In this activity we are going to make a very simple frame by frame animation of a person kicking a ball. The finished animation will look something like this:

 Create the Background

Use the paintbrush tool to draw an outline for the hills.

Then use the paintbucket to fill it.

Don't worry about the edges looking rough. You won't see that in the finished animation.

 Add in the Person

Click in the first frame of the new person layer.

Use the line tool . Set the stroke to be 8 and choose whatever colour you like.

Draw a side view of a stick figure on the left side of the stage.

(Don't draw in feet as it will make things difficult later on)

Hold your mouse down over the rectangle tool to get the popout window. Choose the oval tool to draw a shape for the head.

Use the other drawing tools to add in some hair and other features.

Hint: Zoom in to draw them more easily.

 Make the Kicking Action

Now we will make one leg swing back and then forward to kick a ball.

In the timeline, click on the first frame of the person layer.

Then press F6 to add in a keyframe.

Choose the subselection tool.

Press F6 to add in another frame.

Move the foot back a little more.

Keep pressing F6 and adjusting the leg until over about 10-15 frames you have made a full kicking movement.

If you make a mistake, choose Edit > Undo from the menu (or press Ctrl-Z)

Once you are done, lock the layer so you can't mess it up accidentally.

 Add in the Ball

Choose the Oval tool. Give it no stroke and a stripey fill.

Click on frame 1 of the Ball layer. Press F6 to add in a keyframe.

Keep pressing F6 until the leg makes contact with the ball.

Move the ball slightly.

Keep adding in keyframes and moving the ball each frame until it has gone right out of the window.

Save your file as framebyframe. You will need to use it again in another activity.

Press Ctrl-Enter to see your finished animation.