Electricity Light Flipbook Animation

There was a group at Disney who referred to themselves at the Nine Old Men. These men were the pioneers of animation for the Disney studios. The men created animation by developing a series of drawings that were eventually all mashed up together and filmed to make the movie. You can learn more about the Nine Old Men by taking a look at this video.

Disney began with animation in 1920 using a series of drawings, put together to create the illusion of movement. Now, 100 years later, flipbook art is still created and used for various purposes. American YouTuber Andy Bailey, known online as Andymation, is an amazing flipbook animator. Take a look at some of his flipbooks by watching one of his YouTube videos.

Flipbooks can also be used to explain things and the sequence of how things happen, like the water cycle or the lifecycle of a butterfly. In this art project, you are going to use flipbook animation to explain what you’ve learned about electricity or light, your choice. Remember, you do not have to be able to “draw” to create a flipbook, stick figures and simple lines are just fine.

Steps:

1. Watch the instructional video on how to create a flipbook and generate a list of ideas for your project.

2. Do some prep work by listing out the steps of the action that will take place in your flipbook. (Ex: It is a sunny day and the light rays are coming off of the sun and bouncing off of different objects, etc.)

3. Gather up your supplies and begin creating your flipbook. .

4. Make sure you include electrical energy, closed circuits, how electrical energy can be transformed into light, heat, and sound, light energy, reflection, refraction, and absorption.

5. As you work, be sure to use the elements of art and the principles of design in your piece. For this project, try to focus on space and proportion. The element of space will help you create a 3D world on the 2D surface that you are working on. Using the principle of proportion will help you to be sure that the relationship between objects, as far as size goes, is correct.

6. Continue with the creation of your flipbook. When you are finished drawing the story, add color. You may even want to consider animating some words at the end as you saw in the instructional video.

7. Show your finished flipbook to a friend or a family member. Point out the concept that you chose to animate, explain what you know.

8. Last, complete your Artist’s Statement. You can use this form or you can write about your work on your own. Be sure to discuss the process of your artwork, how you created it, explain the artistic choices you made, share one thing you love about your flipbook and one thing you would change if you could.