Plant-imation

Hello art lovers! I recently got this idea for an a good summer at-home (or in-car) activity. It’s not that it’s a new idea, but I think the plant angle offers a new and possibly exciting slant on home-created animation.
Find a pack of post-it notes. If you don’t have any post-it notes, you can create an animation book by gluing, or taping along the top of your blank pages. If you do use tape, it might help to use double sided tape. The pages need to be a fairly small size, so that you can flip them more easily. Or, you could use a paper clamp (as shown in the video).
Remember, animation works best in small increments–in other words, progressively showing small bits of movement on each page.
Another suggestion is that the more pages you use will create a longer animation (and will also keep things calmer on that car trip).
It helps to use paper you can see through a little, so you can use your last page to place things appropriately on each new page. A black pen would be a good drawing tool (a Sharpie tends to bleed through to the back side of a piece of paper). Remember to start the sequence with your last page and work your way toward the front!

Our animation subject is: the growth of a plant from seed to seedling.
Begin by showing a seed planted underneath the ground. Another option: gradually introduce elements such as rain and sun. Show tiny roots emerging, along with a sprout working its way to the surface, finally breaking through and growing first leaves, then true leaves on the stem.

Now, this project is open to all kinds of wonderful variations. If you’re happy with how your animation turns out, you can do a “prequel,” by showing a hand coming into the picture and placing the seed in the ground. A good sequel would be to show flowering, and so forth.

I haven’t tried it, but with improvements in technology, you might be able to actually do frame by frame shots of your pictures, so you don’t have to flip through the pages on your animation booklet.

Remember, this blog is just a starting point. Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear your ideas. I’d love to be able to post your video on this site.

A big thanks to Hallie Morrison for creating the sample video for this project!

Until next time,

The Green Guy (Dave Cain)