Q&A for How to Animate

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Can I create a stop motion animation with plush toys?

Community Answer

It will be tough if you don't have thin metal wires in the joints. This allows the plush's body parts to stay in the same position. You'll have to have a strong setup for the legs as the plush might need to stand in your animation.

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Question

How can I improve my animating skills?

Community Answer

You can improve your animating skills by using a touchpad or if you already have one, try drawing with a pencil before doing the real deal.

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Question

How do I animate with an Android phone?

Community Answer

You can use a free animation app like FlipaClip, which is mostly used by mobile animators. (If you want to take it a step further, use a stylus.)

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How do I add sound using an iPad?

Community Answer

You can export your film to your photos and then place the film into an editing app like iMovie. From there you can add sound.

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Question

Can you animate with an iPad and have the same quality result?

Community Answer

Usually it is the same, except easier to animate. However, much of this will depend upon how talented you are at animating.

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Question

Is FlipaClip a good choice for beginners?

Community Answer

Yes! That's a great program choice for beginners since it's easy to use.

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Question

What if I am animating for a YouTube channel?

Community Answer

It's exactly the same! Make an engaging plot for your viewers, animate it, and upload!

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Question

How can I animate on an iPad?

Community Answer

There are quite a few animation apps on the App Store, and many of them are free, so you can try out different ones to find the app you enjoy the most. I would recommend getting a stylus though since it will make animations much easier.

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Question

How would I add sound and/or music to something like stop-motion animation?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

This can only feasibly be done in post. You'll need voice actors, or at least people willing to speak the lines and whose voices you like for the characters. Sounds can be found in online databases; some are free, some are paid. The same goes for music. You'll need better video editing software than say, Movie Maker, because you'll need to overlap many different sounds, which is cumbersome in most simple editors.

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Question

What program is it best to use for PC animations?

Community Answer

I personally think Windows Live Movie Maker works well, plus it's free, and I have made lots of animations with it.

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Question

How do I copy frames in FlipaClip on mobile?

Community Answer

Click the three dots in the corner of your animation, then press “Frames viewer.” There you can hold down a frame to select, press the copy button, then the paste button.

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Question

What is the best free program for animating on an iPad?

Community Answer

FlipaClip is a great animation app for beginners; it's very easy to use and is free!

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Question

What kind of stuff do I need to buy for animating?

Community Answer

It really depends on the resources you have available. If you have an iPad, you can get a free program called Flip-a-Clip. If you want to make computer animation, you are going to need a drawing tablet, digital drawing program, and a computer (it depends on what type of drawing tablet you buy, but the computer may or may not be needed). The cheaper drawing tablets aren't as high quality as the more expensive professional ones.

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Question

When drawing explosions, should it be detailed or like a cartoon?

Master Frown

Community Answer

It depends on your style. If you're making a super realistic animation, you may not want a cartoon explosion, and vice versa.

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Question

I'm still not really sure how to animate. Where can I find some more information?

Community Answer

I watched Alan Becker's twelve principles of animation video on YouTube, and it helped me a lot.

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Question

How do I animate on a Kindle Fire?

Community Answer

You can get Flipaclip. It's a free, easy to use app that's available for the Kindle Fire.

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Question

What is the best animation program to use on a Mac?

Community Answer

Probably FireAlpaca, but Adobe Animate is good too.

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Question

How do I animate on a phone?

Community Answer

Flip a clip is the best choice for beginners because it has tutorials, it’s free, and it works on iOS and Android.

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Question

How do I find free animation software for a beginner on a tablet?

Community Answer

Use FlipaClip its good for beginners. It is provided on your tablet and it is free.

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Question

How to make animation smoother?

Charity Benally

Community Answer

To make an animation smoother, add more frames per second or fps. It'll take awhile but it will be smoother.

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Question

How can I use loops in FlipaClip?

Community Answer

You could copy the frame from before and then paste it on another frame to loop. You can use loops, but it's not recommended if you want to plan out a full on story in your animation.

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Question

How could I animate on an iPad?

Loris Alati

Community Answer

Get an Apple pencil gen 1 and download FlipaClip from the app store.

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