Thanks to a legislative grant from state Sen. Hanna Gallo, the first in a series of stop motion animation workshops was offered over the April vacation week as part of the lineup of teen programs at the Cranston Public Library system.

The workshop was held at the Central Library on April 22. Sixteen students in grades four through eight were in attendance. Librarians from several branches were present to help and observe, as was Susan Rose, librarian at Chester Barrows Elementary School and library program supervisor for Cranston Public Schools.

The program began with the students watching a 25-second video showing a sample animation created by two of the librarians, Edna Hutchins and Elise Petrarca.

“We took 135 pictures to make that 25-second video,” Hutchins told the students. “We drew 35 pictures and took three of every picture drawn, in order to make the video 25 seconds long.”

The students were seated in random table groups and worked together as a group throughout the 90 minute session to come up with an idea, create a storyboard, and make the 30 or so pencil illustrations that would make up the pages of their flip book animations.

“It was a little bit hard because we didn’t know each other and had to work together to come up with one idea,” said Juliet Low, part of a group consisting of three girls and one boy. “Once we got going though, we worked together well.”

Rose circulated through the groups as they watched, and was intrigued by what she saw as they worked.

“This is a great way of igniting kids’ interests and a way to just engulf them in creativity,” she said.

The students worked together in their groups, being sure to follow the instructions given, which emphasized making the illustrations dark and big enough to be seen on the screen when the animation is watched. The topics of the various movies ranged from soccer to politics to various types of battles.

Once the illustrations were completed, the workshop transitioned to the steps where the animation was filmed. Each group was given a tripod, a spotlight, a tablet, and a half-sized tri-fold board that had been modified to create a lightbox for filming. Each student was to take five shots of one picture before handing the tablet to someone else for their turn, ensuring that everyone took part. They worked with picpac.tv to animate the flip books on the tablets.

As the animations were completed, the students were able to preview them, give them a title, and have them sent to themselves by email, if desired.

The workshop was a preview of the series of stop motion animation workshops being held throughout the month of May at various Cranston library locations.

The dates and events include:

“Star Wars” stop motion at Oak Lawn Library on May 4 from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. for grades four and up.

Cut paper stop motion at Auburn Library on May 10 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for grades four and up.

Toy Magic stop motion at the Central Library on May 16 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for grades four through eight.

Lego stop motion at the Knightsville Library on May 23 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Additionally, a flip book stop motion workshop will be run again on Saturday, May 21 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the William Hall Library for grades six and up. A screening of “Tales of the Night” will take place at the Auburn Library for grades five and up on May 30 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The participants will watch and discuss the cut-paper stop motion animation masterpiece and snack on popcorn during the screening.

For more information about upcoming events, visit cranstonlibrary.org/teen.