Lambeth Sparks Tinkering Club: Animating Games

You’re invited to the Lambeth Sparks Tinkering Club… 

Over the past two years, Lambeth Sparks have been experimenting and tinkering with animation, learning how to use skills such as storytelling and coding. For this six-week programme, children and young people will use their digital literacy skills to create their own animations. Every week, we will be looking at how different industries use animation in their work – from gaming to advertising. Children will tinker with digital making platforms to create and play with their own animation creations whilst developing an understanding of the careers that involve digital thinking, storytelling, arts and engineering. The aim is for children and young people to understand and explore how digital skills link to real life careers.

Week Four: Animating Games

Children will meet a video game designer, who will share what to expect from the industry and how they use digital skills in game design. Children will be introduced to Unity Learn. We will be looking at how we can create our own games using Platformer Microgame by adding colour, trails and animating your world. At the end of the session, children and young people will also have the opportunity to share their games with each other

Lambeth Sparks Resource Boxes

On Thursday 29 October and Friday 30 October, we sent out our Lambeth Sparks Resources Boxes. These contained all the kit needed to complete the programme. We personally delivered the kit to those who borrowed digital equipment to make sure they were all set up safely.

What’s in the Box?

• iPad Spider Frame
• Arts & Craft
• A4 & A3 White & Coloured Card & Paper
• Plasticine
• Sellotape
• Clay
• Wire Cutters
• Wire
• Voucher
• Resource sheet

Programme Structure

Week 1: 5th November

Animating Food: Children are going to be introduced how the advertising and marketing industry use animation to promote for food and drink. They will be introduced to an industry professional from Innocent Smoothies, who will tell them what to expect from the industry and how they can use their digital skills. They will then tinker with different animation techniques sing food and drink to explore how they can market and advertise products in their home.

Week 2: 12th November

Animating Campaigns: Children and young people will explore how to animate and create exciting campaigns. They will meet our iOi Campaigns Director, who will share her industry knowledge and why digital skills are important when making an impactful campaign. Participants will then explore different techniques like using sound, adding text, and backwards animation to create powerful campaigns about climate change.

Week 3: 19th November

Animating Films: Children are going to be introduced to Aardman Studios, the makers of ‘Wallace and Gromit’. They will share how it works in their studio and what skills you need to become an animator. Children will be learning Wallace and Gromit inspired techniques; how make a sturdy object and transforming a blob into a figure using clay, plasticine and wire. They will then create their own narrative to make their own film.

Week 4: 26th November

Animating Games: Children will meet a video game designer, who will share what to expect from the industry and how they use digital skills in game design. Children will be introduced to Unity Learn. We will be looking at how we can create our own games using Platformer Microgame by adding colour, trails and animating your world. At the end of the session, children and young people will also have the opportunity to share their games with each other.

Week 5: 3rd December

Animating and Coding: Children are going to be introduced to a company called Code for Girls. They will be sharing their knowledge about the coding industry, and why creativity is so important when it comes to coding! Children will then use MakeCode Arcade to create and code their own games, characters and backgrounds, as well as adding effects, timers, ways to collect points and obstacles. At the end of the session we will have a Zoom Arcade where participants will be able to test and play each other’s games.

Week 6: 10th December

The Lambeth sparks participants have been explored numerous ways to animate through different industries. For week 6 we will pose a challenge based on what they want to do when they grow up! Children will animate their own films using the skills they have learnt from the previous sessions.

Unfortunately this programme is fully booked. But keep your eyes peeled for our next event!