Art and Technology

Be an Animator

Create your own stop-motion animation

Be inspired

Watch kids become stop-motion animators in this workshop at Tate Britain in the Taylor Digital Studio.

What you need

  • Terracotta, white and black modelling clay
  • A tablet or phone
  • The Stop Motion Studio app (you can download it for free)
  • Cocktail sticks
  • A1 piece of white paper
  • A4 paper
  • Pens
  • Pencils
  • Grab a few friends

Step 1

Make your Morph! Mould your modelling clay into the shape of a person.

© Aardman Animations

Step 2

Be inspired by Tate's Collection, looking at the artworks below, or have a look at artists on Tate Kids. Choose artworks that Morph can have fun with. We think that portraits and landscapes work really well!

If you can, print your chosen artworks. Try to fit your 3 favourite artworks on 1 page of A4.

Unknown artist, Britain
Portrait of William Style of Langley (1636)
Tate

David Hockney
A Bigger Splash (1967)
Tate

© David Hockney

Joseph Mallord William Turner
Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps (exhibited 1812)
Tate

L.S. Lowry
The Old House, Grove Street, Salford (1948)
Tate

© The estate of L.S. Lowry

Step 3

You now need to storyboard your animation.

Imagine and plan the story for the animation. What do you think Morph would get up to in the gallery? Would he remix two artworks? Maybe putting a cat's face on a portrait? Would he pretend to be the art? What would happen if he dived into one?

Once you’ve decided on your story, draw it out on the storyboard.

If you can, print this handy storyboard sheet, or draw out your own on paper.

Tate Kids animator storyboard template sheet
Download storyboard sheet

Step 4

If you need to, collect and make the props you need. Set up the A1 piece of paper as your background and cut out the paintings to make your own Tate Britain set.

Download the Stop Motion Studio app

Play on the app. Get comfortable with moving your Morph a little bit, taking a picture and then moving him again. The smaller the movements the smoother the animation will be. You’ll get quicker at this as you go!

Step 5

Start recording your animation. We would recommend making your own production team to make the animation. Grab your friends. One can be the model mover, the other director and the other pressing the record button.

Keep going until you have completed your animation. Go back to delete any images with your hands in. Remember to title and save your animation.

Email your films to Tate Kids, we’d love to see them.

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