I used Adobe Animate to create a simple animation depicting the phases of the moon. The students I teach enjoy watching animated science videos, so I chose a science-related topic that I thought would be fun to animate! From an educational standpoint, animations are great because they combine visual and auditory elements. Students tend to find these elements more engaging than text or images alone.
I used Adobe Animate to create a simple animation depicting the phases of the moon. The students I teach enjoy watching animated science videos, so I chose a science-related topic that I thought would be fun to animate! From an educational standpoint, animations are great because they combine visual and auditory elements. Students tend to find these elements more engaging than text or images alone.
I had no experience making animations prior to this assignment. I understood how animations worked (in theory) but I was unfamiliar with the various tools and features involved in creating an animation. Due to my lack of experience, the animation process was challenging.
I had no experience making animations prior to this assignment. I understood how animations worked (in theory) but I was unfamiliar with the various tools and features involved in creating an animation. Due to my lack of experience, the animation process was challenging.
To create the background of my animation, I used the line tool to outline the shape of the frame. I filled this shape in with a dark gray color. Then, I used the fluid brush tool to create yellow stars. I created two versions of this background layer—one with smaller stars and another with larger stars. Alternating between these two backgrounds every few frames created the twinkling effect.
To create the background of my animation, I used the line tool to outline the shape of the frame. I filled this shape in with a dark gray color. Then, I used the fluid brush tool to create yellow stars. I created two versions of this background layer—one with smaller stars and another with larger stars. Alternating between these two backgrounds every few frames created the twinkling effect.
I used the line tool to create the moon shape in the next layer. I created a polygon with several lines. Then, I used the selection tool to manually curve each line to form a round shape. I used these tools again when creating the shadows on the moon. For each new frame, I made the phases of the moon using the line and selection tools. Each line was curved to fit the moon, and the shadows were filled in with a darker gray. Combined, the frames created the effect of a shadow moving across the moon, revealing all of the phases from full moon to new moon.
I used the line tool to create the moon shape in the next layer. I created a polygon with several lines. Then, I used the selection tool to manually curve each line to form a round shape. I used these tools again when creating the shadows on the moon. For each new frame, I made the phases of the moon using the line and selection tools. Each line was curved to fit the moon, and the shadows were filled in with a darker gray. Combined, the frames created the effect of a shadow moving across the moon, revealing all of the phases from full moon to new moon.
In the future, I would like to continue practicing animation. Although this assignment was challenging, I am determined to learn more about the various tools in Adobe Animate. I am specifically interested in learning about the tween features. My animation was very basic, but I would like to make longer, more complex animations when I can use the program more fluently.
In the future, I would like to continue practicing animation. Although this assignment was challenging, I am determined to learn more about the various tools in Adobe Animate. I am specifically interested in learning about the tween features. My animation was very basic, but I would like to make longer, more complex animations when I can use the program more fluently.