iPad screenshot of PixStop in action
Made for ages 10 and up, this iPad Animation app is available FREE for fun or education, whether you’re an animation novice or fan. It is available now on iTunes.
Designed for educational use, the Hue Animation Studio is a great way to introduce children aged 5+ to the art of stop-motion animation. At the moment it is selling on Amazon UK for less than £50 
(full price £79.99), the kit contains everything you need to create stop motion animation videos, apart from a computer.
The kit includes a Hue HD camera, fully-featured animation software for Windows or Mac and Plasticine modelling clay. With Christmas just around the corner it would make a wonderful gift for a youngster in your family. It is sure to keep them engrossed during the Christmas holidays.
Tate and Aardman Animations are running hundreds of production workshops across the UK from the Tate Movie Truck, a state of the art mobile learning space where children can explore art and animation as well as generate ideas and drawings for the film.
The good news is that you are already an expert at many things. You have mastered at least one language and have learned to read. By following the technique of learning by doing, you will become an expert animator over time.
The best thing of all is that learning how to animate is great fun. The first time I run a new animation sequence that I have created, I feel like I have performed a magic trick. Maybe it needs a bit more work and polish but the satisfaction is immense.
Pivot stick figure animator is a great piece of free animation software that is ideal for introducing the principals of movement to children. When the software is first opened there is a stick figure in the centre of the frame. Each limb is jointed and can be moved by grabbing red spots with the mouse curser and dragging them. When you add a frame and move the figure a grey shadow is left in the old position in an onion skin effect. This allows you to judge how much to move the figure. Once two frames have been completed the animation can be played so you can check how you are doing as you go along. The frames also appear in a strip along the top of the work area.