Stop motion (also known as stop action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increment and photographed.  The photographs are played as a series of frames in a continuous sequence.  Think of the concept of a flip book. This moving penny stop motion animation was made with 21 photos.

Here are some more examples:

Monty Python Terry Gilliam Intro

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU

Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

Minilogue/hitchhikers choice

Human Skateboard

Alien vs. Astronaut

We are going to make our own stop motion animations using Adobe Photoshop and Windows Movie Maker. We are eventually going to work on a larger scale, collaborative project, but you will begin with a short stop motion animation to get the idea.

Your assignment:

1. Choose an articulated paper doll from below or find your own.  The important part is that all of the limbs are separate.  Mix and match if you want.

2. Cut out each limb and make it a separate layer.  Do this by selecting around a limb with a lasso tool, copying it, deleting it, then pasting it.

3. Once you have the doll put together with each limb in the correct position and in a separate layer, you can begin! Put a background behind it.

4. Your assignment is to make the doll move.  First, save the whole file as a photoshop file so you can keep all of the layers.  Then, in it’s starting position, save it in a a folder as a jpeg as 1.

5. Move at least two limbs a little bit, then save it as 2.

6. Make things appear to come closer/move away by making them bigger/smaller.  Change the background, change the colors.  Have fun, make it look cool!  I want you to end up with 30 photos, or “frames”.

7. Turn your separate frames into a movie using Windows Movie Maker.

How to Make the Movie!

Now that you have your 30 + images to create your first animation, you need to use Windows Movie Maker to make them into a little movie.  Here’s how you do it:

1. Open Windows Movie Maker under programs.

2. Under Capture Video, click Import Pictures and select all of your animation images.

3. Click Tools->Options->Advanced.  Change the Picture and Transition duration to about 0.25 seconds.

4. Select all of your pictures from the collections board and drag them down to the storyboard at the bottom.

5.  Now you can see how they look as a movie when you click the play button. 

6. Go to Edit Movie -> Make titles or Credits.   Create a Title Slide with the Title of the animation.  Create Credits at the end:

            Created by ______________

              for Computer Arts

              Miss Waggoner

              Seward High School

              Seward, Alaska

               2010

               Music: This Song by This Person

 8. Add music!  Use this website: http://freeplaymusic.com/.  This music is not copyrighted and the site is easy to search!

Once you have the audio file in the Collections area, click Show Timeline on the bottom, and then drag that audio file down into your movie.  You can now move it to determine when the sound starts, ends, etc.

9. Finish your movie!  Once everything is perfect, you need to save your movie as a Windows Media Player file so that anyone can watch it.  Under Finish Movie, click Save to my Computer.  Choose to save your movie inthe L drive, under your e number.  This is because your movie is a big file that takes up a lot of space.  Name your movie with the file name, but don’t include any spaces in the title, for example, save it as kittydream, not Kitty Dream.  Click Next, and under Movie Setting, Other settings, choose Video for broadband (512 Kbps).  Click Next again, now your movie is saving as a WMM file, this should take a minute or so.

10. Post your movie!  On your blog, click Plugins ->Embedded Video -> Activate.  Then in a new post, click on the little TV symbol.  Choose the tab that says upload video.  Find your video in the L drive, and upload it.  Click  the box that says Show video without link.  Save your post and preview it to make sure your video plays!

11. Under your movie, write about your experience in making your first animation and Windows Movie Maker.  What did you learn?  What did you like? What didn’t you like?

 New Call for Art from the Community!  $200 Prize, Fame, Glory: The chosen design may be reproduced on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, pins, and/or poster.   

DESIGN THE LOGO FOR:

            2012 Seward Silver Salmon Derby

 Their Rules:

          The design must include:

• Seward Silver Salmon Derby
• August 10 – 19, 2012
• 57th
• Seward, Alaska
• Prefer a salmon or fishing design

 Design must fit on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper and have four color maximum. 

My Thoughts:  Be creative and think outside of the box!  Here are the last 2 years designs:

2011

2010

They look almost the same!  How could you create a silver salmon in a different way, different angle, etc?  Apply the skills you learned when making your concert poster (posterize, change the colors), the mandala assignment (replace parts of salmon with other pictures), etc.  Could you use multiple salmon to create a cool pattern?  Good luck and make something cool…win that money!

What is a mandala?

A mandala is a geometric pattern or chart, typically circular or square, that symbolically represents the cosmos and is used for meditation purposes. The mandala originated in the Hindu religion, in which it was first used as a design element in temples, and was borrowed into Buddhism. Other religions and cultures have analogous meditation aids, and in an expanded sense, a mandala may even be a round, symmetrical building used for worship.

Creating a mandala can be a form of meditation, as well as contemplating a finished mandala. In Tibetan Buddhism, there are strict guidelines concerning the content and design of a mandala, including the visualization of the piece and mantras to be recited as it is made. Different types of mandalas are used to represent different elements of Buddhist beliefs and cosmology, but they are generally full of symbolism and richly detailed.

Tibetan Buddhists also make sand mandalas, using delicate tools and colored sand to create intricate designs. After they are made and contemplated according to ceremony, sand mandalas are destroyed, symbolizing the impermanence of everything. Every element of the sand mandala, from marking out the pattern, to pouring the sand, to disposing of the used sand, is ritualized. Mandalas also appear in Japanese Buddhist temples and rituals, although the sand mandala is unique to Tibetan Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Meditation or prayer aids in other religious traditions, such as the rosary of Catholicism, are considered by some to be a type of mandala. (from WiseGEEK.com)

We are going to make our own mandalas using photos.

1. Choose a mandala template.

2. Open the template in Photoshop and delete the white so that it’s transparent other than the black lines.

3. Add your first photo as another layer and put it behind the mandala template.  Choose your photos based on texture and color.

4. Pick one shape within the mandala template to focus on.  Move the photo layer until you like the section which is behind your mandala shape.  You can rotate it or adjust the scale if you’d like.

5. On the mandala template layer, use the magic wand tool to select inside the shape.  Click Inverse Selection.  Go to the photo layer and press delete.  You should now have just a portion of the photo inside the mandala shape, like the photo below.

6. Continue this process until you have a vertical row filled.

7. Unclick the eyeballs on all of the layers except the new shape layers you have made.  Click Layers->Merge Visible. Now all of your shapes are on one layer.

8. Duplicate this layer and rotate it to fit other sections in a pattern.

9. Continue with this process until the whole mandala is filled!  My only rule is that shapes from the same photo should not touch.  If you want, at the end, get rid of the mandala template layer and add a new background color.  Have fun, be creative and make something that looks cool!

10.  When you are done, post it to your blog under Project 9:Mandala, and write about how the project went, if you learned anything,etc.

Find the silhouette of something online, or make your own with Photoshop.  I chose this photo:

Choose a picture that you think would look cool inside the silhouette, here’s mine:

Copy and Paste the second picture into your Photoshop document and make it the back layer.  You may have to adjust the size.

Use the magic wand tool to select the black in the silhouette.  Inverse the selection. 

Click onto the back layer and press backspace.  Unclick the eye on the front layer.  Your back layer should now have the shape of the silhouette. 

Add a new, solid colored layer behind this silhouette to add contrast.  Save your project and Post it under Assignment 10.

Most countries of the world have developed their own form of paper currency, or bills.  Here are some examples:

Some people say that, in comparison the United States has boring currency.  What do you think?

I came upon a website challenging Americans to design new bills, which I thought was a fun idea.  Here are some of the designs people came up with:

You are going to design a new bill.  But first, you need to decide:

Who/what would you put on the a bill to represent the US, and why?  You will need to explain your reasons when you post your design.  First, brainstorm.  What ideas does the US stand for?  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Ingenuity?  Innovation? Integrity?  Entrepreneurship?  Equality?  Arts?  Strength? What should our country stand for?  Who/What would represent these ideas?

I chose Crazy Horse as my person because he nobly fought for the rights of his people when he felt that they were being treated unfairly by the US government.

1. Decide on the dimensions of your bills.  Are they rectangles/squares/horizontal/vertical?  Open a new Photoshop document in that shape.  Don’t make it too huge, it has to fit in your wallet!

2. You could  cut a circle around your person/animal/thing or delete the entire background.  Look back at the examples.  I cut an oval shape around Crazy Horse using the Circle Marquee Tool.

2.  Stylize your person/animal/thing somehow.  Suggestions: Anything under Image->Adjust or any Filter.  I did Image->Adjust->Color Balance to make Sitting Bull a brownish color.

3. Add a general background to your bill to match the person/animal/thing.  I chose a gradient in brown and white:

4. Add some other sort of background element, perhaps a place associated with your person/animal/thing?  I chose a photo of the Lakota Reservation with buffalo, another American symbol.  Adjust the opacity so it fades into the background some and colors to match.

5. A lot of money has lacy floral type patterns called guilloche rosettes. Here are some I found but feel free to find your own:

Incorporate one or more of these into your design.  Remember, you can always change the color!

6. There needs to be some information on your bill.  Remember, the type is a part of your design, make it look cool!

Amount – both numerically and in English (5, Five Dollars)

Country – United States of America

7.  In order for this money to be official, we need the Seal of the US Department of the Treasury. It is used on all U.S. paper currency, and (like other departmental seals) on official Treasury documents. The seal includes a chevron with thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen states. Above the chevron is a balance, representing justice. The key below the chevron represents authority and trust.

Remember, you can (and should) change the seal to match your design!  I adjusted mine using Image->Adjust->Threshold, deleted the white, selected the black, and then gave it a purple-brown gradient.

8. Flatten image and post it to your blog.  Explain why you chose the person/animal/place that you did to represent the US.  What tools did you use in this project?  Did you learn anything new? I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Student Examples from last semester: