The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

Using Toon Boom Studio
Toon Boom Studio provides an onion skin facility, that is, virtual 
tracing paper to draw on. This means users can draw key frames, 
then add in the inbetweens, referring to both previous and 
subsequent drawings to create smooth transitions between key 
frames. Much of the story was built around simple, repeating cycles, 
such as waving hands and pulsing rocket fl ames, to minimize the 
need for extensive drawing. The students drew each cycle in outline 
fi rst, checked the movement worked, then fi lled in the shapes with 
colour. Characters can then be placed on virtual tracks, allowing 
the computer to work out the desired movements in 3D space. The 
software also allows users to paint backgrounds separately to the 
moving subjects, which greatly simplifi es the drawing process.
Resources:
Video: Bubbletown and Simple Movement Cycles
Toon Boom website: http://www.toonboom.com/

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Animation Styles
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WORKSHEET: MAKING MACHINIMA IN SECOND LIFE
Teachers’ note:
Machinima (mah-sheen-eh-mah) is fi lmmaking within a real-time, 3D 
virtual environment. Machinima is real-world fi lmmaking techniques 
applied within an interactive virtual space where characters and 
events can be either controlled by humans, scripts or artifi cial 
intelligence. It is debatable whether or not this can be defi ned as a 
style of animation, as the movement of characters and objects occurs 
in real time, driven by the controls provided by the software interface.
Filming machinima in Second Life
The process of making a fi lm in a virtual world is perhaps too 
complex to attempt as a conventional classroom activity. A 
comprehensive how to guide is well beyond the scope of this book. 
However, it is a very exciting medium for small groups of enthused 
students, willing and able to master the software tools involved. 
It challenges the very concepts of ‘teacher’ and ‘classroom’, as 
students from all over the world can meet together in a virtual 
environment, exchange ideas and work as a production team. As 
such, it is also a signifi cant peer education model.