StretchLearn Course

Bring objects to life one frame at a time

From your first bouncing-ball test to a finished, sound-designed short: the puppets, the sets, the camera craft, and the edit.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner10 hr 5 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Stop motion is animation built one photograph at a time. This course takes you from your first bouncing-ball test to a finished, sound-designed short, covering the twelve principles applied to physical puppets, wire and ball-and-socket armatures, miniature set and lighting design, manual exposure and intervalometer capture, and a clean Dragonframe-to-edit pipeline. Every lesson uses real tools and real numbers so a complete beginner can shoot professional-looking frames and deliver them to an audience or a paying client.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Animate on ones and twos using onion-skinning to hit smooth, readable motion

Build wire and ball-and-socket armatures and tie down puppets so they hold a pose

Light and dress a miniature set with consistent, flicker-free exposure

Lock a camera in full manual and capture frames with Dragonframe or an intervalometer

Apply the twelve principles of animation to physical objects and puppets

Edit, add sound design and Foley, and deliver finished shorts for YouTube and clients

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How Stop Motion Actually Works

Understand the illusion of motion, the frame-rate and ones-versus-twos decision, and the minimum kit that gets you animating today.

3 lessons

Persistence of Motion: Frames, Frame Rate, and Shooting on TwosContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

The Beginner Kit That Actually WorksContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Your First Exercise: The Bouncing BallContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Puppets, Armatures, and Tie-Downs

Build characters that hold a pose: wire and ball-and-socket armatures, clay and fabric skins, and the anchoring that keeps puppets dead still between frames.

3 lessons

Armatures: The Skeleton That Holds the PoseContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Skinning the Puppet: Clay, Foam, Silicone, and FabricContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Tie-Downs: Keeping the Puppet Dead StillContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Sets, Lighting, and Camera Craft

Build a believable miniature set, light it for consistent flicker-free exposure, and lock your camera in full manual for capture.

3 lessons

Building a Miniature Set That Reads on CameraContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Lighting for Consistency and MoodContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Locking the Camera: Full Manual and CaptureContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Performance, Post, and Delivery

Apply the principles of animation to physical puppets, then edit, sound-design, and deliver a finished short for YouTube and clients.

3 lessons

The Twelve Principles Applied to Real ObjectsContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Walk Cycles and Lip SyncContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Editing, Sound Design, and Delivering the Final ShortContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

stop motion animationframe by frameDragonframearmature buildingclaymationminiature setsonion skinninganimation principles