The Elephant Workshop

Hand-drawn animation production workshop with Lea Vučko

Trg prekomorskih brigad 1, Floor 4, Room 414

Tuesday to Friday, 3–6 November, daily from 3 to 7 pm

For ages 11 to 15

Join Lea Vučko in making a hand-drawn animation.

The workshop participants will learn the ABCs of animation and the process of making a cartoon, from writing the script, making the storyboard, designing the characters, to animating them, colouring the product and creating its soundtrack. Everything will be done using the tools and materials found in every household, so that after the workshop kids can continue exploring the world of animation by themselves.

Lea Vučko is an illustrator, film animator, and designer with a bachelor’s degree in Illustration from the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design. After her graduation in 2013 she continued her studies at the same faculty to obtain a master’s degree.

As an animator, Vučko collaborated on a number of projects including the children’s animated shorts Prince Ki-Ki-DO: A Cup of Tea (2015) and Weasel (2016), the Netflix commission for a stop-motion recap of Orange Is the New Black (2017), and the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre’s award-winning production of Somewhere Else (2017). Vučko is the co-author of two animated projects – Petris (2016), and Spring Cleaning (2017) – which were screened onto the face of the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the Animafest festival. Since 2018, she has been working on her animated debut The Legend of the Goldenhorn. She often collaborates with museums. Her illustrations have appeared in interactive textbooks published by Rokus Klett, and in the Lahkonočnice bedtime stories project.

Making a flipbook

Online via ZOOM. The link will be sent to participants after registration.

Saturday, 28 November, 4 to 7 pm

For ages 9 to 15

This year’s guest animator Lea Vučko will teach the participants the basics of hand-drawn animation. Each participant will choose the subject of their book, and draw the action on separate pieces of paper, frame by frame. Together, the pieces of paper will make a flipbook. When you flick through its pages, the animation will come to life.

The first ten participants to register for the online workshop will receive, in the post, a blank flipbook they can draw in. The flipbooks are theirs to keep, and guarantee hours of fun.

What you’ll need:

  • A computer with a webcam (which can be built-in)
  • A black fine point felt tip pen
  • Drawing tools (pencil, eraser, sharpener, coloured pencils)

Using a laser cutter to make a cell phone stand

Online via ZOOM. The link will be sent to participants after registration.

Saturday, 5 December, 3 to 6 pm

For ages 9 to 15

The biggest challenge in making an animation at home is animating under the camera, since one usually doesn’t have the right animation stand that makes this process possible. In collaboration with RogLab, we have now implemented our idea of a simple stand that can be used for under camera animation.

The first six participants to register will receive the components in the post. At the workshop, they will be guided on how to assemble them, test the result, and give proposals for potential improvements. When possible, the proposals will hopefully help improve the basic version of the stand.

What you’ll need:

  • A computer with a webcam (which can be built-in)
  • A smartphone or a tablet with the free Stop Motion Studio app installed
  • A few sheets of paper (it can be old magazines)
  • Drawing tools (pencil, eraser, sharpener, coloured pencils)
  • Scissors

Making an animated self-portrait

Online via ZOOM. The link will be sent to participants after registration.

Sunday, 6 December, 10 am to 2 pm

For ages 9 to 15

What is a self-portrait? How do we see and perceive ourselves? This is a workshop to test the expressive means offered by animation. Using the drawing tools of their choice, the participants will first draw their self-portrait in just a few steps. They will then re-draw the portrait several times, gradually changing it. Afterwards, they will photograph each drawing, and combine the images into an animation using the Stop Motion Studio app. The animated sequences will ultimately be put together into a single animated film.

What you’ll need:

  • A computer with a webcam (which can be built-in)
  • A smartphone or a tablet with the free Stop Motion Studio app installed
  • An improvised cell phone or tablet stand
  • 12 sheets of white A4 copy paper
  • A black felt tip pen
  • Drawing tools (pencil, eraser, sharpener, coloured pencils)
  • Scissors