Computer Animation Programs for Kids
- Kid-friendly animation programs teach kids how to do animation.Cartoon figure image by Ilija Mitrevski from Fotolia.com
The advances in computer animation technology make this popular art form accessible even to kids. Kid-friendly animation programs available on the market teach aspiring animators different facets of the animation creation process. From learning the basics of drawing for animation to the basics of programming, these programs help kids get a start in the art of animation. With a variety of price ranges, there’s bound to be at least one of these programs that appeal to the budding animator in your household. - The company Toon Boom produces software that is an industry standard for “grown ups”, but the company hasn’t left kids out. Animation-ish is a software program that, according to the company website, is based upon the philosophy of “ish”, meaning the drawings and animations that the participant makes doesn't have to be perfect. The principle behind the software is based upon a book by Peter Reynolds, author of “Ish”. In short, it is the act of making a drawing—or in this case—an animation that’s almost perfect, that teaches the child to do animation. It features three different levels of complexity—Wiggle doodle-ish, Flipbook-ish and Advanced-ish.
- This animation program for kids features both an animation and paint program that are kid-friendly. According to World Village, the recommended age range for the program is 3-12. Besides animations, the program features video, special effects and photo options. It allows kid animators to make slideshows, QuickTime movies and create illustrations. With its sound and music effects features, this program is a one-stop shop for animation creation. The program offers kids six different options for their creative endeavors—Kid Pix, Wacky TV, Moopies, Stampimator, Digital Puppets and Slideshow. Finally, this program allows kids to completely customize their work; it has a photo upload option. Kids can upload photos from a CD into the program and feature pictures of pets, family and friends in their animations.
- Alice offers the gift of animation to kids courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University. Developed by the university and the late Randy Pautsch, the purpose of Alice is to teach kids the principles of animation in a fun way. In addition to being educational, it also features one more added benefit—it’s free. The program helps kids learn how programming language like Java, C++ and C# work to create the animations on their screens. Kids can make animated stories, play interactive games or create videos. Although its drag and drop elements make Alice seem deceptively simple, the information presented is equivalent to skills they’d learn in introductory programming.
