It started when a Facebook ad popped up in my newsfeed. The local North York Arts council was teaming up with an animation group, Toronto Animated Image Society to host a 12-week course in animation called The Animation Program 2021. It was geared towards adults 55+ and gave the basics in making stop motion film.
Stop motion refers to the process of making animated film one frame at a time. In the early days, the pictures were hand drawn. In another post, I spoke about thaumatropes but more likely, you’ll associate animation with cartoons like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Stop motion is distinguished from drawn animation in that images are typically made with physical materials.
One of my first assignments was to create a character using ‘found’ objects. In my recycling bin, I’d found egg cartons, bubble wrap and old magazines. That coupled with copious amount of hot glue resulted in my very first stop motion film … and a topic for a Friendly Friday Challenge.
For the second assignment, we graduated from egg cartons to plasticine. As I rolled, squashed and pressed out pieces of plasticine, I was transported back to my days in kindergarten. Nothing recalls childhood so much as the smell and texture of crayons and play-dough.
The assignment was to demonstrate the principles of movement, pacing and transformation. It was in two parts – 1) show a race with balls and 2) a face with different expressions. I read the instructions quickly and rushed ahead to do my modeling. I completed all my homework in record time. (I am such a keener!) Then, I re-read the instructions and found I’d missed a crucial point. I had to re-do it all. (Back to the rolling board.)
This became a trend. I’ve come to realise that a key part of my learning curve, is making mistakes. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn over and over again. Luckily, I enjoy the process.
These assignments took up the first six weeks of the workshop. The next six weeks were devoted to making our final film and getting ready for an online premiere event.
I’ll share more about that in another post!
The Sandy Chronicles 
I completely missed these posts of yours. These assignment videos are so great!!! Wow. I’m very impressed! Not only would I not have the talent to do this, I’d definitely not have the drive to go through such a process
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It helped that I had no idea what I was signing up for when I started 😉 But having started …
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Good job!
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Thank you for viewing and saying so!
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Your welcome
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Look forward to viewing more clips
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Wow! Your Stop Motion clips are awesome! You’ve got talent…and patience!
So fun and very well done!
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Thanks for saying Donna. For sure, it took a lot of time & patience but I enjoyed doing it.
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I really enjoyed the video, especially the face – or rather faces. You clearly have a talent for modelling different expressions and emotions! I’m looking forward to seeing your final film 🙂
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I suspect many of us have hidden talents. We just have to shed our cape of maturity and let our inner kid out 🙂
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That looks like fun! I enjoyed the videos, especially The Race & Face. Looking forward to seeing your final project.
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I recommend trying it out. Many elements of photography also apply to making film, even animation. It is fun!
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I like The Race & Face. It’s charming!
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Stay tuned for my next installment!
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Looks like you received an A plus in this course.
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I got a capital E for Effort!
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😂
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This is so cute Sandy. You have a great imagination and are well on your way to becoming an accomplished animator!
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Little steps 🙂 The more I look, the more there is to learn. There is so much to this art form and I’m just scraping the surface.
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