Flip books

October 23, 2005

Filed under: Crafts for Kids — Administrator @ 12:29 pm

My son absolutely loves cartoons. Cartoon Network and Toon Disney are the home of some of his favorite shows.

So the idea of actually making his own cartoon was too good to be true.

Flip books have a long history in the making of some classic movies like Bambi and Snow White:
The origins of Animation

This is a great activity for a rainy afternoon (yeah, it was pouring outside!) or when you have a few hours with your child and not much to do.

Since I’m not an animator, the idea of drawing dozens of pictures, each slightly different from the other,was a bit too much to consider doing.

SO, I went searching for an easier way. Turns out, some of these sites have prepared flip books you can print out :

Things you’ll need:

3×5 cards

Glue

Scissors

Pencil (to number the cards)

Patience!

Things they’ll learn making it:

Putting things in order ( there were 27 cards!)

Using scissors (cutting on the lines)

How cartoons are made!

Steps

Number the 3×5 cards in each corner

Go to the website and print the pages

Take turns cutting out each frame

Glue (glue stick is best) each frame to the corner of the 3×5 card (keep track of the order)

When done, have your child work with you to put the 3×5 cards in order. If you have a paper binder clip, use it to hold the cards together.

Gently flip through the cards at a steady pace.

Enjoy the show!

Here is a short video clip of the Kangaroo Astronaut flip book (see link above)
Flipbook

My son was fascinated with the end product and kept asking over and over “Why does it look like a movie Daddy?”

The long answer is “persistence of vision” and it’s a great way to start a short biology lesson about how the eye works:

You remember Coco the Clown? I used to watch this cartoon as a child. Still remember the theme song.!!!

Comment by Roxanne — December 21, 2005 @ 6:35 pm
“Out of the inkwell comes Coco the Clown..” You mean THAT theme song? Can’t find anyone who remembers watching the ink cartoon character.

Comment by Todd — April 5, 2006 @ 12:57 pm
Don’t worry, Coco the Clown was real. I watched the cartoon in Phila., PA. during the 60′s. I also remember the theme song! He had a sidekick, I think, who popped out of the inkwell, with him.

Comment by Sandra — August 27, 2006 @ 9:57 pm
Thanks for the tutorial. Very interesting. I also found this other site that has some flip books on pdf for printing

http://www.rossonhousemuseum.org/body_optical_toys_-_flip_books.html

Comment by David — March 6, 2010 @ 8:07 am