Kids Bring Their Drawings to Life with Keynote

This learning experience introduces students to simple animation by transforming their own figure drawings into short digital movies using Keynote.

Students begin by learning the basics of figure drawing, focusing on body parts, proportion, and simple movement.

 They then explore how changing the position of the arms, legs, head, and body can show action, emotion, and storytelling. Through a series of drawings, students create different poses of the same figure to suggest movement.

After completing their drawings, students take clear photos of each image and import them into Keynote. Using Keynote’s background removal tool, they isolate their drawn figures and arrange them across slides to create a sequence. They adjust the placement, timing, and transitions to make their drawings appear animated.

 Finally, students export their Keynote presentation as a movie. Through this activity, students learn how traditional drawing can be extended through digital tools, allowing them to bring their artwork to life through simple animation.

See the sample video created by a student.

As an added suggestion, students may also include background music, sound effects, or recorded audio narration to enhance storytelling.