Animation
We’re just getting started with this resource. Throughout Term 1 and Term 2, we’ll be adding new examples, behind‑the‑scenes insights, and interviews with past finalists. Think of this space as a growing hub - so check back in and for fresh inspiration!
Whether you are creating a claymation short, a hand‑drawn animation or a digital piece, the production stage is where your animation comes to life. This is when you create the images, sounds and movement your audience will see and hear.
An animation set is the space where this work happens. It might be a table with characters and props, a lightbox for drawings or a computer workstation. Animators work together to bring the story to life by:
- Getting ready: Setting up characters, backgrounds, lighting and equipment so everything is ready to animate.
- Animating: Capturing frames one by one, recording movement and sound and carefully adjusting elements to create the illusion of motion.
- Reviewing: Playing back scenes to check timing, movement and storytelling, then making changes before moving on.
1. Getting ready
Building your world and characters
World and character building go hand‑in‑hand. The more you understand the place and the characters in it, the easier it becomes to bring your animation to life.
Before anything can move in animation, you need to imagine and create the world your characters will live in. This might mean painting or drawing backgrounds, designing environments digitally, or building mini sets for stop‑motion. Think about how the setting supports your story. For example, you might use bright colours for fun and excitement, darker tones for mystery or suspense.
As you shape your world, start developing your characters too. What do they look like? How do they move? What kind of personality do they have? Their design should help tell the story.
Recording voices
Your characters need to be heard. Record your voice performances in a quiet space so every line sounds clear. Animators often use these recordings to match the character’s mouth shapes, a process called lip‑syncing, so voice recordining usually happens before animating.
If your film uses a narrator, their voice can be recorded after the animation is complete as this isn't tied to a character’s mouth movements.
Reading your script
Gather your team and read through the part of the script you are going to animate. Choose someone to read the scene description and let the voice actors read their lines out loud, or play back the voice recordings you have already captured. As you do this, talk together about what is happening and how the characters will move or react. This planning time helps everyone picture the action and understand how the scene will flow.
Reviewing your shot list
After talking through the script, look over your shot list together. Reading it out loud reminds everyone which shots you need, how each one will look and what the team needs to focus on next.
Setting up your equipment
When everyone understands what you are animating and how it will work, set up your space for the first shot. This might mean preparing your camera, checking your lights or arranging your puppets or drawings. Always think about safety first. Look for anything that might be unsafe and talk it through with your group or a trusted adult.
Trop tip: Keep all your artwork, puppets or models in one safe place. Nothing slows you down like losing a character’s arm right before a shot.
2. Animating
The animating stage is detailed and time consuming and every choice made by the animators helps shape the final story on screen.
In 2D animation, artists draw each frame or small groups of frames to build movement.
In 3D animation or computer generated animation, creators pose digital characters inside specialised computer programs, adjusting their movements bit by bit.
Stop motion animators work with puppets or objects, moving them tiny amounts and taking a photo after each adjustment.
When these frames or photos are played quickly in order, the characters appear to move smoothly across the screen. This is how you create an animation.
Lighting and camera placement need to stay exactly the same from frame to frame. this is easier in an animated digital world but when capturing hand drawn or stop motion animation it's important that you keep your camera firmly fixed, mark its position and take care not to bump lights or let natural light change the scene. Many animators take a quick reference photo of their setup at the start of each session to help maintain continuity across filming days.
There are a range of software available to support you to create your own animation. Check back in here and we’ll share some of our favourites.
Trop tip: Stay organised by keeping your drawings, files or photos in clearly labelled folders and work in small sections so animating never feels overwhelming.
3. Reviewing
As you animate, regularly play back your frames to make sure everything stays smooth and consistent. Look for accidental changes, for example, a prop shifting, an human hand in a stop-motion photo, a character jumping positions or the background moving. Consistency is key in animation, so reviewing your work often helps you spot and fix issues early.
Trop tip: Test early by playing your animation as you go, be patient because animation takes time and have fun experimenting as some of the best moments happen by accident.