• Develops literacy, vocabulary!
• Explains what animation IS!
• Introduces basic concepts of animation!
• Starts the student creating their own works!
• Teaches the student how to read and work with a screenplay!
• Fun, creative hands-on work!
• Develops critical thinking skills!
• Develops study in a self-determined manner!
• Lesson plans are complete and ready to use!  Start now!

My 12 year old has started on the Gummy Cat project and loves it!  She has total control over this project and works independently. It is lovely to see her taking full responsibility and enjoying it. She saves animation time for Fridays, as a treat!  Thanks for a great program. We've already purchased the next level...  E. R., Pro Educator
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For students interested in animation, WHO ALREADY DRAW WELL AND LOVE TO DRAW, ages 8-adult. In our Animation 1 course, the student first learns to read a very simple, brief screenplay (a fun, original screenplay authored by an Emmy Award-winning writer specifically for this course!), mastering some of the terms used in this art form. The student then works through a series of exercises to create a "storyboard" for the original script. (This one's about a cat who gets into a lot of trouble.)

Storyboards are a series of drawings which act as a visual "outline" for a film, cartoon, commercial, TV show...even a live stage show. To storyboard, the artist must create characters visually, create the locations the characters are in, and artfully, convincingly express through successive drawings the story to be told.

This approach makes a new animator to do several things:

-Master the essentials of animation design, including character design and execution, and the ability to read and understand a script;
-Improve their drawing and essential skills.
-Develop many drawings through a highly structured but creative process, which may eventually be used as a part of a portfolio.

Focused on the art of storyboarding and built around a clever, original script authored by an Emmy award-winning writer, the student increasingly develops through carefully structured exercises the skills needed to work in this fun and creative field.  Additionally, the work done will enter the student's portfolio, and eventually help the student either enter a good art school (perhaps specializing in animation), or approach the industry.

The perfect starter step for the student who already draws well, and who wishes to experiment and discover his or her talent in Animation, without critique or criticism!
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My name is V., and I've been homeschooling my son, B., (3rd Grade) since kindergarten. We live in South Florida and the public schools...and most of the private schools, for that matter...are just terrible. It doesn't help that he HATES school — always has. And I've tried everything. I have an entire room full of abandoned curricula at this point! He draws and writes from the moment he wakes up until he passes out in bed at night, but if I give him an assignment to draw or write something he is instantaneously disinterested!

I was so grateful that you had some free courses to try because there was not very much info on your curriculum yet when hunting around for reviews, etc. I was gun-shy to spend a lot of money — again — without knowing if it would be a good fit. He's been using xxxxx and enjoying it, but I've noticed he wasn't actually learning anything, but instead becoming a fantastic multiple-choice guesser (I'm pretty good at that myself thanks to the public school system!). So when he successfully completed the "How to Do STEPS" course without too much complaint I was willing to open my checkbook. And I'm so glad I did! We have been doing all the recommended courses for his age and everyday he seems to enjoy it a bit more. But even more important, he is becoming more independent in his studies and learning how to think for himself! It is truly the perfect curriculum for an artistic/creative type! The animation course, although recommended for older kids, is right up his alley. I hope you don't mind me mentioning it, but B. is a finalist this year in the Google4Doodle contest. We are really excited because he won a trip to New York next week for the ceremony and to see his doodle on display at the Whitney Museum, and even more importantly will have the opportunity to meet Jim Davis (Garfield creator) and Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) which is a dream come true for a future cartoonist/animator!

So....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for such a great curriculum! It accomplishes everything I hoped for in a curriculum. I homeschool because I want my children to be "think outside the box" people and your curriculum is a perfect match!  V, Homeschool Mom
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Steps Animation 1- Gummy Cat Project is an awesome course! It provides rich experiences for students in many ways. As a home educating parent, I was concerned that I would not be able to provide my daughter with instruction in fields of the arts that I am not familiar with, or comfortable with. As I have no training in animation, I would never have expected that I would be able to provide her with instruction in animation and the art of creating a storyboard. Steps has changed that.

As my daughter has developed a love for drawing animated cartoon characters, I can now provide her with professional instruction in our own home. Steps Animation courses do not teach drawing skills, but provide professional instruction in creating a storyboard. The student is expected to use their own drawing skills and programs. In my opinion, this is of benefit as the students are free to draw their characters without the fear of their art work being judged to a specific level. Their drawing skills can develop and improve as they learn to analyze a script or literature, and create a storyboard using professional techniques.

There are many excellent drawing programs out there and the key to learning to draw is practice, practice, practice! They are free to learn their animation skills, and draw their characters at their own drawing skill levels. Your student's literature skills can only be improved by the Gummy Cat Animation course. To produce a storyboard, it is necessary to analyze the script (or literature) to determine the physical characteristics of the characters and background settings. To do this, the student must be able to read and understand the script very well, as well as look for hidden details that might not be explicitly stated in the text.

As a professional makeup artist, I was trained to determine the physiognomy of the characters based on analysis of the script or literature. This required the ability to read between the lines and truly understand what was being read. The study of this can only enhance your student's literature skills.

My daughter is really looking forward to working on Gummy Cat this summer. You can't put a value on that type of enthusiasm! We are planning to use the more advanced levels of the Steps animation courses and would highly recommend them to anyone!   D.G., Homeschool Mom