You can have a lot of fun with a folioscope (also called a flip book). It's your own movie or slideshow. You can have a lot of fun with it and also learn how to make a movie. A folioscope can be funny, make you think or amaze you. There are several ways to make your own folioscope and you can do many different things with it. If you want to make your own paper folioscope, choose method 1; if you want to make a folioscope on the computer, go to method 2.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Using pencil and paper
Step 1. Get a stack of paper
You can use a notepad, post-its, pages from a notebook, printer paper, or even the corners of pages from a book. Thin paper is generally better because it's easier to flip through. You can also use thicker paper, but the scrolling will likely be slow or jerky.
- How much paper do you need? The more images (sheets of paper) your booklet contains per second, the more realistic the movements of the characters or objects will appear.
- Movies generally contain between 24 and 30 frames per second--you'd have to draw a lot for that, even if your movie is only 3 seconds in total! For a good folioscope you should have between 5 and 15 frames per second.
Step 2. Choose a topic
Start with an object or character you want to move. You really don't have to be good at drawing and your folioscope can be on any subject you want. Your main characters could be simple line characters, people or animals, or other things you like to move, such as a car, an airplane, a boat, and so on.
- You are also very good at using objects in your folioscope; a simple bouncing ball can turn your booklet into a masterpiece.
- A folioscope doesn't necessarily have to move; you can also just use photos. Use your imagination!
Step 3. Keep the sticky notes or sheets of paper together
If you pull out sheets of paper or tear pages out of your notebook, your folioscope may not work or fall apart.
Step 4. Locate the bottom sheet of paper or the bottom page
Draw the first figure or object here. Use a pencil to erase any mistakes. You can trace your drawing later with a pen or marker to make it clearer.
- You can also start with the top sheet of paper, but then it becomes more difficult to make a smooth video because you cannot look back at the previous image or trace it.
- You can also add a background if you want. This can be a fixed background, like a house or something that doesn't change with every image, or you can choose something that does move -- like clouds or an airplane.
Step 5. Move to the next "image" (the second to last sheet of paper)
You should be able to see your first drawing through the sheet of paper. If not, the paper might be too thick or you didn't draw clearly enough. Then start again, or trace your first drawing again so that it becomes clearer. It is important that you can see your previous drawing through the paper, so that you know approximately where to start drawing on the second sheet.
- If the character or object moves, now draw it in a slightly different spot on the paper.
- If your character or object doesn't move, draw it in exactly the same place.
- The greater the differences between your drawings, the faster your character's or object's movements will be as you flip through your booklet. Smaller differences will look like slower movements.
Step 6. Repeat the process
Draw your character or object on a new sheet over and over until you run out of paper. Change your drawing a little bit each time so that your character or object starts to move or move. How much you want your figure to move is your choice. Think in advance exactly how you want the movements to look like, taking into account the number of pages you have in your booklet. This way everything you want to show fits in your folioscope.
Step 7. Try out your folioscope
Test out your booklet to see if you like the moves of your character or object. If you don't see much happening, grab your pencil and make some more changes to get more movement in your folioscope.
When you are satisfied, trace your drawings with a pen or marker so that they are easier to see
Step 8. Be creative
There are many things you can do with a folioscope. Start small, maybe with a bouncing ball or an angry looking face that eventually turns into a smiling face. You can also use a previous drawing you made and modify it.
For example, if you started with a bouncing ball, you can adjust your drawing by giving your ball a face, arms and legs that pop out every time the ball bounces
Method 2 of 2: Using your computer
Step 1. Open a drawing program on your computer
Choose a program like Photoshop, Elements, GIMP, or other software that lets you add layers.
Step 2. Create a new document
Make your document 800 by 800 pixels to make it the size of a post-it. Give your document a resolution of 300 dpi so it will look good.
Step 3. Make the background layer white
You can also draw a solid background in this layer if you want, which will show in every image.
Step 4. Create a new layer
This is the first image from your folioscope. For this example, we'll use a simple face and change it from a serious face to a happy face.
Step 5. Copy the first layer
When you're done drawing on the first layer, copy this layer and set the transparency of the first layer to 20%. The first layer will then become transparent and this will make it easy for you to see your drawing on the next layer.
Step 6. Click on the new layer
Delete the parts of the first layer that you don't want to keep. Then draw these elements in their new place. In this example, we've removed the eyebrows, pupils, and mouth and made minor changes to them.
Step 7. Copy the new layer
Repeat the process again: remove the parts you don't want to keep and draw them in their new place. Do this until you get to your last image.
When you're done tracing and drawing, set the transparency of each layer to 100%
Step 8. Make a folioscope
There are a few different ways you can turn your drawing into a folioscope. The first way is to make one layer at a time (plus the background) visible and print it out. Then go to the next layer and continue like this. When you have printed out all the drawings, cut off the white pieces, staple the sheets of paper together and leaf through them.
Cutting the white pieces is an important step that is best done with a paper cutter rather than scissors. After all, you want every page to be the same size so that you can easily flip through it
Step 9. Make a movie
Instead of making a folioscope on paper, you might want to make a short movie out of it. If your drawing program has the ability to create an animation, look up the best way to do that in the user manual. It really comes down to this: create an image for each step of your movie and turn on only those layers that you want to show in that image.
- In this example, we turned on the background layer for each image and then selected a different layer for each image: Layer 1, Layer 1 Copy, Layer 1 Copy 2, and so on.
- Set how many times your movie should be played--once, ten times, endlessly--for as long as you want to watch your animation.
Step 10. Export your folioscope
When you're done, use the program's export function and save your folioscope as a video file. This way you can upload it later on YouTube, so that everyone can see your video.
Tips
- Before you start drawing, make a design.
- Remember that if you start with the bottom sheet of paper, you'll get a better idea of where exactly to draw.
- The more frames per second you have, the more realistic your movie will look.
- One way to save your folioscope (and drive yourself crazy) is to take a photo of each page so you can put them back together later, just like you would a stop-motion movie.
- You can use a phone book to create longer animations. Make sure to draw on the edges of the pages or use a black marker to draw on the pages.
- Make your drawings with pencil first. You can always trace them later with a pen or marker. Note that you cannot delete pen drawings. Erasable pens are available. These are just not suitable for this because you are probably using thin paper. Wiping off the ink will wrinkle the paper and mess up your work.
- You can start on the top page if you want, but this is more difficult.
Warnings
- Do not sign your film on post-its that have been taken apart.
- Don't start drawing right away with your pen. First, use a pencil.
- Make sure you use paper that doesn't wrinkle or wear easily.
- Your folioscope may wear out over time, causing pages to skip.