The Playground by Courtney - started December 2010 and finished in December 2011

My little niece, Courtney, started this intense animation project of hers back during December 2010 shortly after she had just turned six. She was visiting over one night and she was playing around on her laptop with the Paint app and asked me: "Aunt Sue, how do I make this look like a tire swing that goes back and forth? How do I do that?"

I explained it would have to be made with frames, like the parts to a comic book and then put into Microsoft MovieMaker to be copy pasted over and over until it fits the song with the durations shortened enough to make it speed up to make it move smoothly instead of cold molasses or super too fast.

Since she hung on my every word about it I figured she really was interested and went on to guesstimate it would take enough frames to go from A to H, which it did, until she decided to add the cat and the bird and she absolutely had to add enough frames to bring the total up to N because she was going A-H then H back down to A and repeated over and over and it made her first try at a bird fly forwards then backwards then forwards again.

At the time she started this project I also explained that it would take a lot of time, consideration, and actual work to make on an animated movie I want her to do the work without me doing it for her but absolutely promised her that it would be right there teaching her what to do with each problem being the current lesson and that it would definitely be fun and she would learn enough to make another film with much less instructive assistance. She's a smart little kid who seemed motivated to learn so I figured she'd go for the deal.

"So, is it a deal?" I asked her and Courtney did not hesitate to agree to the strict terms. So she began. With me making the only thing I actually drew and that the tire, itself, showing her step by step how the tire...and the movement in animation works in general. Teaching her about cutting and pasting. And placing the image to move on each of her frames. Creating a folder for her frames and a backup...just in case.

Courtney totally understood what I was explaining. She took over with her hands and onward it went, frame by frame, until the tire moved to Courtney's satisfaction, when I said to her, "That tire needs a kid on it." Then explained how each frame would affect any kid or kids she drew. She commenced to work, adding things when she had a chance to work on it off and on, moving steadily forward for a whole year...completing it in December 2011.

This is Courtney's precious cartoon animation project. I was her teacher and her techie, teaching a little girl something that will interest her for a long time to come.

So, starting with the wheel...onward we go

To ART!

:-) Peace

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• animation by a child
• animation
• The Cure
• Paint
• Microsoft MovieMaker
• PC
• fun

[TheCureInYourHouse]

How Cute!!! ^_^