Turn the kids’ or grandkids’ drawings into animations (it’s easy!)

July 14, 2022

By Kim Komando

There’s no stopping children or grandchildren from growing up. Before you know it, they’ll be off doing their own thing. In the meantime, we’d like to offer some suggestions to strengthen the bond with your young ones.

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There’s nothing more touching than a hand-drawn gift from a little one. You can hang it on the fridge, but why stop there? Imagine the look on their faces when you bring their drawings to life. It’s easy to do with this AI-powered tool.

How to turn drawings into animations

Parents and grandparents, this one is a fun one. Grab one of your kids’ drawings. Preferably a character on a solid white sheet. Snap a photo or scan it in, and you’ll be five minutes away from something truly novel.

Animated Drawings is an in-browser widget that lets you animate anything.

The process is simple:

• Upload any drawing to sketch.metademolab.com/canvas. Note: You’ll have to opt into a privacy disclaimer, so avoid uploading photos with any identifying information included.

• Crop the image so the drawing stands alone. Ideally, on a solid, consistent background.
• Use the pencil and eraser tools to help the AI isolate the character from the background around it.
• Align the puppeteering armature to your child’s drawing, using the labels above the UI to guide your hand. There’s a joint for the knees, the shoulders, the center of the head, the eyes and so on. Match everything as best you can.

After finalizing your character design, you can either go back and readjust or choose one of many stock animation presets. Your new animation can dance, walk, jump, and even shadowbox with itself. Talk about adorable, and it’s a great way to kill 20 minutes at home.

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Once the animation has been finalized, you can share it on social media, send it to your phone or email or start anew. We hope Animated Drawings encourages your kids to explore their artistic talents further while bringing your family closer together.

How to get creative at any age

Art is one of the best ways to support a healthy sense of curiosity, wonder and awe in any child — and in any willing adult, to be fair!

If you have a kid who loves putting pencil to paper, we encourage you to encourage them. There are many ways to engage a child with fun, wholesome activities like drawing. Animated Drawings might be one of our top picks for inner artists, young and old.

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