing a few workstations, 
so that small groups of students can explore this exciting approach 
to the medium. The following is an example of an extended 
class-based project, which could be used as a model for similar 
work in your school.
A Still from Bubbletown
Bubbletown
Bubbletown
is a drawn sci-fi animation, made by a group of 12 
seven-year-olds from Dowson First School in Norwich. To master 
the basic principles of drawn animation, the students began with the 
warm-up exercises on pp. 27–29. They then storyboarded the tale 
in 12 scenes, working in teams of two. They fi tted each scene to 
a couplet from their song, whose lyrics tell the story. The students 
then sang the song to a pre-recorded backing track. The shots were 
exported as avi fi les to Premiere Pro, where they were cut to the fi nal 
mix of the song. The rough cut was projected on a whiteboard, so the 

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98
The Teachers’ Animation Toolkit
team could share in the editing process. The project took 11 mornings 
of contact time, followed by fi ve days of studio-based post-production. 
It was supported by First Light Films, which provides fi lm production 
funding for young people in the United Kingdom.
Materials:
Each team of two worked with a drawing tablet, connected to a 
laptop. They used Toon Boom Studio, a professional 2D drawn 
animation package costing around £100 for an educational licence. 
A cheaper alternative, Flip Boom, designed for students, is available 
from the same company, for around £25. We strongly recommend 
Flip Boom for beginners, as it greatly simplifi es the somewhat 
daunting interface of Toon Boom Studio. Flip Boom outputs a smaller 
frame size than that required for DVD production, but is fi ne for 
web-based work. If you are on a tight budget, look at the Wacom 
Bamboo One A6 graphics tablet, for about £35. The small drawing 
area can be frustrating, so consider an A4 Aiptek Media Tablet 
14000U for £94 or the industry leading Wacom Intuos 3 for around 
£300. (Please check the internet for latest models and prices.)