Flipbook animation
Make a flipbook animation online: draw page after page with the last one showing through, flip through it at any speed and save it as a video. Free, in your browser.
Draw a frame, tap + for the next one, and change the drawing a little. The last frame shows faintly in red underneath (onion skin), so each drawing follows on from it.
Make a digital flipbook
- 01Press Start animating: each frame is a page of your flipbook.
- 02Draw the first page. Simple shapes work best: a ball, a face, a growing flower.
- 03Tap + for the next page. The page before shows through in red, just like thin paper.
- 04Change the drawing a little on every page.
- 05Press Play to flip through it, choose the speed, and export it as a video to share.
What a flipbook is
A flipbook (or flip book) is a little book of drawings, each slightly different, that seem to move when you flip the pages with your thumb. John Barnes Linnett patented it in 1868 as the kineograph, years before film cameras, and it's still the simplest way to see how animation works.
A digital flipbook works the same way: every frame is a page. You see the page before through the one you're drawing, and Play flips them for you at a steady speed, which no thumb can do.
Flipbook ideas
- A ball that bounces and rolls off the page.
- A face that blinks, smiles and winks.
- A seed that sprouts and grows into a flower.
- A stick figure that jumps or does a backflip.
- A word that writes itself letter by letter.
- A rocket that takes off, with smoke on a separate layer.
From screen to paper
To make a paper flipbook of your animation, export the frames (Lifetime's PNG frames gives you every page as a picture), print them small, number them, stack them with the first page on top, and staple the left edge. Keep the drawing on the right half of each page, where your thumb flips.
Questions
How do you make a flipbook animation online?
Draw each page as a frame in a browser animation app, using onion skin to see the page before. Play flips through the pages, and Export saves it as a video. This page has a free one.
How many pages does a flipbook need?
At least 20 to 30 for something to happen; 50 to 100 for a short story. Online, 12 pages make one second at 12 frames per second.
Can I print my flipbook?
Yes. Lifetime exports every frame as a PNG picture, ready to print, cut and staple. Free animations export as a video.
What's the difference between a flipbook and a flipbook PDF?
A flipbook animation is drawings that move when flipped. A "flipbook PDF" is a document shown with page-turning effects, like a digital magazine. This site makes the first kind.
Are my drawings uploaded anywhere?
No. Your drawings, frames and the videos you make all stay in your browser on this device. Nothing is sent to us or stored on a server.