Stop motion ideas

30 stop motion ideas, from 5-second first films to clay, paper, toys and people, each with what you need and how many frames. Pick one and start filming free.

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Prop your phone or tablet so it can't move (a stack of books works), set up your scene, and shoot one frame at a time.

First films (under 50 frames)

Easy stop motion ideas for your first try: one object, one movement, a few seconds of film.

  • Bouncing ball

    Easy

    A ball rolls in and bounces three times, each bounce lower. Space the frames closer at the top of each bounce, where a ball slows down.

    You need: A small ball. About 30 frames (3 s at 10 fps).

  • Sticky-note message

    Easy

    Sticky notes appear one at a time on a wall or a desk until they spell a word.

    You need: Sticky notes. About 25 frames (2.5 s at 10 fps).

  • The vanishing cookie

    Easy

    A cookie loses a bite every frame until only crumbs are left. Eat as you go.

    You need: A cookie. About 20 frames (2 s at 10 fps).

  • Shoes that walk

    Easy

    A pair of shoes steps across the floor by itself, one shoe moving per frame.

    You need: A pair of shoes. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Coin spiral

    Easy

    Coins slide in from the edges and settle into a spiral, one coin at a time.

    You need: A handful of coins. About 30 frames (3 s at 10 fps).

  • A drawing that draws itself

    Easy

    Shoot from above as you add a few lines to a drawing between frames. Keep your hand out of every shot.

    You need: Paper and a pen. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

Food and everyday objects

Things on your table can come alive. These need a bit more planning but no special materials.

  • Breakfast makes itself

    Medium

    Plate, toast, butter and fruit arrive one after another and arrange themselves.

    You need: A plate and breakfast. About 50 frames (5 s at 10 fps).

  • Fruit race

    Medium

    Three pieces of fruit race across the table; one overtakes at the last moment.

    You need: Three pieces of fruit. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • Pencil parade

    Medium

    Coloured pencils march out of their box in a line and arrange themselves by colour.

    You need: A box of coloured pencils. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • The flying book

    Medium

    A book opens, flaps its covers like wings and lifts off. Hold it up with clear tape or a hand you crop out.

    You need: A hardback book. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Laundry folds itself

    Harder

    A T-shirt folds itself, one fold every few frames, then hops onto the pile.

    You need: A T-shirt. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

  • Toy car chase

    Medium

    A toy car speeds across the table and skids around a corner. Move it further per frame to make it look fast.

    You need: Two toy cars. About 50 frames (5 s at 10 fps).

Clay (claymation)

Claymation ideas: clay can bend, stretch and turn into anything, which is why it's a stop motion classic.

  • Snake eats a pea

    Easy

    A clay snake slithers up to a pea and swallows it; the bump travels down its body.

    You need: Modelling clay. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Shape-shifter

    Medium

    A ball of clay squashes into a cube, then a star, then back into a ball. Small changes per frame.

    You need: Modelling clay. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • Talking clay face

    Harder

    A clay face says hello. Make a few mouth shapes and swap them between frames.

    You need: Modelling clay. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

  • Snowman melts

    Easy

    A white clay snowman slowly melts into a puddle. Play it backwards and it builds itself.

    You need: White modelling clay. About 50 frames (5 s at 10 fps).

  • Bug on a leaf

    Medium

    A clay caterpillar inches along a real leaf, scrunching up and stretching out.

    You need: Modelling clay and a leaf. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • Pizza makes itself

    Harder

    Dough flattens, sauce spreads and toppings drop on one by one, all in clay.

    You need: Clay in a few colours. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

Paper and drawings

Shoot flat things from above with the phone pointing straight down. Paper is cheap, so experiment.

  • Paper fish swims

    Easy

    A cut-out fish swims across a blue paper sea and gets chased by a bigger one.

    You need: Coloured paper and scissors. About 50 frames (5 s at 10 fps).

  • Whiteboard doodle

    Medium

    Draw a stick figure, film it, wipe and redraw it one step further along.

    You need: A whiteboard or chalkboard. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • Origami unfolds

    Medium

    Film yourself folding a paper crane step by step, then play it backwards so it unfolds into a square.

    You need: A square of paper. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Pavement adventure

    Harder

    Draw a chalk door on the pavement and have a toy walk through it into a chalk world.

    You need: Chalk and a toy. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

Toys and brick figures

Figures with joints are made for stop motion. Fix their feet down with a little poster putty.

  • A walk across the table

    Medium

    A brick figure walks from one side of the table to the other. Move the legs a little each frame.

    You need: A brick figure. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • The big jump

    Medium

    An action figure crouches, leaps off a book and lands. Hide the support in the jump frames.

    You need: An action figure. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Tower that builds itself

    Medium

    Bricks or blocks fly in one by one and stack themselves into a tower, then topple.

    You need: Building bricks or blocks. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

  • Plush toy wakes up

    Easy

    A soft toy yawns, stretches and climbs out of a box.

    You need: A soft toy and a box. About 50 frames (5 s at 10 fps).

People (pixilation)

Pixilation is stop motion with real people. Someone holds a pose for each frame and moves a little in between.

  • Slide without walking

    Medium

    A person glides across the room while standing still. Shuffle forward a step between frames, always in the same pose.

    You need: A friend and a fixed camera. About 60 frames (6 s at 10 fps).

  • Teleporting

    Easy

    Someone pops from place to place around a room: one frame in each spot.

    You need: A friend. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Hat swap

    Easy

    A hat, glasses or hairstyle changes on every frame while the person stares at the camera.

    You need: A pile of hats. About 40 frames (4 s at 10 fps).

  • Through the painted door

    Harder

    A person draws a door on a big sheet of paper and walks through it. Play with ripping the paper.

    You need: Large paper and a friend. About 80 frames (8 s at 10 fps).

How to turn an idea into a film

  1. 01Pick one of these stop motion animation ideas that fits your time: a first film takes 15 minutes, a harder one an afternoon.
  2. 02Gather what it needs and set up on a table where nothing will get knocked.
  3. 03Decide how it starts and how it ends. A quick sketch of the two moments is enough of a plan.
  4. 04Press Start this film, prop the camera and shoot one small move per frame, watching the onion skin.
  5. 05Play it back, fix the frames that jump, and export the video.

How to pick a stop motion idea

  • Start with one object and one movement. A ball, a shoe or a cookie teaches you spacing faster than a whole scene.
  • Choose things that hold still on their own. Round things roll and tall things fall over; poster putty under a foot fixes most of it.
  • Count the frames before you start. At 10 frames per second, every second of film is ten photos.
  • For a school project, pick an idea that shows a process: a plant growing, a cell dividing, a map changing over time.

Make any idea look better

  • Ease in and out: smaller moves at the start and end of a movement, bigger ones in the middle.
  • Hold a pose for two or three identical frames before something big happens, so the audience sees it coming.
  • Loop it: end the film where it started and it plays forever on social media.
  • Add a sound: a pop, a whoosh or a voice makes a 5-second film feel finished.

Questions

What's the easiest stop motion idea?

The vanishing cookie: take a bite between each frame until it's gone. It needs one object, about 20 frames and no planning, and it always works.

How many frames does a stop motion film need?

About 10 frames for each second at 10 frames per second. Most first films are 20 to 60 frames, which is 2 to 6 seconds.

What are good stop motion ideas for a school project?

Ideas that show something changing: a seed growing, a volcano erupting in clay, the water cycle in paper cut-outs, or a timeline of a story. Teachers like a short plan and a film under 30 seconds.

Can I use LEGO bricks?

Yes. Brick figures (LEGO and similar) are among the most popular things to animate, because their joints hold a pose. Fix their feet to a baseplate so they don't drift between frames.

More on stop motion

Make a claymation on your phoneClaymation is stop motion with clay.How to make stop motion animationHow to make a stop motion animation with your phone, tablet or laptop.Onion skin animationOnion skin shows your last frame faintly over the live camera, so every move in your stop motion is the right size.