Animated Paintings

Appropriate for Grades: 3 Up

Overview:

Use a drawing program and GIF animator to animate a famous painting. It might be a portrait whose eyes move or a bike rider whose legs move.

Activity:

  • Open an Internet browser .
  • Navigate to a site with royalty free photographs of famous
  • paintings.
  • Choose a famous painting such as the Mona Lisa and save the
  • image to the local computer.
  • Open the image with a drawing program.
  • Redraw the eyes, mouth or changes you wish to apply and save
  • as “mona1”.
  • Make another small change and save as “mona2”.
  • Repeat the process until you have all of the pictures that make
  • a moving sequence.
  • Close the drawing program and browser.
  • Start GIF Animator .
  • Import each of the images drawn in order.
  • Export as a moving GIF file.
  • Save the file.
  • Open the GIF in the Internet browser to see it move.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: Drawing program like PhotoImpact
  • Paper / Printer
  • Gif Animator software – www.jhepple.com/gif_animator.htm

 

Further ideas and comments

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