Make Your Own Animation Video With Stikbots

Have you heard about Stikbots? Stikbots are easy-to-pose figures built with suction cup hands and feet, which can stick to almost any flat surface. What’s more with the free Stikbot app, you can use these Stikbot’s to make your own movies. My 12-year-old son was excited when he heard we were going to get a package of Stikbots to try out.

*disclosure – I received the Stikbots in order to conduct this review but was not compensated in any other way. The opinions herein are my own and reflect my true experiences with the product*

On first glance, the Stikbots are striking little figures. Quite cute and colorful with even little animals. We received the full Zanimation Studio kit which included Blue/Green screen background, a phone stand as well as two figures and a little monkey. We also received two other packages which a single colourful Stikbot.

Four characters and an animal were more than enough for my son to get animating. First, we constructed the set which was very simple. The green screen is made out of durable cardboard with blue on one side and green on the other. It comes with plastic clips to hold it in place. My son has been using this set for a couple of weeks now and the cardboard has so far stood up.

Next, we needed to download the Stikbot Studio app. We have an android phone so we downloaded the app from Google Play but Stikbot is also available on Apple. The app downloaded quickly and easily which was great for an impatient kid.

Since my son is 12, he pretty much knows his way around apps and had no problem with figuring out the program. I had a quick look at the app and found it to be simple to operate. This app would be a great basic program for kids to practice making their own movies. You do need to have a smartphone for filming. We found that a tablet was too big for the stand.

How it works is you find a background on the app that you want to use and it shows up on your phone. You then pose your figures onto the green screen using the background on the phone as your guide as to where to place your Stikbots. I also forget to mention, in the studio kit there is also a couple of cardboard blocks you can build so if your background has a bed in it, for example, you place the cardboard block into the scene and your Stikbot appears to be sitting or lying on the bed.

Using the shoot/stop animation technique, you take a photo, move the characters into their next pose, take a photo, move the characters etc. Built-in-music and sound effects add to the fun.

When you’re done, the App stitches all the photos together to create a film. Users also have the option to share their creations via social media and connect with other Stikbot movie makers with the #stikbot

I have to admit it was pretty cool to see the final result after just a half hour of filming. I would say the hardest part of the process was finding the best lighting for filming in. We had to move the set around our house a few times to get the best light and in the end, my son discovered that filming in a darker room with a light directly overhead gave him the best results.

I am not sure if it was the lighting but the only criticism of the app I’d have is that when placing the cardboard blocks onto the set, you could still see an outline of the edge of the block in the video, it didn’t completely disappear. Maybe with a little more practice, those lines wouldn’t show up. Still, overall the effect is pretty cool.

What I really loved about Stikbots is that it combined technology with creativity. Instead of just watching videos, my son was coming up with his own story, he had to set up the scene and figure out how he wanted it all to work out and you can really see his sense of humor and silliness coming out. I think the sky’s the limit for the creativity you can do with Stikbots.

Check out the funny video my son created. You will see the lines I mentioned. (note somewhere in the downloading and then uploading to YouTube the audio went a bit off. It lined up really well when we played it in the App so I’m not sure what happened. Looks like we need a little more practice. )

You can find a variety of Stikbots and their accessories at convenient places like Walmart, Canadian Tire, Target or Amazon.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Please understand that I have experienced all of these companies, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.