It is important to think about the background of your animation to get the best out of your film. There are lots of different options.
It can be very rewarding to create your own backgrounds using paint, collage or 3D modelling techniques. One neat way to do this is to make an animation set using a shoe box giving you a backdrop, floor and sides. You can then store the models and props in the box between shoots!
Alternatively you can buy the Zu3D Animation Set, a custom built stage that comes with three brightly coloured backgrounds; a space landscape, a jungle background and a spooky scene as well as green screen fabric. These are interchangable and simply fixed by velcro allowing you to attach your own background design. The cut away sides allow you to manipulate your characters easily and it is easily stackable making them ideal for classrooms.
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Or you can create your own backgrounds by searching through your photograph collection or use Google Images, copy and paste your chosen image into Word or other package to make the appropriate size and then print.
Here are some of the photos we have used in our animations. Each picture has been saved as an A4 sized PDF file for you to easily download and print.
When creating your backgrounds you need to think carefully about size and make sure that the sizing you choose is appropriate in relations to the models or objects you are animating.
We have found that one way to experiment with size and perspective is to use
Pivot Stick Figure. This is a 2D animation program that allows you to import backgrounds and resize the stick figure models so that children can experiment and gain an understaning of relationships between characters and backgrounds.
Here are some example Pivot films made with children in Years 5 and 6.
These films can be imported from Pivot into Zu3D where titles, credits, narration and sounds can be added to create a finished film.