LEGO Animation (Brickfilm) Resources
We’re having a great time at Brickworld Chicago 2014 right now! Yesterday we led our annual “Intro to LEGO Animation” workshop. We typically hand out a resource sheet to all the attendees with some of our favorite resources for learning more about making brick animations. We thought we’d put it up online so everyone could benefit from it.
When buying a camera, here are a few features to look for:
- Manual controls, especially for focus and white balance
- USB, Firewire and/or HDMI connection to computer
- Tripod connection (screw threads on bottom)
- Plug-in power source – avoid running on battery power if at all possible.
Some stop-motion software:
Windows:
- Helium Frog (free) http://www.heliumfrog.com/heliumfrogindex.html
- AnimatorDV (Simple+ version is free!) http://www.animatordv.com
- MonkeyJam (free) – Not HD, very basic. http://monkeyjam.org/
- Stop Motion Pro ($49 for Action! edition) http://www.stopmotionpro.com
- Dragonframe 3.0 (free trial, $295 for full) http://www.dragonframe.com/
Mac:
- Stopmojo (free) http://www.mondobeyondo.com/projects/stopmojo/
- Boinx iStopMotion Home ($49) http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/
- Dragonframe 3.0 (free trial, $295 for full) http://www.dragonframe.com/
Mobile (iOS, available via iTunes):
- LEGO Movie Maker (free and AWESOME) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lego-movie-maker/id516001587?mt=8
- iMotion HD (free) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imotion-hd/id421365625?mt=8
- Stop Motion Studio (free) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stop-motion-studio/id441651297?mt=8
- Aardman Animate It! ($2.99) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animate-it/id544691268?mt=8
- Boinx iStopMotion for iPad ($9.99) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/istopmotion-for-ipad/id484019696?mt=8
Recommended books:
- Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. “The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.” Disney Editions, 1995.
- Richard Williams. “The Animator’s Survival Kit.” Faber & Faber, 2002.
- Allan Bedford. “The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide.” No Starch Press, 2005.
Web resources:
- Bricks In Motion – http://www.bricksinmotion.com
- Brickfilmer’s Guild – http://www.brickfilmersguild.com
- The Stop-Motion Animation How-To Page – http://www.animateclay.com
- Stop Motion Works – http://www.stopmotionworks.com/
- Creative Cow – http://www.creativecow.net
What are some of your favorite resources for brickfilming? Tell us in the comments!